Henry Pickett (26 March 1862 – 3 October 1907) 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 who represented Essex for 17 years although only the last four were at first-class level. A fast bowler he was 'powerfully built' and 'bowled with a high arm'. His most significant performance came in 1895 when he took all ten

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

wickets for 32 runs. These are the best innings figures recorded by an Essex bowler, the fourth best in the County Championship, and the ninth best in first-class cricket. Born in Stratford, Pickett first played for Essex in 1881 but it would be 13 years before the county was awarded first-class status. In the intervening period he did make several first-class appearances for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the first in 1884 against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He played in Essex's first ever first-class match in 1894 but struggled in that first season taking 11 wickets at an average of 31.09.First-class Bowling in Each Season by Harry Pickett
CricketArchive, Retrieved 17 September 2009 The following season, Essex's first season in the County Championship, was more successful. He took 66 wickets, at 17.72, including the 10/32 against Leicestershire as well as five-fors in wins against Somerset and Hampshire.Player Oracle: H Pickett
CricketArchive, Retrieved 17 September 2009 Over the next two seasons he took 50 wickets at around 30. He didn't play again for Essex following his benefit season in 1897, he played one match for the MCC in 1898 before two seasons of umpiring.Harry Pickett as Umpire in First-Class Matches (34)
CricketArchive, Retrieved 17 September 2009 Following the end of his playing career he also coached at Clifton College.Obituaries in 1907
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Retrieved 17 September 2009 Pickett disappeared on 27 September 1907 and a week later was found washed ashore on

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

beach. His death is listed as suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickett, Harry 1862 births 1907 suicides 1907 deaths People from Stratford, London Sportspeople from the London Borough of Newham English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Essex cricketers Cricketers who have taken ten wickets in an innings Wembley Park cricketers Suicides by drowning in the United Kingdom Suicides in Wales