Thomas Francis (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Egerton Seymour Francis (21 November 1902 – 24 February 1969) played first-class
cricket
for Somerset
, Cambridge University
and Eastern Province
between 1921 and 1928. He also played four rugby union
international matches for England in 1925/26. He was born at Uitenhage
, Cape Province
, South Africa
and died at Bulawayo
, Zimbabwe
(then Rhodesia).
Educated at Tonbridge School
, Francis was a right-handed opening or middle-order batsman as a cricketer and a stand-off half or centre three-quarter as a rugby player. He first played cricket for Somerset in 1921, the year he left school, making 36 in his third match against Leicestershire
, but otherwise making little impact. He reappeared in two games in the 1922 season, with similar results.
In autumn 1922 Francis went to Cambridge University and won the first of four blues for rugby union that winter, playing in The Varsity Match
against Oxford University as stand-off half in partnership with the scrum-half Arthur Young; the partnership was maintained across the next two seasons and Francis won a fourth blue as a centre in 1925. Young was capped by England in 1924 and Francis joined him in the England team for four internationals in the 1925/26 season.
Francis's cricket career was slower to develop at Cambridge. He was given seven first-class matches for the university side in the 1923 season, and made his highest first-class score of 79 in the match against the Army
. He followed that with 71 against Essex
three weeks later. But a further dozen innings produced only 61 further runs and he did not win a blue. In 1924, he played in only two matches, but in 1925 he returned to the Cambridge first team and, without exceeding the 79 he had made two years and despite missing matches through injury, he was awarded his blue, though he made only 15 in a run-heavy match against Oxford
that ended in a dull draw. When the university cricket season was over, he went back to play for Somerset for the rest of 1925, though he was not successful, his highest score for the side being only 35.
Francis returned to South Africa and later appeared in a single match for Eastern Province against the MCC team of 1927-28. He captained the Eastern Province team and made 11 and 14 himself in a curious match in which the MCC side was all out for 49 in its first innings, and then, set 186 to win in a low-scoring game, hit off the runs without losing a wicket. This was Francis's last first-class match and the only one he played in his native South Africa.
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...
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 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...
, 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...
and Eastern Province
Eastern Province cricket team
Eastern Province cricket team is the team representing the Eastern Province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa.-Honours:* Currie Cup - 1988–89, 1991–92; shared - 1989–90* Standard Bank Cup - 1989–90, 1991–92...
between 1921 and 1928. He also played four rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international matches for England in 1925/26. He was born at Uitenhage
Uitenhage
Uitenhage is a South African town with 275,185 inhabitants in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. The town's name is pronounced by English speakers and in Afrikaans...
, Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and died at Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
(then Rhodesia).
Educated at Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
, Francis was a right-handed opening or middle-order batsman as a cricketer and a stand-off half or centre three-quarter as a rugby player. He first played cricket for Somerset in 1921, the year he left school, making 36 in his third match against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, but otherwise making little impact. He reappeared in two games in the 1922 season, with similar results.
In autumn 1922 Francis went to Cambridge University and won the first of four blues for rugby union that winter, playing in The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
against Oxford University as stand-off half in partnership with the scrum-half Arthur Young; the partnership was maintained across the next two seasons and Francis won a fourth blue as a centre in 1925. Young was capped by England in 1924 and Francis joined him in the England team for four internationals in the 1925/26 season.
Francis's cricket career was slower to develop at Cambridge. He was given seven first-class matches for the university side in the 1923 season, and made his highest first-class score of 79 in the match against the Army
British Army cricket team
The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The team played a number of first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined "Army and Navy" side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team in 1910 and 1911...
. He followed that with 71 against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
three weeks later. But a further dozen innings produced only 61 further runs and he did not win a blue. In 1924, he played in only two matches, but in 1925 he returned to the Cambridge first team and, without exceeding the 79 he had made two years and despite missing matches through injury, he was awarded his blue, though he made only 15 in a run-heavy match against Oxford
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...
that ended in a dull draw. When the university cricket season was over, he went back to play for Somerset for the rest of 1925, though he was not successful, his highest score for the side being only 35.
Francis returned to South Africa and later appeared in a single match for Eastern Province against the MCC team of 1927-28. He captained the Eastern Province team and made 11 and 14 himself in a curious match in which the MCC side was all out for 49 in its first innings, and then, set 186 to win in a low-scoring game, hit off the runs without losing a wicket. This was Francis's last first-class match and the only one he played in his native South Africa.