Frederick Bowley (Worcestershire cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Frederick Lloyd Bowley was an English
cricketer
who played county cricket
for Worcestershire
from the 1890s to the 1920s. He also represented the Players against the Gentlemen
on four occasions. He was born in Brecon
and died aged 69 in Worcester
.
Having appeared for the county on a number of occasions before its elevation to the County Championship
, Bowley made his first-class
debut in Worcestershire's second match at that level, against Sussex
at Hove in mid-May 1899. He opened the batting with Wilfrid Foster
, but was bowled for 4 in each innings, though he did take a catch to dismiss opposing captain Billy Murdoch
. Four further games that season produced no success, with a highest score of just 21.
After a near miss with 95 against Sussex a few days earlier, Bowley scored his maiden hundred by hitting 118 against Hampshire
at the end of May 1900. Although he made no further centuries that summer, he did pass a thousand runs for the season, averaging
just over 24. For several years thereafter he was a significant contributor to Worcestershire's batting, enjoying the most productive season of his career in 1906 when he hit 1,629 first-class runs (1,466 of them for Worcestershire) with two hundreds and 11 fifties.
He played rather fewer games in 1907 and 1908, and came nowhere near his thousand runs in either season, but from 1909 until first-class cricket was interrupted by the First World War he achieved the mark every year except 1912. In June 1914 he made his highest score, 276 against Hampshire at Dudley
; this established a county record that survived until surpassed by Glenn Turner
's 311*
68 years later.
Bowley was well into his forties when county cricket resumed in 1919, but he nevertheless played on for several years and scoring consistently in a weak Worcestershire side. His highest post-war innings was the 188 he hit against Somerset
in 1921, and that season he passed 1,000 runs for the 14th and last time, falling just short with 974 in 1922. He played one further first-class match, against Hampshire in May 1923, aged 49, but made just 0 and 5 as Worcestershire slipped to a two-day innings defeat.
His bowling was of the strictly occasional variety, but he did take four wickets in first-class cricket, his first and last victims (Albert Relf
in 1900 and Jack Board
in 1904) being Test
players.
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"....
who played county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for Worcestershire
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...
from the 1890s to the 1920s. He also represented the Players against the Gentlemen
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
on four occasions. He was born in Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
and died aged 69 in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
.
Having appeared for the county on a number of occasions before its elevation to the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, Bowley made his 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...
debut in Worcestershire's second match at that level, against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
at Hove in mid-May 1899. He opened the batting with Wilfrid Foster
Wilfrid Foster
Major Wilfrid Lionel Foster CBE DSO was an English cricketer: a right-handed batsman who played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club in their early years in first-class cricket. He was one of the seven Foster brothers, all of whom played first-class cricket for the county...
, but was bowled for 4 in each innings, though he did take a catch to dismiss opposing captain Billy Murdoch
Billy Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
. Four further games that season produced no success, with a highest score of just 21.
After a near miss with 95 against Sussex a few days earlier, Bowley scored his maiden hundred by hitting 118 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...
at the end of May 1900. Although he made no further centuries that summer, he did pass a thousand runs for the season, averaging
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
just over 24. For several years thereafter he was a significant contributor to Worcestershire's batting, enjoying the most productive season of his career in 1906 when he hit 1,629 first-class runs (1,466 of them for Worcestershire) with two hundreds and 11 fifties.
He played rather fewer games in 1907 and 1908, and came nowhere near his thousand runs in either season, but from 1909 until first-class cricket was interrupted by the First World War he achieved the mark every year except 1912. In June 1914 he made his highest score, 276 against Hampshire at Dudley
Tipton Road
The Tipton Road cricket ground in Dudley, England was used for first-class cricket by Worcestershire CCC on 88 occasions between 1911 and 1971. The county also staged 14 List A games there between 1969 and 1977, all in the Sunday League, as well as a number of Second XI matches.One match of the...
; this established a county record that survived until surpassed by Glenn Turner
Glenn Turner
Glenn Maitland Turner played cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's best and most prolific batsmen. He is the current head of the New Zealand Cricket selection panel....
's 311*
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...
68 years later.
Bowley was well into his forties when county cricket resumed in 1919, but he nevertheless played on for several years and scoring consistently in a weak Worcestershire side. His highest post-war innings was the 188 he hit against 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...
in 1921, and that season he passed 1,000 runs for the 14th and last time, falling just short with 974 in 1922. He played one further first-class match, against Hampshire in May 1923, aged 49, but made just 0 and 5 as Worcestershire slipped to a two-day innings defeat.
His bowling was of the strictly occasional variety, but he did take four wickets in first-class cricket, his first and last victims (Albert Relf
Albert Relf
Albert Edward Relf, born at Burwash, East Sussex on 26 June 1874, and died at Wellington College, Berkshire on 26 March 1937, was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England....
in 1900 and Jack Board
Jack Board
John Henry Board was an English cricketer who played in six Tests from 1899 to 1906....
in 1904) being 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...
players.
Note
- CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
gives Bowley's career aggregate of catches as 148 rather than 150.http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/9906.html
External links
- Statistical summary from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive 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...