Reginald Philip Northway (14 August 1906 – 26 August 1936) was an English cricketer who played

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 ...

as an amateur 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_ ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. He was born in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1906. A defensive right-handed opening batsman and a good outfielder, Reggie Northway followed his older brother

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

in playing occasional games for Somerset from the 1929 season up to 1933. In his second match, 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 ...

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchar ...

in 1930, he made an unbeaten 75 which remained his highest first-class score. He played in 12 first-class games for Somerset in 1930, but only a handful over the next three years. Northway reappeared in first-class cricket for Northamptonshire in the 1936 season. Northamptonshire was a very weak side at this time, finishing last in the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

and failing to record a victory for four years from May 1935 to May 1939. Northway opened the batting for more than half of the matches in the 1936 season, batting alongside

Fred Bakewell Alfred Harry "Fred" Bakewell (2 November 1908 – 23 January 1983) was an English cricketer. Playing for Northamptonshire and England, he was an opening batsman who was renowned as one of the most exciting players of his time, largely owing t ...

, the

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 ...

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

batsman and the county's one genuine first-class player. In 17 matches he scored just 429 runs, with just one score of over 50 – a 58 against his former county, Somerset, at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, when he batted for three hours. Northway is perhaps best remembered for the tragic end to his cricket career and that of his opening partner Bakewell. Travelling home from the final match of the season, where Northamptonshire had made a surprisingly good showing against the season's County Champions,

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 ...

, Northway's car overturned on the

A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...

Kibworth Kibworth is an area of the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes in England, civil parishes: the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . At the 2011 census, Kibwor ...

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 ...

. Northway was flung from the car and killed, his body being found in a roadside ditch. Bakewell, who had made an unbeaten 241 in Northamptonshire's second innings, had his arm crushed and despite optimism over several following years he never played first-class cricket again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northway, Reginald 1906 births 1936 deaths English cricketers Somerset cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Road incident deaths in England British expatriates in British Ceylon