John Steele (cricketer, born 1905)
Encyclopedia
John William Jackson Steele (30 July 1905 – 29 March 1990) was an English
cricketer
. Steele was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium pace
.
Steele first represented Hampshire
while staying in Winchester
as an Army
Chaplain, having made a name playing for the Army cricket team
. Steele made his first-class
debut against Gloucestershire
, a match in which he scored his highest first-class score of 44. During the same year Steele played for Hampshire against the touring Australians, who featured the great Don Bradman.
Steele would represent Hampshire in seventeen first-class matches until July 1939, with his final first-class match coming against Northamptonshire
. Steele was a handy lower order batsman, scoring 406 runs at an average of 16.91. With his medium pace Steele took 57 wickets at an average
of 26.64 with best bowling figures of 6-62.
Steele also represented the Army in two first-class matches against Oxford University
in 1938 and Cambridge University
in 1939.
With the onset of the Second World War first-class cricket was stopped, bringing an end to Steele's career.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
. Steele was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium pace
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
.
Steele first represented 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...
while staying in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
as an Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Chaplain, having made a name playing for the Army cricket team
British Army cricket team
The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The team played a number of first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined "Army and Navy" side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team in 1910 and 1911...
. Steele made his 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...
debut 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....
, a match in which he scored his highest first-class score of 44. During the same year Steele played for Hampshire against the touring Australians, who featured the great Don Bradman.
Steele would represent Hampshire in seventeen first-class matches until July 1939, with his final first-class match coming against 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...
. Steele was a handy lower order batsman, scoring 406 runs at an average of 16.91. With his medium pace Steele took 57 wickets at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 26.64 with best bowling figures of 6-62.
Steele also represented the Army in two first-class matches against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
in 1938 and Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
in 1939.
With the onset of the Second World War first-class cricket was stopped, bringing an end to Steele's career.
External links
- John Steele at CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
- John Steele at CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...
- Matches and detailed statistics for John Steele