Richard May (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Richard May (died c.1796 in Kent
) was a first-class cricket
er who was a well-known bowler for Kent
in the 1760s and 1770s. May's known first-class career spanned the 1773 and 1780 seasons.
His brother Tom May
was a noted batsman, also playing for Kent at the same time.
The May brothers often played alongside each other but many scorecards of the period did not note first names or initials, so it is often impossible to distinguish one from the other in some matches, hence his total of 13 first-class appearances, given in CricketArchive, is an estimate. In fact, using the data in Scores and Biographies, there were 5 matches in which a player known only as "May" took part while Dick May is specifically recorded in 8 and his brother Tom in 5.
Scores and Biographies has recorded an old verse about the May brothers:
Very little is known of their personal lives. Of Tom May, nothing is known at all.
Dick May is known to have been a gamekeeper on Sir Horatio Mann
’s estate at Bourne
. He died in a drunken fit about 1796, when he was middle-aged. His dying request to his friend George Ring was that Ring should kill his favourite dog and bury it with him. Apparently, this was done despite the remonstrances of the officiating clergyman, who said it was sacrilege.
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...
) was a first-class cricket
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 a well-known bowler for Kent
Kent county cricket teams
Kent county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Kent, jointly with Sussex, is the birthplace of the sport...
in the 1760s and 1770s. May's known first-class career spanned the 1773 and 1780 seasons.
His brother Tom May
Thomas May (cricketer)
Thomas May was a first-class cricketer who was a well-known batsman for Kent in the 1760s and 1770s. May's known first-class career spanned the 1772 and 1773 seasons....
was a noted batsman, also playing for Kent at the same time.
The May brothers often played alongside each other but many scorecards of the period did not note first names or initials, so it is often impossible to distinguish one from the other in some matches, hence his total of 13 first-class appearances, given in CricketArchive, is an estimate. In fact, using the data in Scores and Biographies, there were 5 matches in which a player known only as "May" took part while Dick May is specifically recorded in 8 and his brother Tom in 5.
Scores and Biographies has recorded an old verse about the May brothers:
Tom was for batting, Dick for bowling famed
Very little is known of their personal lives. Of Tom May, nothing is known at all.
Dick May is known to have been a gamekeeper on Sir Horatio Mann
Sir Horatio Mann
Sir Horatio Mann, 2nd Baronet was an English MP. He is remembered as a member of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire and a patron of Kent cricket. He was an occasional player but rarely in first-class matches....
’s estate at Bourne
Bishopsbourne Paddock
Bishopsbourne Paddock was a cricket ground at Bourne House, seat of Sir Horatio Mann, near Canterbury in Kent. It was a popular venue for first-class matches from 1766 to 1790.-Matches:...
. He died in a drunken fit about 1796, when he was middle-aged. His dying request to his friend George Ring was that Ring should kill his favourite dog and bury it with him. Apparently, this was done despite the remonstrances of the officiating clergyman, who said it was sacrilege.