Charles Sharpe

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For the Victoria Cross recipient with the same name, see Charles Richard Sharpe.

Charles Molesworth Sharpe was a first class cricketer who played 7 matches for Cambridge University, one game for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and one for the North of England in 1875. He also played for Hertfordshire in 1890. His first class career was short, and restricted to one year, but his record stands out to this day.

A right arm slow round arm bowler he took a quite remarkable 70 wickets in his 9 games, at an average of 14.1 as well as it can be determined as one scorecard, against the Rest of England, is incomplete. His best analysis, of 7 for 43 came against Surrey, and he took 5 wickets in an innings 9 times and ten wickets in a match 4 times. He scored 129 runs at 14.33, with a best of 29 against Oxford University in the Varsity Match, and held 10 catches.

He was born on September 6, 1851 in Codicote, Hertfordshire and died on June 25, 1935 in Ilkley, Yorkshire.

He was vicar of Elsecar Parish Church near Barnsley for a number of years and also played cricket with notable success for the Elsecar village team. Jim Beachill has published a very detailed 150 Year History of Elsecar Cricket Club 1854-2004 in which Charles Sharpe is recorded as having played during the period 1889-1895.