Unwin Sowter (22 April 1839 – 14 April 1910) was an English corn factor and miller 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 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 1871 and 1876. He was a member of the team that played Derbyshire's first match in May 1871. Sowter was born at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, the son of William Sowter and his wife Hannah Unwin. His father had a bakery business which he developed into corn factoring and malting. Sowton attended

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational an ...

and joined the family business with his brothers. Sowter was one of the pioneers of cricket in Derby and around. He played against the

All England Eleven In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ''ad hoc'' teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England (or sometimes "All-England"; i.e., in the sense of "the rest of England") to play against, ...

as part of a Derby Town and South Derbyshire side in 1857 and 1859. The latter team included Lord Stanhope, Lord Paget, the Bodens, and Dove Gregory, and there was "considerable attendance of spectators, among whom were most of the neighbouring gentry and their families, and gay throngs of ladies". In 1865 Sowter played for a

Burton on Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

side. Sowter took part in Derbyshire's very first match played as a County Cricket team 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 ...

on 26 and 27 May 1871 at Old Trafford, Manchester. A victory for Derbyshire was down to a record low score by the Lancashire side. He played in both Derbyshire matches in the 1871 season and was top scorer for the season. He played one match in the 1872 season and one in the 1873 season. He played two matches in the 1875 season and his last match in the 1876 season. He took part in various other matches over these years. Sowter was a right-handed batsman and played 11 innings in 7 first-class games with an average of 12.8 and a top score of 47 not out. Sowter was still playing in occasional games in 1879, and for many years afterwards was a vice-president of the Club and a member of the Committee. He was well known as the proprietor of the Sowter Brothers flour mill next to the Silk Mill in Derby. He was also a director of the brewers Z Smith & Company. In public life he served as an alderman of Derby and was Mayor of Derby in 1879–80. He was also a J. P.Bygone Derbyshire Unwin Sowter
/ref> Sowter died in

at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowter, Unwin 1839 births 1910 deaths English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Cricketers from Derby