William John Humble-Crofts (9 December 1846 – 1 July 1924), born William Humble, was an English clergyman 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 1873 and 1877.

Biography

Humble was born in

Sutton Scarsdale Sutton Scarsdale is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is in the North East Derbyshire district. It is very close to the M1 motorway. It is in the civil parish of Sutton cum Duckmanton. The settlement is notable for a large, ruined former st ...

and was educated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, and took Holy Orders. In 1869 he was playing for Staveley against an All England XI and in 1874 for Worksop against the same team. Humble made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1873 season and scored 11 in his first innings 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 ...

in a match which Derbyshire lost. In the 1874 season he played three first-class matches, and 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 ...

he made his top score of 19. He also played a couple of miscellaneous games for Derbyshire. In the 1877 season he played two first-class matches for Derbyshire which were both against

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

, in one of which Derbyshire's victory was spearheaded by a century by John Platts. Humble also played for Gentlemen of Derbyshire and later for

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the Rev. Willi ...

. Humble was a right-handed batsman lower-middle order batsman and played 10 innings in 6 first-class matches. He made a top score of 19 with an average of 8.55. Humble changed his name to Humble-Crofts in 1879. He was vicar of Clayton-cum-

Frickley Frickley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England in the civil parish of Clayton with Frickley. It lies close to the border with West Yorkshire. Local landmarks All Saints Church Frickley All Saints Church ...

, Yorkshire, in 1881, and in 1882 became rector of Waldron, East Sussex.Kelly's Directory 1911, Waldron, East Sussex
/ref> He remained in this living until his death there at the age of 78. Humble-Crofts' nephew, Archibald White, was club captain of

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

between 1912 and 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humble, William 1846 births 1924 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers People from North East Derbyshire District Cricketers from Derbyshire