Clement Booth (11 May 1842 – 14 July 1926) 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 ide ...

first-class

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 and administrator. Booth played

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 officiall ...

for several teams, but was largely associated with

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

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 ...

and the

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 ...

. He was Hampshire County Cricket Club's second

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

at first-class level. As an administrator, he was the honorary secretary of both Lincolnshire and Hampshire.

Early life and cricket career

The son of The Reverend Thomas Willingham Booth, he was born in May 1842 at Friskney, Lincolnshire. Booth was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, where he was coached in cricket by

Alfred Diver Alfred John Day Diver (6 July 1823 – 25 March 1876) was an English first-class cricketer whose career spanned the 1843 season to the 1866 season. Diver played mainly for Cambridge Town Club (''aka'' Cambridgeshire) and also played for Midd ...

and

Daniel Hayward Daniel Hayward (1807 – 29 May 1852) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1832 to 1851. He was the father of Cambridge batsmen Thomas Hayward and Daniel Hayward junior; and the grandfather of Tom Hayward, t ...

. From there, he matriculated to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. At Cambridge, Booth excelled at sport, gaining

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

in both cricket and athletics. As a member of

Cambridge University Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, first recorded in 1817, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. Depending on the circumstances of each individual match, the club has always been recognised as holding ...

, he made his debut in

for the University against the

(MCC) at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard ...

in 1862. He played first-class cricket for the University until 1865, making ten appearances, which included four 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, ...

. Booth played minor matches for an early Lincolnshire county organisation, acting as its honorary secretary from 1867 until the end 1871, when he resigned. In the same year as his resignation from Lincolnshire, played first-class cricket for the MCC. His first appearance for the MCC came against Cambridge University 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 ...

in 1871, with him making 40 appearances for the MCC from 1871 to 1886. Booth scored 1,013 runs for the MCC at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 15.58; he made one half century, a score of 78.

Hampshire cricket and later life

In 1872, Booth had moved to

where he was a farmer at New House Farm in Kilmeston. Upon moving south, he played minor matches for

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

from 1873, later captaining the club 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 ...

, which was their first appearance in first-class cricket since 1870; Booth was the club's second captain, after the late

George Ede George Matthew Ede (22 February 1834 — 13 March 1870) was an English people, English first-class cricketer and a Grand National winning jockey. A founding member of Hampshire County Cricket Club, he was the club's first Captain (cricket), ca ...

. He played first-class cricket for Hampshire until 1880, making 20 appearances. In these, he scored 620 runs at an average of 17.71; he made three half centuries, recording a highest score of 78. Booth was captain until 1878, being replaced by Arthur Wood in 1879. In addition to playing cricket for Hampshire, he also served as the club's honorary secretary from 1874 to 1879, being succeeded by

Russell Bencraft Sir Henry William Russell Bencraft (4 March 1858 — 25 December 1943) was an English first-class cricketer, sports administrator, medical doctor, businessman and philanthropist. Bencraft was an important figure in the early history of Hampsh ...

. Upon his appointment to the position, Booth endeavoured to improve the fortunes of Hampshire cricket, although he was unsuccessful in improving the Hampshire's fortunes. Besides his lengthy associations with Cambridge University, the MCC and Hampshire, Booth also played first-class cricket on three occasions for the South in the

North v South The North of England and South of England cricket teams appeared in first-class cricket between the 1836 and 1961 seasons, most often in matches against each other but also individually in games against touring teams, Marylebone Cricket Club ( ...

match, as well as making a single appearance each for the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

and an Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present team. ''

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 ...

'' described Booth's as a "sound free batsman, with strong back play and a fine cut, and an excellent

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

at long-leg and cover". By March 1881, his farm had encountered financial difficulties, with Booth being declared bankrupt. Following his bankruptcy, he returned to farming in Lincolnshire at Hundleby Grange near

Spilsby Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegness. It ...

. He played

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obs ...

for Spilsby in the 1880s and was associated with Skegness Cricket Club into the 1890s and the turn of the century, helping to organise matches for the club against the MCC and acting as the club's president. In March 1917, Booth and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, having married at

Elkstone Elkstone is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, the parish had a population of 203, increasing to 248 at the 2011 census Approximately south of its post town, Cheltenham, an ...

near

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

in March 1867. Booth died at Spilsby in July 1926.Famous cricketer death. ''Louth Standard''. 10 July 1926. p. 15

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Clement 1842 births 1926 deaths People from Spilsby People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers English cricket administrators 19th-century English farmers Hampshire cricketers Hampshire cricket captains Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present cricketers 20th-century English farmers Cricketers from Lincolnshire