Sir Henry John Mordaunt, 12th Baronet (12 July 1867 – 15 January 1939) was an English baronet and

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. Mordaunt was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

who bowled right-arm fast.

Cricket career

Mordaunt made his first-class debut for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

in the 1885

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 ...

playing a single match in the club's final season with first-class status 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_ ...

. Mordaunt played as an

all rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

. After this, Mordaunt continued his education at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, where he captained the college cricket team, and led Eton to victory over

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

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 ...

for the first time since 1876. Upon completing his education at Eton, Mordaunt attended

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. Mordaunt made his debut for

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 ...

against CI Thornton's XI. He played 15 first-class matches for Cambridge University between 1888 and 1889, with his final match for Cambridge the 1889 Varsity match against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

at Lord's. In Mordaunt's 15 first-class matches for the university he scored 600 runs at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 23.07, with three half centuries and a single century which gave Mordaunt his highest first-class score of 127 against Oxford University in his final match for Cambridge. With the ball Mordaunt took 38 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 20.39, with best figures of 4/29. In the field Mordaunt took 7

catches Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke In music * Cat ...

for the university. During his time playing for the university, Mordaunt also played a single first-class match for an England XI against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

. In 1889, Mordaunt made his debut for

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 ...

against

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 ...

. Mordaunt represented the county in seven first-class matches, playing four from 1889 to 1890, and then three further matches for the county in 1893, with his final first-class match for Middlesex coming against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. In 1890, Mordaunt played a single first-class match for

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wa ...

against the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

, where he took figures of 5/17 in the Gentlemen's second innings. Mordaunt's final first-class match came his one and only appearance for 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 ...

against Cambridge University in 1896. In Mordaunt's overall first-class career, he scored 729 runs at a batting average of 15.51, with three half centuries, one century and a high score of 127. With the ball Mordaunt took 49 wickets at a bowling average of 21.16, with one

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

which gave him best bowling figures of 5/17.

Educational career

Mordaunt was Assistant Master at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

in 1890; and

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

from 1891 to 1892. Mordaunt was also Chief Clerk of the London City Council Education Committee from 1904 to 1924.

Death

Mordaunt died at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, London on 15 January 1939.

Family

Mordaunt became the 12th Baronet of the Mordaunt Baronets in 1934 following the death of his cousin Sir Osbert Mordaunt, 11th Baronet. Mordaunt's father

John Mordaunt John Mordaunt may refer to: *John Mordaunt (speaker) (d. 1504), Tudor politician and Speaker of the House of Commons *John Mordaunt, 1st Baron Mordaunt (d. 1562) *John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt (1508–1571) *John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborou ...

, brothers

Eustace Eustace, also rendered Eustis, ( ) is the rendition in English of two phonetically similar Greek given names: *Εὔσταχυς (''Eústachys'') meaning "fruitful", "fecund"; literally "abundant in grain"; its Latin equivalents are ''Fæcundus/Fe ...

and

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

and cousin Sir Osbert all played first-class cricket. His uncle,

Sir Charles Mordaunt, 10th Baronet Sir Charles Mordaunt, 10th Baronet (28 April 1836 – 15 October 1897) was a wealthy English country gentleman, a Conservative Member of Parliament for South Warwickshire (1859–1868) and High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1879. He became notor ...

, was involved in a sensational divorce case of 1870 that concerned, among other things, a possible relationship between his wife Harriet and the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mordaunt, Henry 1867 births 1939 deaths 19th-century English people 20th-century English people Cricketers from Westminster People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Middlesex cricketers Mordaunt baronets Schoolteachers from Bristol I Zingari cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Schoolteachers from Essex