Walter Marcon (28 March 1824 – 14 November 1875) was an English cleric, noted as a

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 six first-class matches for

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 1843 and 1844. He had previously established a reputation for extremely

fast bowling Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Schools cricket

Born at

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,9 ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Marcon played for the

First XI in 1841 and 1842, alongside another fast bowler,

Harvey Fellows Harvey Winson Fellows (11 April 1826 in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire – 13 January 1907 in Rickmansworth) was an English amateur cricketer. He was the brother of Walter Fellows. Career Fellows was a right-handed batsman and a roundarm right ...

. Marcon's pace was so fast that he warranted three long stops, despite the wicketkeeper standing well back.

David Frith David Edward John Frith (born 16 March 1937) is a cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of ''Wisden Cricket Monthly''". Life and career David Frith was born in Gloucester Place in Lo ...

, ''The Fast Men'', Transworld Publishing, 1975; p.40-41. In his book ''Cricket'',

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...

wrote that Marcon's deliveries would smash a stump if making a direct hit without bouncing first; he reported his father saying that he "could hardly trace the ball" when fielding at point. Marcon once bowled a ball that knocked the bat out of the batsman's hands and through the wicket.

First-class career

Surprisingly, given his reputation as a bowler, Marcon took no known wickets in his first-class career. Bowling analyses were rarely compiled at the time, and bowlers were not credited with wickets which fell to catches. Marcon went up to

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

, in 1842, and joined the

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, has always held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). ...

in 1843, making his debut against

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) on 24 May at

Bullingdon Green Bullingdon Green was a cricket ground south of Oxford, England. It was associated with the Bullingdon Club and was an important site in the early history of cricket in Oxford. The ground operated as a first-class cricket venue in 1843, hosting t ...

, near

Oxford 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 ...

. Batting third, he scored 2 in the first innings and was

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...

for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

in the second. That was his only match in 1843. In 1844, he played against MCC at the Magdalen College Ground on 30 May, scoring 15 and 5. He then played for the West of England at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

on 24 June, making no score in either innings. He scored another duck followed by his career best 29 playing for Oxford against MCC at Lord's on 27 June. In the

University Match The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. From 2001, as part of the reorganisation of first-class cricket, ...

against

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

at Lord's on 4 July, Marcon scored 24 and eight

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

. His final match was for the West of England against MCC at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

on 5 August, when he scored two and was not out without scoring in the second innings. His bowling analysis was recorded in this match: he took no wickets for eight runs from forty balls.

Later life

Marcon abandoned cricket after he left Oxford to become a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

in Cornwall and eventually the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Edgefield in his native Norfolk. He married Caroline Eliza Hayes Middleton in about 1847, and they had seven children. Walter Marcon died in Edgefield in 1875. The couple's eldest child, also called Walter, succeeded his father as Rector of Edgefield and served there from the 1870s to the 1930s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcon, Walter 1824 births 1875 deaths English cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Oxford University cricketers People from Swaffham West of England cricketers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford 19th-century English Anglican priests People from North Norfolk (district) Cricketers from Norfolk