HH Stephenson
Encyclopedia
Esher
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
– 17 December 1896 in Uppingham
Uppingham
Disambiguation: "Uppingham" is the colloquial name for Uppingham SchoolUppingham is a market town in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, located on the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, about 6 miles south of the county town, Oakham.- History :A little over a mile to the...
, Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
) was a famous English
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...
cricketer during the game's roundarm era
Roundarm bowling
In cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and had largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowler has his arm extended at about 90 degrees from his body at the point where he releases the ball...
.
Stephenson bowled right-arm fast roundarm, batted right-handed and was an occasional wicket-keeper.
His known first-class career spanned the 1853
1853 English cricket season
-First-class matches:* -Leading batsmen:J Dean was the leading runscorer with 372 @ 12.82Other leading batsmen were: TM Adams, W Caffyn, G Parr, W Nicholson, A Haygarth, E Balfour, T Lockyer, J Caesar, J Lillywhite-Leading bowlers:...
to 1871 seasons
1871 English cricket season
-Events:In Derbyshire's opening season the club played its initial first-class match v. Lancashire at Old Trafford on 26 & 27 May.Cambridgeshire CCC played only one match in the 1871 season and ceased to be a first-class county thereafter.-Leading batsmen:...
. He took 303 wickets in 256 matches at 16.37 with a best analysis of 8/28. He had 17 5wI and 4 10wM. He scored 7360 runs at 17.90 with a highest score of 119, making 3 centuries. He took 152 catches and made 25 stumpings.
HH Stephenson was the first cricketer to be awarded a hat for taking three wickets in consecutive balls, the origin of the 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...
. He performed the feat for the All-England Eleven
All-England Eleven
In cricket, the term All-England has been used for various non-international teams that have been formed for short-term purposes since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates that the "Rest of England" is playing against, say, MCC or an individual county team...
against the twenty-two of Hallam at the Hyde Park
Hyde Park, South Yorkshire
Hyde Park is a district in Sheffield, England. The area is named after fields that occupied the area in the early 19th century.The area was used for cricket matches between 1824 and 1856. It had space for up to 10 cricket matches at a time...
ground, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds.
At the end of the 1859 English cricket season
1859 English cricket season
The 1859 English cricket season saw one of the sport's most remarkable all-round performances by V E Walker.-First-class matches:* -Events:* 1 March. Formation of the present Kent CCC.* 21, 22 & 23 July...
, Stephenson was one of the 12 players who took part in cricket's first-ever overseas tour when an England cricket team led by George Parr
George Parr (cricketer)
George Parr was an English cricketer, whose first-class career lasted from 1844 to 1870....
visited North America.
In the 1861-62 Australian cricket season, Stephenson captained the England team put together by Messrs Spiers and Pond that made the inaugural tour of Australia.
Stephenson was an occasional umpire after his playing career ended. He is known to have umpired 14 first-class matches from 1866 to 1882. One of them was the inaugural Test match in England at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in 1880. Until shortly before his death, he was coach at Uppingham School
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...
. He is buried in the town.
External sources
Further reading
- H S AlthamHarry AlthamHarry Surtees Altham, CBE, DSO, MC was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His Wisden obituary described him as "among the best known personalities in the world of cricket"...
, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1926 - Derek BirleyDerek BirleySir Derek Birley was an English educator and writer who had a strong interest in sport, especially cricket.He was educated at grammar school in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, and at Queens' College, Cambridge University....
, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999 - Rowland BowenRowland BowenMajor Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....
, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 - Arthur HaygarthArthur HaygarthArthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians....
, Scores & Biographies, Volumes 3-9 (1841-1866), Lillywhite, 1862-1867 - John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, More Than A Game, HarperCollins, 2007