Joe Ambler (12 February 1860 – 10 February 1899) was an English professional

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 ...

er who made eight appearances in

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 ...

during the 1880s, playing for both

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

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_ ...

. A right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium paced bowler, Ambler also kept wicket on occasion.

Life and career

Ambler was born in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

in Yorkshire on 12 February 1860. His first recorded cricket appearance is for Wakefield in 1874; facing the All-England Eleven, Ambler was part of a 22-man team representing Wakefield. He opened the bowling in both innings, and claimed three wickets in all, while his scores of 28 and 12 made him the only Wakefield player to reach double figures in both innings. He appeared as part of Wakefield 22-man team to face "Yorkshire United" in each of the following two seasons without excelling himself. In 1883, he was employed as a professional by

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 ...

, and played four times for the county that season. He made his first-class cricket debut for the club on 30 July 1883, against 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). In the match, he scored 76 runs in Somerset's only innings, and during the MCC's first innings, he took four wickets for 54; both his batting total and his bowling figures were to be the best of his first-class career. In the following match, he was promoted to open the batting for Somerset, but was dismissed for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, and dropped to number six in the second innings. Ambler kept wicket for Somerset against

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. ...

in August 1883, claiming two

stumpings Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease, ...

and two catches in Surrey's second innings. In all for Somerset, Ambler scored 129 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 18.42, and took seven wickets at 28.57. No further appearances are recorded for Ambler until 1886, when he played in four games for his native

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...

. He made his club debut 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 ...

, scoring 11 runs in the first innings, and a duck in the second batting at number six. His best match for Yorkshire was against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, when he scored 25 and 17, at

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 ...

. He only scored 68 runs during his time with Yorkshire, and was rarely asked to bowl, taking no wickets from his 44 deliveries. During the 1890s, Ambler played in the Lancashire League for the

East Lancashire Cricket Club East Lancashire Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn. For the 2015 season its captain was Mark Bolton and its professional was Juan de Villiers. The club has been ...

. He died on 10 February 1899, in Huddersfield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambler, Joe 1860 births 1899 deaths Cricketers from Huddersfield English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 English cricketers Somerset cricketers Yorkshire cricketers