James Horsley
Encyclopedia
James Horsley was an English cricket
er who played first class cricket for Nottinghamshire
in 1913 and for Derbyshire
from 1914 to 1925
Horsley was born at Melbourne, Derbyshire
. He made his first class debut for Nottinghamshire in June 1913 against Yorkshire
, when he took 2 wickets in the first innings, but never had the chance to bat. He managed three no balls and two wides in the match. In his second match against Hampshire
he was stumped for a duck, took no wickets, and bowled four wides. He played one more match for Nottinghamshire against Middlesex
, when he took a wicket but gave away no extras.
In 1914 Horsley switched to his native county Derbyshire and played a full pre-war season
. He managed five five-wicket innings against Somerset
, Yorkshire with 6 for 77, Northamptonshire
, Leicestershire
with a spectacular 6 for 17, and Worcestershire
. Against Essex
he bowled and in return was bowled by Johnny Douglas
and in the Leicestershire match had a match haul of 10 wickets. Cricket was then interrupted by World War I
, but he was back in the 1919 season
with three 5 wicket innings, in one of which, he took 6 for 78 for Yorkshire. He then took 6 for 55 and 6 for 62, including a hat-trick, in a match against the Australian Imperial Forces XI giving him a match total of 12 wickets. This win by 36 runs was the only victory achieved by a county side against the Australians during their tour. Horsley was able to capitalise on the absence in the match of Billy Bestwick
who had returned to bowl for Derbyshire that season. In Derbyshire's low season of 1920
Horsley played just one match and did not play at all in 1921 and 1922 when he played some games in the Lancashire League for Burnley. In the 1923 season
he was back with Derbyshire and for the remainder of the career he was sharing the bowling with two of Derbyshire's best bowlers, Bestwick and Arthur Morton
. His best season was 1923 with seven 5-wicket innings and an average of 16.17. He took 7 for 48 in the initial game against Warwickshire
, 6 for 29 against Northamptonshire - a 10 wicket match, 5 for 40 and 5 for 48 in a match against Somerset, 5 for 58 against Glamorgan
, 5 for 69 against Yorkshire and 6 for49 against Leicestershire. In the 1924 season
he took 6 for 42 against Yorkshire. In his last season of 1925 he took 6 for 94 against Gloucestershire
, 6 for 66 against Essex and 5 for 36 against Kent.
Horsley was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and took 287 wickets at an average of 20.26 and a best performance of 7-48 with nineteen 5-wicket innings and three 10-wicket matches. He was a right-hand batsman and played 132 innings in 87 first class matches with an average of 13.67 and a top score of 66.
Horsley returned to Lancashire League cricket and then spent two summers with Aberdeenshire. He became a professional for several clubs in Northern Ireland until the Second World War.
Horsley died at Derby at the age of 86.
Horsley married May Straw at Nottingham in 1911. He was related to J H Young
who played for Derbyshire between 1899 and 1901.
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 for Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
in 1913 and for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
from 1914 to 1925
Horsley was born at Melbourne, Derbyshire
Melbourne, Derbyshire
Melbourne is a Georgian market town in South Derbyshire, England. It is about 8 miles south of Derby and 2 miles from the River Trent. In 1837 a then tiny settlement in Australia was named after William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister, and thus indirectly takes...
. He made his first class debut for Nottinghamshire in June 1913 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, when he took 2 wickets in the first innings, but never had the chance to bat. He managed three no balls and two wides in the match. In his second match against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
he was stumped for a duck, took no wickets, and bowled four wides. He played one more match for Nottinghamshire against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, when he took a wicket but gave away no extras.
In 1914 Horsley switched to his native county Derbyshire and played a full pre-war season
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1914
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1914 represents the last cricket season before World War I and was when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for forty three years...
. He managed five five-wicket innings against 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...
, Yorkshire with 6 for 77, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire 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 Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
with a spectacular 6 for 17, and 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...
. Against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex 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 Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
he bowled and in return was bowled by Johnny Douglas
Johnny Douglas
John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...
and in the Leicestershire match had a match haul of 10 wickets. Cricket was then interrupted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, but he was back in the 1919 season
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1919
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1919 was the first cricket season after a four year break from first class cricket during World War I. The English club Derbyshire had been playing for forty-eight years...
with three 5 wicket innings, in one of which, he took 6 for 78 for Yorkshire. He then took 6 for 55 and 6 for 62, including a hat-trick, in a match against the Australian Imperial Forces XI giving him a match total of 12 wickets. This win by 36 runs was the only victory achieved by a county side against the Australians during their tour. Horsley was able to capitalise on the absence in the match of Billy Bestwick
Billy Bestwick
William Bestwick was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1898 and 1926. He was a demon medium-fast bowler who took over 1400 wickets for the county, including 10 in one innings...
who had returned to bowl for Derbyshire that season. In Derbyshire's low season of 1920
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1920
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1920 was the English cricket club Derbyshire's fiftieth season. It was the club's twenty-second season in the County Championship and the most disastrous season ever experienced by any side since the County Championship was established...
Horsley played just one match and did not play at all in 1921 and 1922 when he played some games in the Lancashire League for Burnley. In the 1923 season
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1923
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1923 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for fifty-two years. It was their twenty-fifth season in the County Championship and they won four matches to finish tenth.-1923 season:...
he was back with Derbyshire and for the remainder of the career he was sharing the bowling with two of Derbyshire's best bowlers, Bestwick and Arthur Morton
Arthur Morton (cricketer, born 1883)
Arthur Morton was an English cricketer who played first class cricket for Derbyshire and MCC between 1903 and 1926. He made over 10,000 runs and took nearly 1000 wickets.Morton was born at Mellor, Derbyshire...
. His best season was 1923 with seven 5-wicket innings and an average of 16.17. He took 7 for 48 in the initial game against Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
, 6 for 29 against Northamptonshire - a 10 wicket match, 5 for 40 and 5 for 48 in a match against Somerset, 5 for 58 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...
, 5 for 69 against Yorkshire and 6 for49 against Leicestershire. In the 1924 season
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1924
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1924 represents the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for fifty three years. It was their twenty sixth season in the County Championship and they failed to win a match, finishing seventeenth in the County Championship.-1924...
he took 6 for 42 against Yorkshire. In his last season of 1925 he took 6 for 94 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....
, 6 for 66 against Essex and 5 for 36 against Kent.
Horsley was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and took 287 wickets at an average of 20.26 and a best performance of 7-48 with nineteen 5-wicket innings and three 10-wicket matches. He was a right-hand batsman and played 132 innings in 87 first class matches with an average of 13.67 and a top score of 66.
Horsley returned to Lancashire League cricket and then spent two summers with Aberdeenshire. He became a professional for several clubs in Northern Ireland until the Second World War.
Horsley died at Derby at the age of 86.
Horsley married May Straw at Nottingham in 1911. He was related to J H Young
John Young (cricketer, born 1876)
Another Derbyshire cricketer, born in 1863, was named John Young.John Henry Young was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1899 and 1901....
who played for Derbyshire between 1899 and 1901.