Andy Sandham
Encyclopedia
Andrew Sandham was an English cricket
er, a right-handed batsman who played 14 Test match
es between 1921 and 1930. He scored over 40,000 first-class
runs, but bowled only very rarely; he took just 18 wickets in his career.
Sandham made his Surrey
debut in 1911, and was capped in 1913. In his 26 years at the county Sandham formed a formidable opening partnership with Jack Hobbs
, and the two put on a hundred for the first wicket on 66 occasions, the highest of these the 428 they accumulated against Oxford University
in 1926. He passed 2,000 runs in eight seasons, and during the middle part of his career between 1924 and 1931 averaged
above 50 in all but two years. He scored an unbeaten 292 against Northants, being denied his triple century only by Percy Fender's declaration, and still holds three record Surrey partnerships, including the 173 he put on with Andy Ducat
for the 10th wicket at Leyton after suffering a bout of food poisoning.
Sandham made his England
debut in 1921 against Australia
, inching his way to 21 in 81 minutes before being bowled by a 'snorter' from Ted McDonald
. He went to South Africa
in 1922-23 but made only one half-century in his nine innings, and though he was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1923, he again failed to make much of an impression either against the South Africans
in 1924 or in Australia the following winter. In 1924 Herbert Sutcliffe
made his Test debut, and his success as Hobbs' opening partner restricted Sandham's opportunities subsequently. He played only five innings against Australia during his career and thought that the greatest regret of his career. Sandham went to South Africa in 1926-27 and scored heavily in the matches against domestic opposition, averaging above 60, but was not picked for any of the Tests.
However, he did play in the Caribbean
series in 1929-30, and it was here that he achieved his greatest fame. In the first Test at Bridgetown he made 152 and 51. In the next two games he failed completely, making 0 and 5 at Port of Spain
and then 9 and 0 at Georgetown
. In the fourth and final Test at Kingston
, however, he became the first Test triple-centurion when he compiled a mammoth 325 out of England's equally imposing total of 849, beating R. E. Foster's individual Test score record of 287, which had stood for twenty-seven years. The theoretically timeless match was in fact abandoned as a draw after nine days, but Sandham had still had time to make 50 in the second innings; he had scored 592 runs in the series. His aggregate of 375 in the match stood as the Test record until Greg Chappell
eclipsed it. He made the runs with a long-handled bat borrowed from his captain Freddie Calthorpe
and a pair of ill-fitting boots borrowed from Patsy Hendren
. At 39 years and 272 days, he is, by almost five years, the oldest player to break the individual scoring record in Tests.
Sandham went to South Africa with MCC in 1930/31. He broke a bone in his ankle in a motor accident in Durban
in December. It required a small operation and ended his tour after two first class matches. The Kingston Test was therefore to be Sandham's final match at Test level, and his 325 is by some distance the highest score in a final Test match.
He continued to appear regularly for Surrey for a number of years, scoring 219 against the touring Australians in 1934, a record for a county player against that opposition. He recorded his hundredth first-class hundred in 1935 on a damp pitch at Basingstoke, reaching the milestone with 'a flick behind square'. He made 239 against Glamorgan
as late as June 1937, only a month short of his 47th birthday. He scored 102 in his final match in England, against Sussex
at Hove
, but had an unusual end to his career, playing three games at Buenos Aires
for Sir TEW Brinkman's XI against Argentina
in 1937-38. These matches were designated as first-class, and so he ended with a whimper, not reaching 30 in any of his six innings in South America.
After the war
, Sandham returned to Surrey as coach and delighted in the county's seven successive County Championship
titles in the 1950s, later becoming the club's scorer.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, a right-handed batsman who played 14 Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
es between 1921 and 1930. He scored over 40,000 first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
runs, but bowled only very rarely; he took just 18 wickets in his career.
Sandham made his Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
debut in 1911, and was capped in 1913. In his 26 years at the county Sandham formed a formidable opening partnership with Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
, and the two put on a hundred for the first wicket on 66 occasions, the highest of these the 428 they accumulated against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
in 1926. He passed 2,000 runs in eight seasons, and during the middle part of his career between 1924 and 1931 averaged
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
above 50 in all but two years. He scored an unbeaten 292 against Northants, being denied his triple century only by Percy Fender's declaration, and still holds three record Surrey partnerships, including the 173 he put on with Andy Ducat
Andy Ducat
Andrew Ducat was an England and Surrey cricketer and an England footballer, being one of an elite group to have represented their country in both sports.-Cricket career:...
for the 10th wicket at Leyton after suffering a bout of food poisoning.
Sandham made his England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
debut in 1921 against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, inching his way to 21 in 81 minutes before being bowled by a 'snorter' from Ted McDonald
Ted McDonald
Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald was a cricketer who played for Tasmania, Victoria, Lancashire and Australia, as well as being an Australian rules footballer who played with Launceston Football Club, Essendon Football Club, and Fitzroy Football Club.A very fast bowler with the...
. He went to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1922-23 but made only one half-century in his nine innings, and though he was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1923, he again failed to make much of an impression either against the South Africans
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
in 1924 or in Australia the following winter. In 1924 Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
made his Test debut, and his success as Hobbs' opening partner restricted Sandham's opportunities subsequently. He played only five innings against Australia during his career and thought that the greatest regret of his career. Sandham went to South Africa in 1926-27 and scored heavily in the matches against domestic opposition, averaging above 60, but was not picked for any of the Tests.
However, he did play in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
series in 1929-30, and it was here that he achieved his greatest fame. In the first Test at Bridgetown he made 152 and 51. In the next two games he failed completely, making 0 and 5 at Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
and then 9 and 0 at Georgetown
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
. In the fourth and final Test at Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, however, he became the first Test triple-centurion when he compiled a mammoth 325 out of England's equally imposing total of 849, beating R. E. Foster's individual Test score record of 287, which had stood for twenty-seven years. The theoretically timeless match was in fact abandoned as a draw after nine days, but Sandham had still had time to make 50 in the second innings; he had scored 592 runs in the series. His aggregate of 375 in the match stood as the Test record until Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
eclipsed it. He made the runs with a long-handled bat borrowed from his captain Freddie Calthorpe
Freddie Calthorpe
Frederick Somerset Gough Calthorpe , styled The Honourable from 1912, was an English cricketer....
and a pair of ill-fitting boots borrowed from Patsy Hendren
Patsy Hendren
Elias Henry Hendren better known as Patsy Hendren was an English cricketer. Patsy was one of the most prolific English batsmen of the period between the wars, averaging 47.63 in his 51 Test matches...
. At 39 years and 272 days, he is, by almost five years, the oldest player to break the individual scoring record in Tests.
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
in December. It required a small operation and ended his tour after two first class matches. The Kingston Test was therefore to be Sandham's final match at Test level, and his 325 is by some distance the highest score in a final Test match.
He continued to appear regularly for Surrey for a number of years, scoring 219 against the touring Australians in 1934, a record for a county player against that opposition. He recorded his hundredth first-class hundred in 1935 on a damp pitch at Basingstoke, reaching the milestone with 'a flick behind square'. He made 239 against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
as late as June 1937, only a month short of his 47th birthday. He scored 102 in his final match in England, against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
at Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, but had an unusual end to his career, playing three games at Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
for Sir TEW Brinkman's XI against Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1937-38. These matches were designated as first-class, and so he ended with a whimper, not reaching 30 in any of his six innings in South America.
After the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Sandham returned to Surrey as coach and delighted in the county's seven successive County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
titles in the 1950s, later becoming the club's scorer.