Harold Watson (5 March 1888 – 14 March 1969) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er active in the 1910s and 1920s, making just over a dozen appearances in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

. Born at

Gooderstone Gooderstone is a village situated in the Breckland District of Norfolk and covers an area of with an estimated population of 390 in 2007, reducing to 363 at the 2011 Census. It lies south west from Swaffham. The villages name means "Guthere's f ...

, Norfolk, Watson was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm

fast-medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

and who played most of his cricket at minor counties level with

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Career

Watson made his debut in minor counties cricket for Norfolk in the 1910

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

against

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, winning the Minor Counties Championship in his first season. He made two appearances in his debut season but followed this up with nine in 1911, and eight in 1912. Norfolk against won the Minor Counties Championship in 1913, with Watson playing nine matches in that season. It was in 1913 that he made his debut in

for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, with him taking a wicket with his first delivery in first-class cricket when he dismissed

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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cricketer Frank Woolley. He followed this up with a further first-class appearance for the MCC in that season, before making a further four in 1914. He took his only first-class

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

in this season against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Additionally, Watson appeared in seven matches for Norfolk throughout that season. Following the First World War, Watson played two first-class matches for the MCC in 1919 against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. before resuming his minor counties career with Norfolk in 1920, making six appearances, as well as a single appearance for the MCC against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

at Lord's. He made nine appearances for Norfolk in 1921, as well as playing his final three first-class matches for the MCC against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and

. Watson played a total of twelve first-class matches for the MCC, taking 37 wickets at an average of 24.48. With the bat, he scored 176 runs at a batting average of 9.77, with a high score of 45. Watson's best season in minor counties cricket came in 1922, when he took 59 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 14.37 across his thirteen matches. He made ten appearances for Norfolk in 1923, and followed this up with nine in the following season. It was in 1924 that he was selected to play what would be his final appearance in first-class cricket for a combined Minor Counties cricket team against the touring

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

. He made ten appearances for Norfolk in 1925, but made no appearances in 1926. He played three further matches for the county in 1927. In 95 appearances for Norfolk in the Minor Counties Championship, Watson took 384 wickets at an average of 17.23. Outside of playing, Watson was also a coach, coaching cricket at RNC Dartmouth, Bishop's Stortford College and the

Perse School (He who does things for others does them for himself) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = Nondenominational Christian , president = , head_label = Head , he ...

. He was also later employed as the head porter at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He died at

Hauxton Hauxton is a small village in Cambridgeshire, England around 5 miles to the south-west of Cambridge. History Hauxton has been occupied for well over two thousand years thanks to its position on the River Cam and a ford near Hauxton Mill that ha ...

, Cambridgeshire on 14 March 1969.

References

External links

Harold Watson
at

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Harold Watson
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Harold 1888 births 1969 deaths People from Breckland District English cricketers Norfolk cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Minor Counties cricketers English cricket coaches People from South Cambridgeshire District Cricketers from Cambridgeshire