Sir Timothy Carew O'Brien, 3rd Baronet (5 November 1861 – 9 December 1948) was an Irish

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

who played

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 str ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in five Test matches.

Life and career

Tim O'Brien was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and educated at the Catholic school Downside in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

.''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' 1949, pp. 867–68. He went to New Inn Hall,

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 ...

, principally in order to further his cricket career. A forceful right-handed batsman, O'Brien won a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

in 1884 and 1885. He went on to play 266

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

matches as an amateur 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 th ...

and in fairly regular appearances for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

through to 1898. His 92 for Oxford against the 1884

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

was instrumental in the university's only victory over an Australian team. He played for England against Australia at Old Trafford that year and again four years later at Lord's, but in neither game did his distinguish himself. He toured with

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) teams twice: in 1887–88 he went with George Vernon to Australia and in 1895–96 he went with

Lord Hawke Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near G ...

's side to South Africa, where he acted as captain once against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

at Port Elizabeth in February 1896, winning the game largely as a result of George Lohmann's match return of 15/45 (7/38 and 8/7). In county cricket, he was known for hard hitting innings, with a highest score of 202, scored as part of a partnership with Robert Slade Lucas that put on 338 in 200 minutes against Sussex in 1895. Uniquely, O'Brien captained Ireland as well as England, recording a top score of 167 against his alma mater for the country of his birth during a brief Irish tour of England. This remained an Irish record until 1973. O'Brien married Gundrede Annette Teresa de Trafford, daughter of Sir

Humphrey de Trafford Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 2nd Baronet (1 May 1808 – 4 May 1886) was a prominent English Catholic. Born at Croston Hall near Chorley, Lancashire on 1 May 1808, he was the fourth child and the eldest son of Sir Thomas de Trafford. Early lif ...

2nd baronet on 26 September 1885 at All Saints Church, Barton-upon-Irwell and they had 10 children, one of whom, Timothy Jnr., died in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Another child, daughter Sicele O'Brien was a well known pioneer pilot. Sir Timothy was, at the time of his death in 1948, the oldest cricketer to have played in England-Australia Tests. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

also played international cricket for Ireland.

References

External links

* *
CricketArchive page on Tim O'Brien
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Tim, 3rd Baronet 1861 births 1948 deaths People educated at Downside School Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Irish cricketers England Test cricket captains Free Foresters cricketers Middlesex cricketers Oxford University cricketers Cricketers from Dublin (city) I Zingari cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Lord Hawke's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Lyric Club cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers L. G. Robinson's XI cricketers Earl De La Warr's XI cricketers W. G. Grace's XI cricketers England Test cricketers

Life and career

See also

References

External links