Benjamin Aislabie
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Aislabie was a cricket
er who played first-class cricket
between 1808 and 1841. A wine merchant by trade who had supplied Lord Nelson with wine, he was also the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club
in 1823 and secretary from 1822 until his death in 1842. Aislabie was notable for having a very poor first-class record wherein he scored only 224 run
s at a meagre batting average
of 3.15 from 56 first-class matches played over a period of 34 years. His lack of skill was further hampered by his girth, and towards the end of his career he was so obese that he had a permanent runner
who also used to field for him.
Lee petitionhttp://www.lewisham.gov.uk/LeisureAndCulture/Libraries/Abolition200/SlaveryInLewisham/LeePetition/ and it is likely he had an opportunity to sign it, but he probably felt unable to do so because of his interests in the West Indies. He died of an abscess
of the throat in 1842.
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 who played first-class cricket
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...
between 1808 and 1841. A wine merchant by trade who had supplied Lord Nelson with wine, he was also the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in 1823 and secretary from 1822 until his death in 1842. Aislabie was notable for having a very poor first-class record wherein he scored only 224 run
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
s at a meagre batting average
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 :...
of 3.15 from 56 first-class matches played over a period of 34 years. His lack of skill was further hampered by his girth, and towards the end of his career he was so obese that he had a permanent runner
Runner (cricket)
In cricket, a runner is a team member who runs between the wickets for an injured batsman.When a runner is used, the batsman stands in position and plays shots as normal, but does not attempt to run between the wickets: the runner runs for him...
who also used to field for him.
Personal life
Little is known of Aislabie's life prior to 1802, the year in which he joined the MCC. He was an overseer for Lee Parish with Mr Sidery in 1814 and took great interest in distributing charities to the poor during the harsh winter of 1814. He allowed the parish to store coal and potatoes to distribute to the poor during the 13-week frost. He employed a number of the poor in the winter of 1814 and found other ways to alleviate their hardship during this time.He was resident in Lee at the time of the Anti-slaveryAbolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
Lee petitionhttp://www.lewisham.gov.uk/LeisureAndCulture/Libraries/Abolition200/SlaveryInLewisham/LeePetition/ and it is likely he had an opportunity to sign it, but he probably felt unable to do so because of his interests in the West Indies. He died of an abscess
Abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue in which the pus resides due to an infectious process or other foreign materials...
of the throat in 1842.