Dick Pilling
Encyclopedia
Richard Pilling (11 August 1855 in Old Warden
, Bedfordshire
, England
– 28 March 1891 in Old Trafford
, Manchester
, Lancashire
, England) was an English
cricket
er who played first-class cricket
for Lancashire County Cricket Club
and England.
Born near Bedford
to John and Ann Pilling, Dick moved to Church, Accrington
, Lancashire in his infancy, which is where he made his name as one of the finest wicket-keeper
s of his time. In a first-class career lasting from 1877 to 1889 he played 250 matches, 8 of which were Test match
es. In 1889 he was awarded a benefit by Lancashire: he raised £1,500.
His first appearance in the Lancashire eleven dates back to the season of 1877. His appearance for Lancashire was very happily timed, as, with Mr. E. Jackson so often prevented by business reasons from playing, the northern county might have been left without a first-class wicket-keeper. Almost from the first time he was seen in the Lancashire team it was felt that a great wicket-keeper had arisen, and he at once sprang into the front rank. From August, 1877, down to the end of the season of 1889 he was a regular member of the Lancashire eleven, and several pages of Wisden
might easily be filled with a record of his doings. For all the hard work he has done in the cricket field, Pilling was never constitutionally robust, and the serious illness which kept him out of the cricket field in 1890 originated in a severe cold which he caught during the winter when taking part in a football match. At the end of the summer he journeyed to Australia for the benefit of his health, leaving in the same steamer that took a large proportion of the Australian team. In 1891, Pilling was rated by Wisden to the second-best wicket-keeper in the world, with Jack Blackham
being rated the best. His style was described as the perfection of neatness and rapidity, without the least unnecessary show.
Pilling visited Australia
with Alfred Shaw
and Shrewsbury's
team in 1881/2, and went out again under the same auspices in the winter of 1887/8, and it was on these tours and in games played at Lancashire's home ground of Old Trafford
that he played his Test matches. At the time, it was feared that much of his subsequent ill-health dates from a sunstroke that he suffered during the former of these trips. As a batsman Pilling had an excellent style, and had often done capital work for his county. This led to Pilling being named as the Wisden Wicket-keeper of the Year
in 1891. Unfortunately the accolade turned out to be a posthumous one. To try to improve his deteriorating health, he was sent on a cruise to Australia by Lancashire County Cricket Club in the winter 1890/1. It did not work, and Pilling died six days after returning home.
Pilling was a stonemason by trade, and had a wife, Emma, and at least one child, Mary.
Old Warden
Old Warden is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, just west of the town of Biggleswade. It has a population of 275. The village grew up under the protection of the Cistercian Wardon or Warden Abbey nearby....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
– 28 March 1891 in Old Trafford
Old Trafford, Manchester
Old Trafford is in Greater Manchester, England, which lies south-west of Manchester. The crossroads sites of two old toll gates roughly delineate the borders of the area: Brooks's Bar to the east and Trafford Bar to the west....
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England) was an English
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...
cricket
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 Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
and England.
Born near Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
to John and Ann Pilling, Dick moved to Church, Accrington
Accrington
Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
, Lancashire in his infancy, which is where he made his name as one of the finest wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
s of his time. In a first-class career lasting from 1877 to 1889 he played 250 matches, 8 of which were 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. In 1889 he was awarded a benefit by Lancashire: he raised £1,500.
His first appearance in the Lancashire eleven dates back to the season of 1877. His appearance for Lancashire was very happily timed, as, with Mr. E. Jackson so often prevented by business reasons from playing, the northern county might have been left without a first-class wicket-keeper. Almost from the first time he was seen in the Lancashire team it was felt that a great wicket-keeper had arisen, and he at once sprang into the front rank. From August, 1877, down to the end of the season of 1889 he was a regular member of the Lancashire eleven, and several pages of Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
might easily be filled with a record of his doings. For all the hard work he has done in the cricket field, Pilling was never constitutionally robust, and the serious illness which kept him out of the cricket field in 1890 originated in a severe cold which he caught during the winter when taking part in a football match. At the end of the summer he journeyed to Australia for the benefit of his health, leaving in the same steamer that took a large proportion of the Australian team. In 1891, Pilling was rated by Wisden to the second-best wicket-keeper in the world, with Jack Blackham
Jack Blackham
John McCarthy Blackham was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia.A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and the famous Ashes Test match of 1882...
being rated the best. His style was described as the perfection of neatness and rapidity, without the least unnecessary show.
Pilling visited 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...
with Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
and Shrewsbury's
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
team in 1881/2, and went out again under the same auspices in the winter of 1887/8, and it was on these tours and in games played at Lancashire's home ground of Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
that he played his Test matches. At the time, it was feared that much of his subsequent ill-health dates from a sunstroke that he suffered during the former of these trips. As a batsman Pilling had an excellent style, and had often done capital work for his county. This led to Pilling being named as the Wisden Wicket-keeper of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1891. Unfortunately the accolade turned out to be a posthumous one. To try to improve his deteriorating health, he was sent on a cruise to Australia by Lancashire County Cricket Club in the winter 1890/1. It did not work, and Pilling died six days after returning home.
Pilling was a stonemason by trade, and had a wife, Emma, and at least one child, Mary.