Thomas Straw was an English

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...

 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"....

. A right-handed batsman born in Hucknall Torkard

Hucknall

Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in...

, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

, he kept wicket

Wicket-keeper

The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...

 for Worcestershire County Cricket Club

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...

 in their early years of first-class cricket

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...

. He was a poor batsman, with a top score of just 32 in his 94 innings, and went in at or near the bottom of the order

Batting order (cricket)

In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...

.

Straw made his debut on 4 May 1899 in Worcestershire's very first first-class match, 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....

 at New Road

New Road, Worcester

New Road, Worcester, England, has been the home cricket ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896. Immediately to the northwest is a road called New Road, part of the A44, hence the name.- Overview :...

. He batted at number 11, making 9 and nought, and claimed no victims in Yorkshire's first innings, although he did get off the mark in the second with a notable scalp when he held a catch to dismiss David Denton

David Denton

David Denton was an English first-class cricketer. An attacking batsman, he had a long career with Yorkshire and played eleven Tests for England. His nickname of 'Lucky' came from his habit of surviving the numerous chances, that his attacking batting style naturally created for the opposition...

 off the bowling of George Wilson

George Alfred Wilson

George Alfred Wilson was an English cricketer, a right-arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman who was the first man to take a wicket for Worcestershire County Cricket Club after they attained first-class status for the 1899 season.Born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Wilson opened the bowling in...

.

In his 13 matches during the 1899 season

1899 English cricket season

In the 1899 English cricket season, Surrey won the County Championship for the first time in four years, and the title turned out to be their last until 1914. Surrey's season was dominated by draws, with fourteen out of 26 games drawn, just like the season in general - especially the Australian...

, Straw held 29 catches and made one stumping, the latter 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...

. For the next two seasons he remained an integral part of the Worcestershire side, claiming a total of 90 dismissals in those two summers; however, he was replaced by George Gaukrodger

George Gaukrodger

George Warrington Gaukrodger was a cricketer who played more than 100 times in first-class cricket for Worcestershire between 1900 and 1910; he also played once for the Players against the touring Australians in 1902.Being partially domiciled in Ireland and hailing from an Irish family, Yorkshire...

 for the 1902 season

1902 English cricket season

The 1902 English cricket season saw the first Ashes series in England since 1899, when Australia had won a series in England for the first time since 1882. Australia won again, this time 2–1, with the first two Tests rained off...

. Straw returned to the side for a single game against Oxford University in 1903

1903 English cricket season

In the 1903 English cricket season Middlesex won their first County Championship title, winning eight and losing one of their 18 games in the season. Yorkshire, the defending champions and the only team to have won the Championship thus far in the 20th century, finished third after losing five...

, but was otherwise absent from the team for several years.

In May 1907

1907 English cricket season

The 1907 English cricket season gave Nottinghamshire its first-ever official County Championship title and saw the first Test matches to be held in England against South Africa.-Honours:*County Championship - Nottinghamshire...

, he made a return to the Worcestershire side 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...

, although only 58 overs of play were possible in the game and he did not get a mention on the scorecard. Later that same year, in August, he played four more matches, the last of these against 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...

 at New Road. Straw's final victim in first-class cricket was Jack Hobbs

Jack Hobbs

Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....

, caught for 2 off the bowling of John Cuffe

John Cuffe

John Alexander Cuffe was an Australian-born English cricketer who played more than 200 times in first-class cricket for Worcestershire between 1903 and 1914, having previously made a single appearance for New South Wales. After retiring from county cricket, he stood as an umpire for three years in...

.

Straw died in the place of his birth a week after his 89th birthday.

External links

• Statistical summary from CricketArchive
  CricketArchive
  CricketArchive 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...