H. D. G. Leveson Gower
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| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower | |||
| Born | 8 May 1873 Limpsfield, Surrey, England |
|||
| Died | 1 February 1954 (aged 80) Kensington, London, England |
|||
| Nickname | Shrimp | |||
| Batting style | Right-handed | |||
| Bowling style | Right arm leg break | |||
| International information | ||||
| National side | England | |||
| Test debut (cap 166) | 1 January 1910 v South Africa | |||
| Last Test | 3 March 1910 v South Africa | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 1895 – 1920 | Surrey | |||
| 1893 – 1896 | Oxford University | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | Tests | First-class | ||
| Matches | 3 | 277 | ||
| Runs scored | 95 | 7,638 | ||
| Batting average | 23.75 | 23.72 | ||
| 100s/50s | 0/0 | 4/42 | ||
| Top score | 31 | 155 | ||
| Balls bowled | 0 | 2,261 | ||
| Wickets | – | 46 | ||
| Bowling average | – | 29.95 | ||
| 5 wickets in innings | – | 3 | ||
| 10 wickets in match | – | 0 | ||
| Best bowling | – | 6/49 | ||
| Catches/stumpings | 1/– | 103/– | ||
| Source: Cricinfo, 11 November 2008 | ||||
Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower (pronounced "Loosen Gore", /ˈluːsən ˈɡɔər/; 8 May 1873 in Titsey Place, Surrey – 1 February 1954 in London) was an English cricketer who played for Oxford University and Surrey as well as England. He captained England in all three of the Test matches he played, winning one and losing two against South Africa in 1909/10, with Frederick Fane captaining on the other two Test matches of the series.
He was captain of Surrey from 1908 to 1910, and the club's president from 1929 to 1939. He was an England Test selector in 1909, and chairman of selectors in 1924 and from 1927 to 1930.[1] Leveson Gower was knighted for his services to cricket in 1953. In the same year he published a book of reminiscences entitled Off and On the Field. For fifty years he played a major role in organising the Scarborough Festival which takes place at the end of each English cricket season.[2]
Leveson Gower was nicknamed "Shrimp" but few cricket sources refer to him by anything other than his initials. During a tour of America in 1897 organised by Plum Warner[3] that Leveson Gower took part in, the Philadelphian journalist Ralph D. Paine published the following piece of humorous verse concerning the pronunciation of his surname:
- At one end stocky Jessop frowned,
- The human catapult
- Who wrecks the roofs of distant towns
- When set in his assault.
- His mate was that perplexing man
- We know as "Looshun-Gore",
- It isn’t spelt at all that way,
- We don’t know what it’s for.
- But as with Cholmondeley and St. John[4]
- The alphabet is mixed,
- And Yankees cannot help but ask -
- "Why don't you get it fixed?"[5]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Archie MacLaren |
English national cricket captain 1909/10 |
Succeeded by Johnny Douglas |
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Cricket Captains of England, Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, ISBN 1-85145-390-3, p112
- ^ Barclays World of Cricket - 2nd Edition, 1980, Collins Publishers, ISBN 0002163497, p183.
- ^ Warner's Wisden obituary refers
- ^ Pronounced Chumly and Sinjun respectively
- ^ The Cricket Captains of England, Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, ISBN 1-85145-390-3, p114
[edit] External reference
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