Bert Bisgood
Encyclopedia
Bertram Lewis Bisgood, was a cricket
er who played first-class cricket
for Somerset
from 1907 to 1921 as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Known as "Bert" or "Bertie", he was born at Glastonbury
and died at Canford Cliffs
, Dorset
. His older brother Eustace
played in one match for Somerset in 1909.
Bisgood was a right-handed middle-order batsman and occasional wicketkeeper. He made a sensational debut for Somerset in 1907, being picked for the match against Worcestershire
at Worcester when the Somerset captain, Lionel Palairet
, was struggling to find enough players to make up a side. In Somerset's first innings, he came in at No 3 when Palairet was out for a single and proceeded to score 82 in a second wicket stand of 153 with Len Braund
; in the second, he made an unbeaten 116 enabling Somerset to declare, though the match was eventually drawn. Bisgood was the first Somerset cricketer to score a century on debut; the second would be Harold Gimblett
in 1935.
Bisgood went on to make 66 further appearances for Somerset up to 1921, but only once did he come close to matching his success in that first game. He played in nine further matches in 1907 without passing 50 once; after 11 matches in 1908 and eight in 1909, his next score of more than 50 came in 1910; there were two scores of 50 or more in both 1911 and 1912 seasons. In 1914, however, in the match against Gloucestershire
at Taunton, Bisgood had a second triumph. In the first innings, he made 116 in three hours, the second century of his career equalling his first; then in the second innings he led Somerset to a rare victory by making an unbeaten 78 out of a total of 134 for three wickets, made in 70 minutes.
Bisgood reappeared after the First World War in two matches in the 1919 season and then in two university matches in 1921.
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...
for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
from 1907 to 1921 as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Known as "Bert" or "Bertie", he was born at Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
and died at Canford Cliffs
Canford Cliffs
Canford Cliffs is an affluent suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. His older brother Eustace
Eustace Bisgood
Eustace Denis Piers Bisgood was an English cricketer who played for Somerset. He was born in Glastonbury, Somerset and died at Cotmaton, Sidmouth, Devon....
played in one match for Somerset in 1909.
Bisgood was a right-handed middle-order batsman and occasional wicketkeeper. He made a sensational debut for Somerset in 1907, being picked for the match against Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
at Worcester when the Somerset captain, Lionel Palairet
Lionel Palairet
Lionel Charles Hamilton Palairet was a famous cricketer of the so-called "Golden Age" of English cricket before the First World War...
, was struggling to find enough players to make up a side. In Somerset's first innings, he came in at No 3 when Palairet was out for a single and proceeded to score 82 in a second wicket stand of 153 with Len Braund
Len Braund
Leonard Charles Braund, born October 18, 1875, at Clewer, Berkshire, and died December 23, 1955, Putney Common, London, was a cricketer who played for Surrey, Somerset and England....
; in the second, he made an unbeaten 116 enabling Somerset to declare, though the match was eventually drawn. Bisgood was the first Somerset cricketer to score a century on debut; the second would be Harold Gimblett
Harold Gimblett
Harold Gimblett was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. He was known for his fast scoring as an opening batsman and for the much-repeated story of his debut...
in 1935.
Bisgood went on to make 66 further appearances for Somerset up to 1921, but only once did he come close to matching his success in that first game. He played in nine further matches in 1907 without passing 50 once; after 11 matches in 1908 and eight in 1909, his next score of more than 50 came in 1910; there were two scores of 50 or more in both 1911 and 1912 seasons. In 1914, however, in the match against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire 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 Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
at Taunton, Bisgood had a second triumph. In the first innings, he made 116 in three hours, the second century of his career equalling his first; then in the second innings he led Somerset to a rare victory by making an unbeaten 78 out of a total of 134 for three wickets, made in 70 minutes.
Bisgood reappeared after the First World War in two matches in the 1919 season and then in two university matches in 1921.