Arthur Mold
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 England (Eng) |
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| Batting style | Right-handed batsman (RHB) | |
| Bowling type | Right-arm fast | |
| Tests | First-class | |
| Matches | 3 | 287 |
| Runs scored | 0 | 1,850 |
| Batting average | 0.00 | 7.14 |
| 100s/50s | 0/0 | 0/2 |
| Top score | 0* | 57 |
| Balls bowled | 491 | 62278 |
| Wickets | 7 | 1,673 |
| Bowling average | 33.42 | 15.54 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 0 | 152 |
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | 56 |
| Best bowling | 3/44 | 9/29 |
| Catches/stumpings | 1/0 | 111/0 |
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Test debut: 17 July 1893 |
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Arthur Mold (May 29, 1863, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire – April 27, 1921, Middleton Cheney) was one of the deadliest fast bowlers of his day, but also the most controversial. Despite his very short (four paces) run, Mold could generate great speed and often make the ball break back viciously even on hard, firm, ground. On drying or crumbling wickets, Mold was almost unplayable, and for both his native Northamptonshire (then not a first-class county) and Lancashire, Mold was a prolific wicket-taker.
With left-arm slow bowler Johnny Briggs, Mold formed a perfectly-contrasted bowling combination that was so deadly that Lancashire's lack of support bowlers was very rarely a problem. On as many as five occasions between 1890 and 1895 the pair bowled unchanged throughout both completed innings of a match, doing so twice in one week in 1895, whilst they were unchanged through an innings a great many other times - and a number of times missed out on this distinction only so they could change ends. Mold reached 100 wickets in 1889 for less than 12 runs each, took 118 in 1890 with a top performance of 9 for 43 for Charles Thornton's Eleven against the Australians, and 138 in 1891. Mold was rewarded for his deadly work with a Cricketer of the Year nomination by Wisden in 1892. In 1893, Mold took 166 wickets and played his only Tests . He was the leading first-class wicket-taker with 207 wickets in 1894. In 1895, Mold improved still further, taking a personal best 213 wickets. During this time, Wisden described his bowling with the most lavish praise, even when, as against Nottinghamshire and Kent in June 1895, he was helped by distinctly worn pitches:
- Next day, with one notable exception, Sussex collapsed in deplorable fashion before the wonderful bowling of Mold... The fast bowler maintained a remarkable pitch and pace, and occasionally whipped back in a manner which the visiting batsmen were quite unable to withstand.
- "After the triumph of the Lancashire batsmen Mold bowled so grandly that in three hours fourteen Kent wickets went down for 115 runs"
- "The way he made the ball break back on the hard ground was quite marvellous"
From 1896 onwards there was a decline in performance.
In 1900 at Trent Bridge Mold's suspect delivery was no-balled by Jim Phillips. He continued to play in the next few matches, but at the meeting of the county captains, Mold's delivery was condemned by 11 votes to 1. In 1901 he was no-balled 16 times in 10 overs (again by Phillips). This effectively ended his career though his name is found in significant minor cricket until 1910.
