Sam Hargreave
Encyclopedia
Sam Hargreave was the most successful bowler for Warwickshire
until the flukish success of Foster and Field
in winning the 1911 County Championship.
Although the presence of Rhodes
and Blythe
made higher representative honours always out of his reach, for a couple of years in the early 1900s Hargreave was regarded as the best left arm slow bowler in England apart from Rhodes. His accuracy was always exceptional and on helpful pitches he could spin the ball a great deal. Being faster than Rhodes or Blythe, Hargreave was very difficult to hit and his steadiness made him valuable on the generally very plumb wickets that characterised Edgbaston in fine weather during that era. Hargreave was no batsman, but he was a capable fieldsman at point.
Sam Hargreave first played for Warwickshire in two matches 1899, and did nothing apart from a surprise 44 against Lockwood
at his most destructive - this was to remain his second-highest score in first-class cricket. However, he rose very quickly to a permanent place in 1900, and in the following year, in a summer all against bowlers especially on so good a ground as Edgbaston provided in fine weather, Hargreave bowled so well under all conditions that he was in the top ten of the first-class averages. On a helpful pitch he already showed how difficult he could be with such performances as seven for 50 at Worcester and fourteen for 115 against London County, but he bowled beautifully under all conditions.
In the following two seasons, almost continuously helped by the condition of the pitches, Hargreave went from strength to strength except when mastered completely on perfect pitches against Derbyshire
and Surrey
in August 1902. It was thought his relatively slight frame could not cope with the heavy workload he had to carry on hard wickets, but Hargreave had his revenge on a sticky Oval wicket the following year, when in best-known (and biggest) feat of his career he took fifteen for 76 after being initially left out after returning from a tour to New Zealand. Because the first day was blank Hargreave could take his place in the Warwickshire team, and for that year every Warwickshire victory was related to Hargreave's deadly bowling on rain affected pitches:
Heading the County Championship bowling averages (at least among those who bowled a reaonable number of overs) and taking more first-class wickets than anybody except Rhodes, Blythe and Ted Arnold
, Hargreave would ordinarily have been chosen as a Cricketer of the Year
by Wisden, but the choices of Blythe, John Gunn
and Walter Mead
left no room for a fourth finger-spin bowler.
However, questions about Hargreave's physical strength re-emerged when in the dry summer of 1904 he was quite out of form, taking only half as many wickets as in 1903 at over twice the cost. However, for the two following years he defied his critics with his tenacity and patience on generally very easy pitches: doing, in the continued absence of Field, a great deal of work on unhelpful pitches, he still was one of the best left-arm spinners in the business. This work, however, took its toll in 1907 when the wickets should have allowed him as good an average as 1903, but Hargreave could no longer spin the ball and averaged as much as 22 runs a wicket for little more than half as many victims as in 1903. In the following year he was often left out of the team and an appalling record of over 30 runs per wicket in the wet summer of 1909 showed Hargreave to be completely past it. Warwickshire did not offer him a contract for 1910.
Always affected by ill-health for the rest of his life, Sam Hargreave died, largely unnoticed, on the first day of 1929. At the time of his death, Hargreave still was the third-highest wicket-taker for Warwickshire behind Field and Howell
. Among slow bowlers, only Paine
and Hollies
have exceeded his tally.
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...
until the flukish success of Foster and Field
Frank Field (cricketer)
Frank Field was a Warwickshire fast bowler who is best remembered for sharing with Frank Foster the bowling honours in Warwickshire's flukish County Championship triumph in the abnormally dry summer of 1911 - the only time...
in winning the 1911 County Championship.
Although the presence of Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
and Blythe
Colin Blythe
Colin Blythe , also known as Charlie Blythe, was a Kent and England left arm spinner who is regarded as one of the finest bowlers of the period between 1900 and 1914 - sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age" of cricket.-Career:Blythe first played...
made higher representative honours always out of his reach, for a couple of years in the early 1900s Hargreave was regarded as the best left arm slow bowler in England apart from Rhodes. His accuracy was always exceptional and on helpful pitches he could spin the ball a great deal. Being faster than Rhodes or Blythe, Hargreave was very difficult to hit and his steadiness made him valuable on the generally very plumb wickets that characterised Edgbaston in fine weather during that era. Hargreave was no batsman, but he was a capable fieldsman at point.
Sam Hargreave first played for Warwickshire in two matches 1899, and did nothing apart from a surprise 44 against Lockwood
William Lockwood
William 'Bill' Lockwood William 'Bill' Lockwood William 'Bill' Lockwood (William Henry Lockwood; born 25 March 1868, Radford, Nottingham; died 26 April 1932, Radford, Nottingham was a fast bowler and the unpredictable, occasionally devastating counterpart to the amazingly hard-working Tom...
at his most destructive - this was to remain his second-highest score in first-class cricket. However, he rose very quickly to a permanent place in 1900, and in the following year, in a summer all against bowlers especially on so good a ground as Edgbaston provided in fine weather, Hargreave bowled so well under all conditions that he was in the top ten of the first-class averages. On a helpful pitch he already showed how difficult he could be with such performances as seven for 50 at Worcester and fourteen for 115 against London County, but he bowled beautifully under all conditions.
In the following two seasons, almost continuously helped by the condition of the pitches, Hargreave went from strength to strength except when mastered completely on perfect pitches against 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...
and Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in August 1902. It was thought his relatively slight frame could not cope with the heavy workload he had to carry on hard wickets, but Hargreave had his revenge on a sticky Oval wicket the following year, when in best-known (and biggest) feat of his career he took fifteen for 76 after being initially left out after returning from a tour to New Zealand. Because the first day was blank Hargreave could take his place in the Warwickshire team, and for that year every Warwickshire victory was related to Hargreave's deadly bowling on rain affected pitches:
- v Surrey at The OvalThe OvalThe Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
: six for 41 and nine for 35- TOTAL 15 wickets for 76 runs
- v Leicestershire at Edgbaston: six for 30 and six for 49
- TOTAL 12 wickets for 79 runs
- v Essex at Edgbaston: five for 51 and six for 29
- TOTAL 11 wickets for 80 runs
- v Gloucestershire at Bristol: five for 71 and three for 40
- TOTAL eight wickets for 111 runs
- v Hampshire at Edgbaston: five for 65 and seven for 48
- TOTAL 12 wickets for 113 runs
- GRAND TOTAL for five wins: 58 wickets for 461 runs, average 7.95
Heading the County Championship bowling averages (at least among those who bowled a reaonable number of overs) and taking more first-class wickets than anybody except Rhodes, Blythe and Ted Arnold
Ted Arnold
Edward George Arnold was an English cricketer who played in ten Test Matches from 1903 to 1907, and most of his 343 first-class matches for Worcestershire between 1899 and 1913...
, Hargreave would ordinarily have been chosen as a Cricketer 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"...
by Wisden, but the choices of Blythe, John Gunn
John Gunn (cricketer)
John Richmond Gunn was an English cricketer who played in six Tests from 1901 to 1905....
and Walter Mead
Walter Mead (cricketer)
Walter Mead was the principal bowler for Essex during their first two decades as a first-class county. As a member of the Lord’s ground staff, he was also after J.T...
left no room for a fourth finger-spin bowler.
However, questions about Hargreave's physical strength re-emerged when in the dry summer of 1904 he was quite out of form, taking only half as many wickets as in 1903 at over twice the cost. However, for the two following years he defied his critics with his tenacity and patience on generally very easy pitches: doing, in the continued absence of Field, a great deal of work on unhelpful pitches, he still was one of the best left-arm spinners in the business. This work, however, took its toll in 1907 when the wickets should have allowed him as good an average as 1903, but Hargreave could no longer spin the ball and averaged as much as 22 runs a wicket for little more than half as many victims as in 1903. In the following year he was often left out of the team and an appalling record of over 30 runs per wicket in the wet summer of 1909 showed Hargreave to be completely past it. Warwickshire did not offer him a contract for 1910.
Always affected by ill-health for the rest of his life, Sam Hargreave died, largely unnoticed, on the first day of 1929. At the time of his death, Hargreave still was the third-highest wicket-taker for Warwickshire behind Field and Howell
Harry Howell (cricketer)
Henry Howell was an English footballer and cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1920 to 1924.-Cricket career:...
. Among slow bowlers, only Paine
George Paine
George Alfred Edward Paine was an English cricketer who played in four Test matches in 1934-35....
and Hollies
Eric Hollies
William Eric Hollies was an English cricketer, who is mainly remembered for taking the wicket of Donald Bradman for a duck in Bradman's final Test match innings, in which only four was needed for a Test average of 100...
have exceeded his tally.