Walter Hale
Encyclopedia
Walter Henry Hale played first-class
cricket
for Somerset
in 1892 and for Gloucestershire
from 1895 to 1909. He was born at West Bromwich
, then in Staffordshire
, and died at Bishopston
, Bristol
.
Hale was a right-handed batsman who, in a long cricket career, appeared both in the middle-order and the lower-order and, on occasion, as an opener. He also bowled occasional right-arm slow deliveries but in 69 first-class matches took only nine wickets in all. In 1891, he played in non-first-class matches for Shropshire
and other teams in that area. He played for Somerset in eight matches in 1892, achieving little, and at the end of the season played as a professional in Lancashire League matches for Burnley
and Enfield
, being particularly effective as a bowler. He appeared for Burnley in matches in the next three seasons but then, according to his obituary in the 1957 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
, he was invited to join Gloucestershire by W. G. Grace
.
After a single match in 1895, he started appearing in a few matches for Gloucestershire each season from 1897 to 1907, with a couple of final matches in 1909. Only in 1899, when he played in 11 games, did he appear in more than half a dozen games, and more than half of the games he played for the county were early-season matches that started in May, a time when county cricket's regular contingent of amateur players tended to be less available. His highest aggregate of runs was 470 in the 1899 season and in 1901 he was top of the Gloucestershire averages, with 334 runs at an average
of 37.11, beating Gilbert Jessop
in that season. He hit an unbeaten 109 in that season in the match against Essex
. The Wisden obituary records Hale reminiscing about the pace of Essex fast bowler Charles Kortright
and claiming that "he hit me black and blue"; in fact, the bulk of the Essex bowling was done by medium-pace bowlers and Kortright failed to take a wicket in his 20 overs. In 1902, he improved on that score with an innings of 135, including 21 fours and a six, that enabled Gloucestershire to draw the match against Nottinghamshire
after being made to follow on. This was the highest score of Hale's first-class career.
Hale played club cricket for Knowle in south Bristol
for 34 years from the age of 17 and scored over 25,000 runs for the club. He was also a rugby union
forward for Bristol Rugby Football Club and played county rugby for both Somerset and Gloucestershire.
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...
in 1892 and for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire 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 Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
from 1895 to 1909. He was born at West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
, then in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, and died at Bishopston
Bishopston, Bristol
Bishopston the name of both a council ward of the city of Bristol, England, and a suburb of the city that falls within that ward. Bishopston is situated around the Gloucester Road , the main northern arterial road in the city. The ward includes St Bonaventures and Ashley Down parishes, as well as...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
.
Hale was a right-handed batsman who, in a long cricket career, appeared both in the middle-order and the lower-order and, on occasion, as an opener. He also bowled occasional right-arm slow deliveries but in 69 first-class matches took only nine wickets in all. In 1891, he played in non-first-class matches for Shropshire
Shropshire County Cricket Club
Shropshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Shropshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
and other teams in that area. He played for Somerset in eight matches in 1892, achieving little, and at the end of the season played as a professional in Lancashire League matches for Burnley
Burnley Cricket Club
Burnley Cricket Club, based at Turf Moor in Burnley, Lancashire, is a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club was a founder member of the Lancashire League in 1892. Its captain for the 2011 season is Steve Brunt and its professional is Imad Wasim...
and Enfield
Enfield Cricket Club
Enfield Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Dill Hall Lane in Accrington. For the 2011 season its captain is Adam Bracewell, and its professional is Werner Coetsee of South Africa. The club has won the league on 5 occasions and the cup on 4...
, being particularly effective as a bowler. He appeared for Burnley in matches in the next three seasons but then, according to his obituary in the 1957 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
, he was invited to join Gloucestershire by W. G. Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
.
After a single match in 1895, he started appearing in a few matches for Gloucestershire each season from 1897 to 1907, with a couple of final matches in 1909. Only in 1899, when he played in 11 games, did he appear in more than half a dozen games, and more than half of the games he played for the county were early-season matches that started in May, a time when county cricket's regular contingent of amateur players tended to be less available. His highest aggregate of runs was 470 in the 1899 season and in 1901 he was top of the Gloucestershire averages, with 334 runs at an average
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 :...
of 37.11, beating Gilbert Jessop
Gilbert Jessop
Gilbert Laird Jessop was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known, he was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898.Relations...
in that season. He hit an unbeaten 109 in that season in the match 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...
. The Wisden obituary records Hale reminiscing about the pace of Essex fast bowler Charles Kortright
Charles Kortright
Charles Jesse Kortright was an English cricketer, who played for Essex and Free Foresters...
and claiming that "he hit me black and blue"; in fact, the bulk of the Essex bowling was done by medium-pace bowlers and Kortright failed to take a wicket in his 20 overs. In 1902, he improved on that score with an innings of 135, including 21 fours and a six, that enabled Gloucestershire to draw the match against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
after being made to follow on. This was the highest score of Hale's first-class career.
Hale played club cricket for Knowle in south Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
for 34 years from the age of 17 and scored over 25,000 runs for the club. He was also a 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...
forward for Bristol Rugby Football Club and played county rugby for both Somerset and Gloucestershire.