Thomas Gowland Eden (9 May 1855 – 19 November 1914) was a New Zealand

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 ...

and farmer who played 11 games of

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 ...

for

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

between 1875 and 1891.

Cricket career

Tom Eden was a prominent bowler in a period of low scores. In his second first-class match he took 9 for 43 and 5 for 20, as well as top-scoring in Nelson's first innings with 17 at No. 10, when Nelson beat

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

by four wickets at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

in 1875–76. He was Nelson's most successful bowler, with four wickets, when James Lillywhite's XI visited in February 1877 shortly before playing the inaugural

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. At the Basin Reserve in 1877-78 Eden took 11 wickets when Nelson beat Wellington by 85 runs. The complete bowling analyses are unavailable, but as he bowled unchanged through both innings, in which Wellington's batsmen scored only 88 runs, his match figures are likely to have been 11 for around 40 to 50. Later in his career he played as a batsman, making his highest first-class score of 25 (which was also Nelson's top score) in his last innings.

Personal life

Tom Eden married Marion Hastilow on 21 July 1883 in St Paul's Church,

Brightwater Brightwater (Māori language, Māori: ''Wairoa'') is a town southwest of Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson in Tasman Region, Tasman district in the South Island of New Zealand. It stands on the banks of the Wairoa River, Tasman, Wairoa River. Bright ...

, south-west of

. He established a

hop A hop is a type of jump. Hop or hops may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hop'' (film), a 2011 film * Hop! Channel, an Israeli TV channel * ''House of Payne'', or ''HOP'', an American sitcom * Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and ...

farm at Bridge Valley, south-east of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life. He died at home aged 59 after a long and painful illness.

References

External links

*
Tom Eden
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Eden, Tom 1855 births 1914 deaths New Zealand farmers New Zealand cricketers Nelson cricketers Cricketers from Nelson, New Zealand