Sam Cosstick
Encyclopedia
Samuel Cosstick was an important figure in developing cricket in Victoria in its formative years.
, Surrey
, England
. He was attracted to Victoria by the gold fever of the early 1850s and joined the Melbourne Cricket Club
on arrival. There he was employed as a ground bowler, bowling in the nets to the members for hours at a time for a salary of £150 a year.
Cosstick was a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast roundarm bowler. He played 18 matches
for Victoria
from 1860 to 1876. As a batsman he scored 315 runs at an average of 9.84 with a highest score of 36. He took 106 wickets at an average of 9.41, with best figures of 9 for 61. He took five wickets in an innings 11 times, and ten wickets in a match on 5 occasions. He also took 14 catches. In 1869 Cosstick took 6 wickets for 1 run against Tasmania.
In the match between Eighteen of Victoria and the All-England Eleven
led by H. H. Stephenson played at Melbourne
in January 1862 – the first international match played in Australia – Cosstick made 8 and 11, and took 1 wicket for 31 runs for a team that was decisively beaten by an innings in spite of its advantage in numbers.
W. G. Grace
brought out an English team in the 1873-74 season, and Cosstick’s bowling, along with the batting of Bransby Cooper
and John Conway
and the bowling of Frank Allan
and Harry Boyle
were responsible for the visitors’ defeat by an innings by Eighteen of Victoria. Impressive though the result was, a newspaper correspondent wrote “any numbskulls who talk about Eleven Victorian natives playing this Eleven of England are prattling about what they don’t understand.”
In Sydney, playing for a Combined Fifteen of Victoria and New South Wales, the crowd urged Cosstick to return to the crease after he was given out. He did so, claiming that the wrong umpire had given him out. With three batsmen at the wicket, Grace led his team from the field until Cosstick abandoned his protest.
At the age of 41, Cosstick umpired in the second ever Test match, played between Australia
and England
in Melbourne on 31 March to 4 April 1877. His colleague was Richard Terry
.
Cosstick died at West Maitland
.
Biography
Cosstick was born at CroydonCroydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, 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...
. He was attracted to Victoria by the gold fever of the early 1850s and joined the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
on arrival. There he was employed as a ground bowler, bowling in the nets to the members for hours at a time for a salary of £150 a year.
Cosstick was a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast roundarm bowler. He played 18 matches
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 Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
from 1860 to 1876. As a batsman he scored 315 runs at an average of 9.84 with a highest score of 36. He took 106 wickets at an average of 9.41, with best figures of 9 for 61. He took five wickets in an innings 11 times, and ten wickets in a match on 5 occasions. He also took 14 catches. In 1869 Cosstick took 6 wickets for 1 run against Tasmania.
In the match between Eighteen of Victoria and the All-England Eleven
All-England Eleven
In cricket, the term All-England has been used for various non-international teams that have been formed for short-term purposes since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates that the "Rest of England" is playing against, say, MCC or an individual county team...
led by H. H. Stephenson played at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in January 1862 – the first international match played in Australia – Cosstick made 8 and 11, and took 1 wicket for 31 runs for a team that was decisively beaten by an innings in spite of its advantage in numbers.
W. G. Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
brought out an English team in the 1873-74 season, and Cosstick’s bowling, along with the batting of Bransby Cooper
Bransby Cooper
Bransby Beauchamp Cooper was a member of the Australian cricket team that played in the inaugural Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1876–77...
and John Conway
John Conway (cricketer)
John Conway was an Australian professional cricketer and team manager who played first-class cricket from 1861–62 to 1879–80....
and the bowling of Frank Allan
Frank Allan
Francis Erskine "Frank" Allan was an Australian cricketer who played in 1 Test in 1879....
and Harry Boyle
Harry Boyle
Henry Frederick Boyle was a leading Australian Test cricketer of the late 1870s and early 1880s....
were responsible for the visitors’ defeat by an innings by Eighteen of Victoria. Impressive though the result was, a newspaper correspondent wrote “any numbskulls who talk about Eleven Victorian natives playing this Eleven of England are prattling about what they don’t understand.”
In Sydney, playing for a Combined Fifteen of Victoria and New South Wales, the crowd urged Cosstick to return to the crease after he was given out. He did so, claiming that the wrong umpire had given him out. With three batsmen at the wicket, Grace led his team from the field until Cosstick abandoned his protest.
At the age of 41, Cosstick umpired in the second ever Test match, played between 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...
and England
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...
in Melbourne on 31 March to 4 April 1877. His colleague was Richard Terry
Richard Terry
Richard Terry may refer to:*Richard Benjamin Terry , Australian cricketer and umpire*Sir Richard Runciman Terry , English organist, choir director and musicologist...
.
Cosstick died at West Maitland
Maitland, New South Wales
Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...
.
See also
- History of Test cricket (to 1883)History of Test cricket (to 1883)Test matches in the period 1877 to 1883 were organised somewhat differently from international cricket matches today. The teams were rarely representative, and the boat trip between Australia and England, which usually lasted about 48 days, was one that many cricketers were unable or unwilling to...
- Australian Test Cricket Umpires
- List of Test umpires