English cricket team in West Indies in 1912-13
Encyclopedia
The seventh team of English cricketers toured the West Indies in the 1912-13 season. The tour was organised by MCC
. As in 1910-11, the team was captained by AWF Somerset. The tour involved a total of 9 matches, all of which are regarded as first-class
, between January and March 1913.
A party of 13 was taken:
AWF Somerset, his son APFC Somerset, DCF Burton, SG Smith and TAL Whittington has toured with the previous MCC team of 1910-11. Three good professionals were included in Humphreys, Relf and Razor Smith. Cecil Burton, Sydney Smith and Tom Whittington had performed well on the previous tour and were arguably the best of the amateurs. As in the previous MCC tour the remaining players had little first class experience. Despite being 57 years old the captain kept wicket in all the matches.
The side arrived in Barbados on the RMS Magdalena
on 27 January.
Matches played were:
Of the 9 first class matches played in Barbados
, Trinidad
and British Guiana
, 5 were won, 3 lost and 1 drawn.
The tourists lost the first two matches against Barbados by an innings but then defeated a West Indies XI with Humphreys taking 13 wickets.
Moving on to Trinidad, the tourists won the first match but were lucky to draw the second. In the second match against the West Indies XI, Ince made 167 for the home side and they won by an innings. Cumberbatch was bowled when he shouldered his bat because he had been distracted by leaves blowing across the pitch. Given out by the umpire, he appealed to Somerset and was allowed to continue his innings, a sporting gesture by the captain. Burton and the captain added 89 for the last wicket in the MCC second innings and were only separated with 20 minutes remaining.
In British Guiana, the two matches against the colony were won comfortably and the third match against the West Indies XI was also won by 10 wickets with Humphreys scoring a century adding 152 with Whittington. Jaques and the captain added 80 for the last wicket. Moulder carried his bat in the West Indies second innings.
The three professionals headed the batting averages and with Sydney Smith took most of the wickets. Burton, Whittington and Sydney Smith also performed well with the bat.
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...
. As in 1910-11, the team was captained by AWF Somerset. The tour involved a total of 9 matches, all of which are regarded as 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...
, between January and March 1913.
A party of 13 was taken:
- AWF Somerset, Captain
- DCF Burton
- BP Dobson
- GAM Docker
- MHC Doll
- SG Fairbairn
- E Humphreys
- A Jaques
- AE RelfAlbert RelfAlbert Edward Relf, born at Burwash, East Sussex on 26 June 1874, and died at Wellington College, Berkshire on 26 March 1937, was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England....
- SG SmithSydney Smith (cricketer)Sydney Gordon Smith, born at San Fernando, Trinidad on 15 January 1881, and died at Auckland, New Zealand, on 25 October 1963, was a cricketer who had three distinct careers, playing for Trinidad in the West Indies, for Northamptonshire in England and for Auckland in New Zealand...
- WC SmithRazor SmithRazor Smith was a Surrey slow bowler. Nicknamed "Razor" because of his extreme thinness, Smith was generally prone to serious injury and could rarely get through a full season's cricket, but when sound, could command the sharpest off-break among bowlers of his day...
- APFC Somerset
- TAL Whittington
AWF Somerset, his son APFC Somerset, DCF Burton, SG Smith and TAL Whittington has toured with the previous MCC team of 1910-11. Three good professionals were included in Humphreys, Relf and Razor Smith. Cecil Burton, Sydney Smith and Tom Whittington had performed well on the previous tour and were arguably the best of the amateurs. As in the previous MCC tour the remaining players had little first class experience. Despite being 57 years old the captain kept wicket in all the matches.
The side arrived in Barbados on the RMS Magdalena
RMS Magdalena 1889
RMS Magdalena was an ocean liner completed in 1899 by Robert Napier and Sons at Glasgow in Scotland for Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.As well as being a mail ship and liner, Magdalena was employed as a troopship in World War I.-Service history:...
on 27 January.
Matches played were:
- 30-31 January and 1 February : v Barbados
- 3-5 February : v Barbados
- 6-8 February : v West Indies XI (in Barbados)
- 14-16 February : v TrinidadTrinidad and Tobago cricket teamThe Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
- 17-19 February : v Trinidad
- 20-22 February : v West Indies XI (in Trinidad)
- 1-4 March : v British Guiana
- 6-8 March : v West Indies XI (in British Guiana)
- 11-13 March : v British Guiana
Of the 9 first class matches played in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
, 5 were won, 3 lost and 1 drawn.
The tourists lost the first two matches against Barbados by an innings but then defeated a West Indies XI with Humphreys taking 13 wickets.
Moving on to Trinidad, the tourists won the first match but were lucky to draw the second. In the second match against the West Indies XI, Ince made 167 for the home side and they won by an innings. Cumberbatch was bowled when he shouldered his bat because he had been distracted by leaves blowing across the pitch. Given out by the umpire, he appealed to Somerset and was allowed to continue his innings, a sporting gesture by the captain. Burton and the captain added 89 for the last wicket in the MCC second innings and were only separated with 20 minutes remaining.
In British Guiana, the two matches against the colony were won comfortably and the third match against the West Indies XI was also won by 10 wickets with Humphreys scoring a century adding 152 with Whittington. Jaques and the captain added 80 for the last wicket. Moulder carried his bat in the West Indies second innings.
The three professionals headed the batting averages and with Sydney Smith took most of the wickets. Burton, Whittington and Sydney Smith also performed well with the bat.
Averages
The following averages are in the 9 first class matches (Batting Bowling).Batting
| Player | P | I | NO | R | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | C/S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE Relf Albert Relf Albert Edward Relf, born at Burwash, East Sussex on 26 June 1874, and died at Wellington College, Berkshire on 26 March 1937, was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England.... |
9 | 15 | 2 | 538 | 92 | 41.38 | - | 4 | 10 |
| E Humphreys | 9 | 15 | 1 | 561 | 106 | 40.07 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| WC Smith Razor Smith Razor Smith was a Surrey slow bowler. Nicknamed "Razor" because of his extreme thinness, Smith was generally prone to serious injury and could rarely get through a full season's cricket, but when sound, could command the sharpest off-break among bowlers of his day... |
4 | 6 | 2 | 132 | 126 | 33.00 | 1 | - | 7 |
| DCF Burton | 8 | 13 | 1 | 378 | 71 | 31.50 | - | 3 | 4 |
| TAL Whittington | 6 | 9 | 0 | 252 | 62 | 28.00 | - | 3 | 2 |
| SG Smith Sydney Smith (cricketer) Sydney Gordon Smith, born at San Fernando, Trinidad on 15 January 1881, and died at Auckland, New Zealand, on 25 October 1963, was a cricketer who had three distinct careers, playing for Trinidad in the West Indies, for Northamptonshire in England and for Auckland in New Zealand... |
9 | 15 | 1 | 354 | 71 | 25.28 | - | 3 | 6 |
| AWF Somerset | 9 | 13 | 4 | 192 | 55* | 21.33 | - | 1 | 9/2 |
| SG Fairbairn | 8 | 14 | 2 | 241 | 62* | 20.08 | - | 1 | 3 |
| MHC Doll | 8 | 13 | 0 | 239 | 52 | 18.38 | - | 2 | 3 |
| BP Dobson | 7 | 13 | 2 | 159 | 55* | 14.45 | - | 1 | 2 |
| GAM Docker | 7 | 11 | 2 | 129 | 36* | 14.33 | - | - | 2 |
| A Jaques | 8 | 13 | 4 | 106 | 48 | 11.77 | - | - | 10 |
| APFC Somerset | 7 | 11 | 1 | 97 | 34 | 9.70 | - | - | 2 |
Bowling
| Player | O | M | R | W | BB | Ave | 5i | 10m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E Humphreys | 250.5 | 54 | 670 | 40 | 7-75 | 16.75 | 5 | 1 |
| SG Smith Sydney Smith (cricketer) Sydney Gordon Smith, born at San Fernando, Trinidad on 15 January 1881, and died at Auckland, New Zealand, on 25 October 1963, was a cricketer who had three distinct careers, playing for Trinidad in the West Indies, for Northamptonshire in England and for Auckland in New Zealand... |
220 | 60 | 532 | 29 | 6-45 | 18.34 | 1 | - |
| AE Relf Albert Relf Albert Edward Relf, born at Burwash, East Sussex on 26 June 1874, and died at Wellington College, Berkshire on 26 March 1937, was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England.... |
204.5 | 55 | 506 | 22 | 5-32 | 23.00 | 1 | - |
| A Jaques | 40 | 6 | 145 | 5 | 2-31 | 29.00 | - | - |
| SG Fairbairn | 100 | 14 | 373 | 12 | 3-55 | 31.08 | - | - |
| MHC Doll | 66.2 | 11 | 291 | 9 | 5-52 | 32.33 | 1 | - |
| GAM Docker | 35 | 0 | 169 | 5 | 2-66 | 33.80 | - | - |
| WC Smith Razor Smith Razor Smith was a Surrey slow bowler. Nicknamed "Razor" because of his extreme thinness, Smith was generally prone to serious injury and could rarely get through a full season's cricket, but when sound, could command the sharpest off-break among bowlers of his day... |
96 | 25 | 268 | 5 | 2-116 | 53.60 | - | - |
| APFC Somerset | 67 | 7 | 254 | 4 | 2-45 | 63.50 | - | - |
External sources
Further reading
- Peter Wynne-Thomas, The Complete History of Cricket Tours at Home & Abroad, Guild, 1989
- Cricket - A Weekly Record of the Game. Cricket Magazine (1913).
- A Guide to First Class Cricket Played in the West Indies. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
- Complete First-class Match List, Volume 1 1801-1914. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
- First Class Cricket Matches 1913. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.