Heathfield Harman "HH" Stephenson (3 May 1833 in Esher,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

– 17 December 1896 in

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) was a famous

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cricketer during the game's roundarm era. Stephenson bowled right-arm fast roundarm, batted right-handed and was an occasional wicket-keeper. His known first-class career spanned the

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Reb ...

to 1871 seasons. He took 303 wickets in 256 matches at 16.37 with a best analysis of 8/28. He had 17 5wI and 4 10wM. He scored 7360 runs at 17.90 with a highest score of 119, making 3 centuries. He took 152 catches and made 25 stumpings. HH Stephenson was the first cricketer to be awarded a ''hat'' for taking three wickets in consecutive balls, the origin of the

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

. He performed the feat for the All-England Eleven against the twenty-two of Hallam at the

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ground,

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in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds. At the end of the

1859 English cricket season Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final u ...

, Stephenson was one of the 12 players who took part in cricket's first-ever overseas tour when an

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led by George Parr visited North America. In the

1861-62 Australian cricket season This is an article that describes the history of Australian cricket from its known beginnings until the eve of the first-ever Test matches between Australia and England, which took place in the 1876–77 season. Origins Cricket was already estab ...

, Stephenson captained the England team put together by Messrs Spiers and Pond that made the inaugural tour of Australia. The team travelled to Australia on the SS Great Britain. He is the first player featured on a mural in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pavilion showing many of the famous cricketers who have played on that ground. Stephenson was an occasional umpire after his playing career ended. He is known to have umpired 14 first-class matches from 1866 to 1882. One of them was the inaugural Test match in England at

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in 1880. Until shortly before his death, he was coach at Uppingham School. He is buried in the town.

External sources

CricketArchive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Hh 1833 births 1896 deaths All-England Eleven cricketers United South of England Eleven cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 English cricketers Surrey cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers English Test cricket umpires People from Esher Surrey Club cricketers Married v Single cricketers North of the Thames v South of the Thames cricketers Players of the South cricketers Players of Surrey cricketers

External sources

Further reading

References