Walter William Read (born 23 November 1855 in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

, Surrey, died 6 January 1907 in

Addiscombe Park Addiscombe Railway Park, also known as the Addiscombe Linear Park, is a park in Addiscombe, South London, managed by the London Borough of Croydon. The first section of the park was opened on 26 May 2007, with the second stage opened on 15 ...

, Surrey) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

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 st ...

. A fluent right hand bat, he was also an occasional bowler of lobs who sometimes switched to quick overarm deliveries. He captained England in two Test matches, winning them both. Read was named a

Wisden Cricketer 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 1893.

Cricket career

Read took part in the original Ashes series of 1882–3 and is commemorated by the poem inscribed on the side of the urn: :''When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn;'' :'' Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return;'' :''The welkin will ring loud,'' :''The great crowd will feel proud,'' :''Seeing Barlow and

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Ellingt ...

with the urn, the urn;'' :''And the rest coming home with the urn.'' He played for Surrey from 1873 to 1897, scoring 338 for them 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 ...

in 1888. At the time, it was the second highest first-class score ever made. He was a member of the side that won 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 b ...

in 1890-2, 1894 and 1895. After W. G. Grace he was the most prolific amateur of his day. He became the first number 10 to score a hundred in Test cricket when he made 117 against Australia at The Oval in 1884. His match-saving innings remains the highest score by a No. 10 in Tests. He reached his century in 113 minutes with 36 scoring strokes. His partnership of 151 with

William Scotton William Henry Scotton (15 January 1856 – 9 July 1893) was a cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and England. Scotton played his first match at Lord's for Sixteen Colts of England against the Marylebone Cricket Club on ...

remains England's highest for the ninth wicket against Australia. According to Sir Home Gordon, Read was furious at being held down so low in the order.

References

External links

CricketArchive page on Walter Read

''Annals of Cricket'' by W. W. Read (1896)
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Walter 1855 births 1907 deaths England Test cricketers England Test cricket captains English cricketers Surrey cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year People from Reigate Gentlemen of the South cricketers East of England cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Lyric Club cricketers Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers

Cricket career

See also

References

Further reading

External links