William Roe
Encyclopedia
William Nichols Roe, commonly known as Bill Roe (1861–1937), was a first-class cricket
er who was notable for making the then highest ever score in cricket in July 1881 with 415 not out
in a long vacation match at Cambridge University. His innings, for Emmanuel
Long Vacation Club against Caius
Long Vacation Club, lasted five hours in extreme heat and ended only when the Caius team conceded the match after the second day, facing a scoreboard reading 708/4 after they had been dismissed for 100.
, he had been a talented right-handed batsman from an early age, scoring 1095 runs at 57 with 4 centuries for the Clergy Orphan School
in Canterbury
where he also took 292 wickets in three years, with a best of 10 for 16 against Chartham Asylum.
He was admitted to Magdalene College, Cambridge
in 1879, graduating BA from Cambridge in 1883. In 83 first-class matches for Cambridge University
and Somerset
between 1882 and 1889 he scored 2690 runs at an average of 20.22 with a best of 132. He took 32 wickets with off breaks and medium pace at 31.4 with a best of 3 for 17.
He played for Somerset in 1879 before leaving school and in his first innings was bowled "neck and crop" by W.G. Grace. He became captain of Somerset in 1889 and played intermittently until 1899, his highest score being 132 against Hampshire at Bath in 1884. He also made hundreds against Devon, Middlesex, Sussex, and Surrey, all at Taunton.
In retirement he related a story of how, when playing for Cambridge at Old Trafford, the fielders were so cold they could not hold catches. George Nash
, the Lancashire professional, was missed off every ball of an over from R. C. Ramsay. "C. T. Studd bowled the next ball, and a catch came to me at mid-off, the crowd began to boo, and I felt certain I should not make the catch, but by great good fortune the ball stuck!"
He was a master at Elstree School
from 1883 to 1900 and then at Stanmore Park School. He died aged 76 in a nursing home in Marylebone, London on October 11, 1937.
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...
er who was notable for making the then highest ever score in cricket in July 1881 with 415 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
in a long vacation match at Cambridge University. His innings, for Emmanuel
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
Long Vacation Club against Caius
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
Long Vacation Club, lasted five hours in extreme heat and ended only when the Caius team conceded the match after the second day, facing a scoreboard reading 708/4 after they had been dismissed for 100.
Life
Born on March 21, 1861 in Closworth, SomersetSomerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, he had been a talented right-handed batsman from an early age, scoring 1095 runs at 57 with 4 centuries for the Clergy Orphan School
St Edmund's School
St Edmund’s School is an independent school in Canterbury, Kent, England, U.K. with over 500 pupils, including both day pupils and boarders.-History:...
in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
where he also took 292 wickets in three years, with a best of 10 for 16 against Chartham Asylum.
He was admitted to Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
in 1879, graduating BA from Cambridge in 1883. In 83 first-class matches for 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...
and 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...
between 1882 and 1889 he scored 2690 runs at an average of 20.22 with a best of 132. He took 32 wickets with off breaks and medium pace at 31.4 with a best of 3 for 17.
He played for Somerset in 1879 before leaving school and in his first innings was bowled "neck and crop" by W.G. Grace. He became captain of Somerset in 1889 and played intermittently until 1899, his highest score being 132 against Hampshire at Bath in 1884. He also made hundreds against Devon, Middlesex, Sussex, and Surrey, all at Taunton.
In retirement he related a story of how, when playing for Cambridge at Old Trafford, the fielders were so cold they could not hold catches. George Nash
George Nash (cricketer)
George Nash was an English professional cricketer during the 1880s. Nash played as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler for Lancashire, and later in Minor Counties cricket for his native Buckinghamshire.-Life and career:...
, the Lancashire professional, was missed off every ball of an over from R. C. Ramsay. "C. T. Studd bowled the next ball, and a catch came to me at mid-off, the crowd began to boo, and I felt certain I should not make the catch, but by great good fortune the ball stuck!"
He was a master at Elstree School
Elstree School
Elstree School is an English preparatory school based in Woolhampton, near Reading in Berkshire.-1848-1938 in Elstree, Herts:As its name suggests, the school was originally founded in 1848 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, at Hill House on Elstree Hill, an 18th-century Grade II Listed Building...
from 1883 to 1900 and then at Stanmore Park School. He died aged 76 in a nursing home in Marylebone, London on October 11, 1937.