Robert Henderson (30 March 1865 – 28 January 1931) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

cricketer 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 ...

, a right-hand batsman and right-arm slow bowler.

Brilliant debut season in 1883

Born in Newport,

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, Henderson made his first-class debut for

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 1883, and played in all but one of the county's games that season, making over 500 runs. He also took 35 wickets, including 6-17 (which was to remain his career best) against

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 ...

. However, he then became ill and hardly played for three seasons. He went to India in 1885-86 to coach the Parsi cricketers in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, and when the Parsis toured England in 1886 he again acted as their coach.

Return to the game

On his return to playing in 1887 Henderson bowled far less and played generally as a specialist batsman, but nevertheless again established himself in the Surrey side, being

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

the following year. In 1889 he again topped 500 first-class runs, and made several vital half-centuries; he was one of nine

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in the Almanack's 1890 edition. 1891 saw him make his only century, scoring 106 against

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 the next year he was selected for the Players against the Gentlemen 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 ...

Later career

After the 1893 season Henderson played little for his county and did not bowl at all, but he continued to appear occasionally until 1896. He also stood as an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

on three occasions, all before the end of his playing career, including the 1895 and 1896 Gentlemen v Players games. He died at the age of 65 in Wallington,

References

External links

* * 1865 births 1931 deaths Surrey cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Sportspeople from Newport, Wales Welsh cricketers North v South cricketers Players cricketers Welsh cricket coaches C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers {{england-cricket-bio-1850s-stub