Charlie Absolom
Encyclopedia
Charles Alfred Absolom played cricket
for Cambridge University
, Kent
and England
in the period from 1866 to 1879.
Absolom was born at Blackheath
, Kent
, the son of Edward Absolom. He was educated at a school in Calne, Wiltshire
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
and was awarded cricket and athletics Blues at Cambridge University. He was nicknamed "Cambridge Navvy", presumably because of his physique. In 18 matches for the university he took over 100 wickets, and played in the Varsity Match
in 1866, 1867, 1868 and 1869. He took 27 wickets in the four matches and was on the winning Cambridge side in 1868 and 1869. He played several games for Gentlemen vs Players and in 1868 started playing for Kent. After Cambridge he enrolled at Inner Temple
but did not complete his law studies.
As an amateur cricketer, Absolom toured Australia
with Lord Harris's team in 1878/9 and played in the only Test
of that tour. Although selected as a bowler, his main performance was with the bat. After Australia's "demon bowler" Fred Spofforth
had taken a hat-trick
which helped reduce the English team to 26 for 7, Absolom came in and made 52. However, he was not one of the seven Englishmen to bowl in the Australian innings. Australia went on to win the game by 10 wickets.
Absolom completed his career with Kent in the summer of 1879 after taking 87 wickets in 57 matches.
Absolom enjoyed travel, particularly in the Americas, and he became a ship's purser. He died aged 43 when he was accidentally buried by a misplaced load of sugar whilst loading at Port of Spain
in Trinidad
.
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 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...
, Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
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 the period from 1866 to 1879.
Absolom was born at Blackheath
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the son of Edward Absolom. He was educated at a school in Calne, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and was awarded cricket and athletics Blues at Cambridge University. He was nicknamed "Cambridge Navvy", presumably because of his physique. In 18 matches for the university he took over 100 wickets, and played in the Varsity Match
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
in 1866, 1867, 1868 and 1869. He took 27 wickets in the four matches and was on the winning Cambridge side in 1868 and 1869. He played several games for Gentlemen vs Players and in 1868 started playing for Kent. After Cambridge he enrolled at Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
but did not complete his law studies.
As an amateur cricketer, Absolom toured 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...
with Lord Harris's team in 1878/9 and played in the only Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
of that tour. Although selected as a bowler, his main performance was with the bat. After Australia's "demon bowler" Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
had taken a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
which helped reduce the English team to 26 for 7, Absolom came in and made 52. However, he was not one of the seven Englishmen to bowl in the Australian innings. Australia went on to win the game by 10 wickets.
Absolom completed his career with Kent in the summer of 1879 after taking 87 wickets in 57 matches.
Absolom enjoyed travel, particularly in the Americas, and he became a ship's purser. He died aged 43 when he was accidentally buried by a misplaced load of sugar whilst loading at Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.