Thomas Foster (15 December 1848 – 22 March 1929) 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 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 ...

between 1873 and 1884. He topped the scoring for the club in three seasons. Foster was born in Mill Town,

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

, the son of Robert Foster a cotton weaver.British Census 1881 He started playing cricket for local Glossop clubs but went professional with the Clifford Club, in Manchester in 1872. In the following 1873 season, Foster made his debut for Derbyshire in a match 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 ...

playing in the middle order to make 17 and 8, although the match was lost. He made a similar performance in one match in the 1874 season in a victory 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 ...

, when he also took a wicket. Foster came into his own during the 1875 season, making several excellent appearances at the crease in the middle-order during this season in some good wins for Derbyshire. He was top scorer for the club in the season with 227 runs He played all the club's matches in the

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sio ...

and 1878 seasons with steady batting, but none to match 1875. In the 1879 season, he was top scorer again with 269 and topped the batting averages, while in the 1880 season he made 322 to become top scorer again. In 1880 he played as part of a

Gentlemen v. Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

match. He played regularly in the

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

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and 1883 seasons. In his final year at the club, in the 1884 season, he played five games, dropping to the tailend in the final fixture of his career and losing out to Yorkshire in his final match. While playing for Derbyshire he played at club level for Glossop, the Raistrick Club in Yorkshire and for Market Bosworth. Foster was a right-handed batsman and played 167 innings in 90 first-class matches. His top score was 101 and his average 16.11. He was also an occasional wicket-keeper and a right-arm round-arm fast bowler taking 9 wickets at an average of 25.88.Thomas Foster at Cricket Archive
/ref> Before 1881 he had become a licensed victualler, running the "Arundel Arms", a pub with accommodation, at Glossop or Hadfield and by 1883 he was running the "Pear Tree" at East Glossop. Foster returned to the game as an umpire, being active in 1889. During the 1892 season, Foster umpired ten first-class matches 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 ...

. Foster married Hannah Woodward and had a family. He died in East Glossop at the age of 81. Foster was of no relation to

Fostershire ‘Fostershire’ was a name jocularly applied to Worcestershire County Cricket Club in the early part of the 20th century, shortly after the county had achieved first-class status and admission into the English County Championship (in 1899). The ...

, the seven brothers, all surnamed Foster, who played for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

in the early 20th century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Thomas 1848 births 1929 deaths People from Glossop Cricketers from Derbyshire English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Players of the North cricketers North v South cricketers Non-international England cricketers