Bob Lambert
Encyclopedia
Robert James Hamilton "Bob" Lambert (18 July 1874 in Dublin, Ireland
– 24 March 1956 in Dublin) was an Irish cricketer
. A right-handed batsman and a right-arm off spin
bowler, he played 51 times for the Ireland cricket team between 1893 and 1930, including 23 first-class
matches, captaining them on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class cricket
for London County
and Woodbrook Club and Ground. On his death, the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack described him as the best all-rounder
produced by Ireland.
in Dublin and at St John's College in Preston before attended the Edinburgh University Veterinary School
, where he trained to become a veterinary surgeon
, which was to become his profession when not playing cricket.
in August 1893, scoring 51 in the only Irish innings. He played three more times that year, against the Combined Services
, Surrey
and WH Laverton's XI, against whom he scored 115, which was the first of 101 centuries
he scored in all cricket throughout his career. He played just twice for Ireland the following year, against I Zingari and South Africa.
In 1895, he played against WH Laverton's XI and twice against the MCC
, including once at Lord's
. This year, he also scored his first double century, an unbeaten
innings of 248 for Leinster against Fitzwilliam. He played against the MCC and I Zingari in 1896 before spending three years out of the Irish team.
He returned to the Irish side in 1899, playing against I Zingari, but then spent a further three years out of the Irish side, returning in 1902 for his first first-class match, against London County in May 1902, playing three further first-class matches for Ireland that month, against the MCC, Oxford University
and Cambridge University
. In June 1903, he played for Ireland against London County on 15 June in Mardyke
, Cork
, and then travelled across the Irish sea with London County to play a first-class match for them against Lancashire
at Old Trafford starting on 18 June. He scored 46 not out and 38 in the match, with W. G. Grace
describing his play as perfection.
In 1904, he played for Ireland against South Africa and twice against Cambridge University. He played seven more times for Ireland in the remainder of the decade, including matches against Philadelphia
, Scotland, South Africa and Yorkshire
. This time period also saw his highest score in all cricket, an innings of 256 for Leinster against County Kildare in 1906. He played just five times for Ireland in the following decade, four times against Scotland and once against South Africa. In 1912, he played a first-class match for Woodbrook Club and Ground against South Africa.
The 1920s saw the bulk of his international cricket career for Ireland, playing several matches, mainly against Scotland and the MCC, with matches also being played against the Irish military and Wales. His final first-class match was for Ireland against the MCC in August 1928. His last match for Ireland was also against the MCC, in August 1930. For a batsman who scored over 37,000 runs
in all cricket in his career, it was a rather embarrassing last match, as he was dismissed for a duck
in both innings of the match.
He continued playing club cricket for another four years, scoring his hundredth hundred for Leinster against Halverstown, during which an opposing bowler was overheard to say to his team mates, "This bloody Lambert just won't quit". After his playing career ended, he served as president of the Irish Cricket Union
three times, in 1931, 1932 and 1947. He also served as an Irish selector for a number of years.
of 18.65, with best innings bowling figures of 7/11 against Scotland in July 1910, also his best first-class bowling performance. He took five wickets in an innings twelve times and ten in match four times. In first-class cricket, his top score was 103 not out for Ireland against Scotland.
player, representing Ireland internationally, and winning the Irish championship in 1911.
also represented Ireland at cricket, as did his son Ham
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
– 24 March 1956 in Dublin) was an Irish 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 and a right-arm off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
bowler, he played 51 times for the Ireland cricket team between 1893 and 1930, including 23 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...
matches, captaining them on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for London County
London County Cricket Club
London County Cricket Club was a short-lived cricket club founded by the Crystal Palace Company. In 1898 they invited WG Grace to help them form a first-class cricket club. Grace accepted the offer and became the club's secretary, manager and captain. As a result, he severed his connection with...
and Woodbrook Club and Ground. On his death, the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack described him as the best all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
produced by Ireland.
Education and career
Lambert was educated at Rathmines School and Wesley CollegeWesley College, Dublin
This article is about Wesley College in Dublin, Ireland. See Wesley College for articles on other institutions named "Wesley College"....
in Dublin and at St John's College in Preston before attended the Edinburgh University Veterinary School
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
The Royal School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.Professor Elaine Watson has been head of the school since 1 August, 2003 .-History:...
, where he trained to become a veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgeon is a term used to describe:*The full title of a vet, who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals, in the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth countries**See also Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom...
, which was to become his profession when not playing cricket.
Cricket career
Lambert made his debut for Ireland against I ZingariI Zingari
I Zingari are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs.-History:...
in August 1893, scoring 51 in the only Irish innings. He played three more times that year, against the Combined Services
Combined Services cricket team
The Combined Services cricket team represents the British armed forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lord's in 1920, while their last was against Oxford...
, 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...
and WH Laverton's XI, against whom he scored 115, which was the first of 101 centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
he scored in all cricket throughout his career. He played just twice for Ireland the following year, against I Zingari and South Africa.
In 1895, he played against WH Laverton's XI and twice against the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, including once at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. This year, he also scored his first double century, an unbeaten
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...
innings of 248 for Leinster against Fitzwilliam. He played against the MCC and I Zingari in 1896 before spending three years out of the Irish team.
He returned to the Irish side in 1899, playing against I Zingari, but then spent a further three years out of the Irish side, returning in 1902 for his first first-class match, against London County in May 1902, playing three further first-class matches for Ireland that month, against the MCC, 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...
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 June 1903, he played for Ireland against London County on 15 June in Mardyke
Mardyke
The Mardyke is an area in Cork city, on the northern half of the long western part of the island formed by the two channels of the River Lee near the city centre. It comprises several large open spaces...
, Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, and then travelled across the Irish sea with London County to play a first-class match for them against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
at Old Trafford starting on 18 June. He scored 46 not out and 38 in the match, with 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...
describing his play as perfection.
In 1904, he played for Ireland against South Africa and twice against Cambridge University. He played seven more times for Ireland in the remainder of the decade, including matches against Philadelphia
Philadelphian cricket team
The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, the sport began a slow decline in the country. This decline was...
, Scotland, South Africa and 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....
. This time period also saw his highest score in all cricket, an innings of 256 for Leinster against County Kildare in 1906. He played just five times for Ireland in the following decade, four times against Scotland and once against South Africa. In 1912, he played a first-class match for Woodbrook Club and Ground against South Africa.
The 1920s saw the bulk of his international cricket career for Ireland, playing several matches, mainly against Scotland and the MCC, with matches also being played against the Irish military and Wales. His final first-class match was for Ireland against the MCC in August 1928. His last match for Ireland was also against the MCC, in August 1930. For a batsman who scored over 37,000 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
in all cricket in his career, it was a rather embarrassing last match, as he was dismissed for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
in both innings of the match.
He continued playing club cricket for another four years, scoring his hundredth hundred for Leinster against Halverstown, during which an opposing bowler was overheard to say to his team mates, "This bloody Lambert just won't quit". After his playing career ended, he served as president of the Irish Cricket Union
Irish Cricket Union
Cricket Ireland, officially the Irish Cricket Union , is the governing body for cricket in Ireland , and oversees the Ireland cricket team and Ireland women's cricket team...
three times, in 1931, 1932 and 1947. He also served as an Irish selector for a number of years.
Statistics
In all matches for Ireland, Lambert scored 1954 runs at an average of 27.91, with a top score of 116 not out against Philadelphia in August 1908. He scored eight half-centuries, and four centuries. He took 173 wickets at an averageBowling 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 18.65, with best innings bowling figures of 7/11 against Scotland in July 1910, also his best first-class bowling performance. He took five wickets in an innings twelve times and ten in match four times. In first-class cricket, his top score was 103 not out for Ireland against Scotland.
Badminton
Lambert was also a fine badmintonBadminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
player, representing Ireland internationally, and winning the Irish championship in 1911.
Family
Bob Lambert came from a cricketing family. His brother SepSep Lambert
Septimus Drummond "Sep" Lambert was an Irish cricketer. A right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper, he played 14 times for the Ireland cricket team between 1896 and 1921, including seven first-class matches.Lambert was educated at Rathmines School and Wesley College in Dublin and at St John's...
also represented Ireland at cricket, as did his son Ham
Ham Lambert
Noel Hamilton "Ham" Lambert was an Irish cricketer and rugby union player. By profession a veterinary surgeon, he was noted for being the first in Ireland to own a practice devoted to the care of companion animals.He is buried in Schull in Co Cork, Ireland...
.