Ralph Docker (31 August 1855 — 7 July 1910) 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 played first-class cricket for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in 1879. Docker was born in

Harborne Harborne is an area of south-west Birmingham, England. It is one of the most affluent areas of the Midlands, southwest from Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, the son of Ralph Docker and his wife Sarah Sankey. His father was a solicitor in practice at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

who took on a large number of public appointments. He was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. In 1873 he played for a Birmingham XXII against an All England XI, and then in 1878 in another Birmingham XXII against an Australian team. Docker played two matches for Derbyshire in the 1879 season making his debut against

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 ...

in May 1879, as an opening batsman, and played his first and only county match two weeks later, moving down the order to face

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 ...

. He made a total of 9 runs in his four first-class innings. Later in the season he played again for Birmingham. In 1880 he played a game for

, and in 1883 and 1885 one game each year for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

which was before the club had first-class status. His last match against touring Parsees was for Gentlemen of Warwickshire in 1888.Ralph Docker at Cricket Archive
/ref> Docker died in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

aged 55. Docker had two younger brothers Frank Dudley Docker and

Ludford Docker Ludford Charles Docker (26 November 1860 – 1 August 1940) was a businessman and an English cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1881 and 1886, captaining the side in 1884, and for Warwickshire in 1894 and 1895. Earl ...

who managed the industrial and financial concern Docker Brothers and who also played cricket for Derbyshire, Ludford being club captain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Docker, Ralph 1855 births 1910 deaths People from Harborne English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers