Harry "Joe" Griffin (21 April 1873 – 26 September 1938) played first-class

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...

for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 1898 and 1899. As a slow left-arm bowler, he was employed as a professional by Todmorden Cricket Club in the Lancashire League before being recruited by Somerset. He played four matches for the county, but his

bowling action In the sport of cricket, the bowling action is the set of movements that result in the bowler releasing the ball in the direction of the batsman. The bowling action can be broken down into a number of parts: * Grip *Approach *Bound (pre deliv ...

was questioned, with suggestions that he was guilty of

throwing Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensile l ...

. He continued to play club cricket for Street for many years after.

Life and career

Harry Griffin, known as "Joe" in cricketing circles, was born in Street, Somerset on 21 April 1873, born into a family of shoemakers who worked for Clarks. He followed his family into the trade, but also sought employment as a professional cricketer. In the late 1890s, he was taken on by Todmorden Cricket Club in the Lancashire League as their professional. He was invited to play a trial match with

Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...

in 1898, and after that was employed by the club on a professional basis. Although he was predominantly a slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Griffin made his debut for Somerset in 1898 as a top-order batsman, and did not bowl. Batting at number four in each innings, he scored five runs in the match, which Somerset lost by five wickets to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. In his first of three games in 1899, he was the eighth bowler used as

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

replied to a Somerset first innings score of 476 with an opening stand of 148; Griffin, however, then took six wickets for 40 runs in 19 five-ball overs, and a further three when Gloucestershire followed on, to finish with match figures of nine for 107. Despite this success, Griffin, as a professional, was unable to secure a regular place in cash-strapped Somerset's team, and played only two further matches. In the second of these, 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 ...

, he took the wickets of David Denton,

Rockley Wilson Evelyn Rockley Wilson (25 March 1879 – 21 July 1957) was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played for Cambridge University Cricket Club, Yorkshire, and England. Life Wilson was born in Bolsterstone, Stocksbridge, Yorkshire, and ...

, Lord Hawke and

Schofield Haigh Schofield Haigh (19 March 1871 – 27 February 1921) was a Yorkshire and England cricketer. He played for eighteen seasons for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, for England from the 1898/99 tour to 1912, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 19 ...

and made his highest first-class score of 23. But he did not appear in first-class cricket again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Harry 1873 births 1938 deaths English cricketers Somerset cricketers People from Street, Somerset Cricketers from Somerset