Walter Ambrose Bettesworth (24 November 1856 – 23 February 1929) was an English cricketer and cricket writer. Bettesworth was educated at Ardingly College in Sussex. A hard-hitting batsman, slow round-arm bowler and energetic field at cover point, he played 21 first-class matches for Sussex between 1878 and 1883. He also played once for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in 1884 against the

Philadelphians The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a 17th-century English dissenter group. They were organized around John Pordage (1607–1681), an Anglican priest from Bradfield, Berkshire, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 bec ...

. His highest first-class score was 77, the highest score on either side in the match, when Sussex defeated

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

in 1881. His best bowling figures were 5 for 66 in Sussex's loss to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

later that season, when he also made 32 and 59, Sussex's top score. After finishing at Ardingly as a pupil Bettesworth returned there to teach, then taught at Blair College in Scotland. Later he became a journalist and one of the best-known writers on the game. He was on the staff of the ''Cricket Field'' from 1892 to 1895, assistant editor of ''Cricket'' from 1896 to 1905, and cricket editor of '' The Field'' from 1906 to 1928. He wrote three books on the game: ''A Royal Road to Cricket'', ''

The Walkers of Southgate The Walkers of Southgate were an English cricketing family who lived at Arnos Grove house in Southgate, Middlesex, England. The family fortune was partly built through the brewing company Taylor Walker, and the Walker brothers – seven of t ...

'', and ''Chats on the Cricket Field''.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bettesworth, Walter 1856 births 1929 deaths People educated at Ardingly College Sussex cricketers English cricketers People from Horndean Gentlemen cricketers Cricket historians and writers