| Leveson Gower in the late 1890s | ||||
| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower | |||
| Born | 8 May 1873 Limpsfield, Surrey, England |
|||
| Died | 1 February 1954 (aged 80) Kensington, London, England |
|||
| Nickname | Shrimp | |||
| Batting style | Right-handed | |||
| Bowling style | Right arm leg break | |||
| International information | ||||
| National side | England | |||
| Test debut (cap 166) | 1 January 1910 v South Africa | |||
| Last Test | 3 March 1910 v South Africa | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 1895 – 1920 | Surrey | |||
| 1893 – 1896 | Oxford University | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | Tests | First-class | ||
| Matches | 3 | 277 | ||
| Runs scored | 95 | 7,638 | ||
| Batting average | 23.75 | 23.72 | ||
| 100s/50s | 0/0 | 4/42 | ||
| Top score | 31 | 155 | ||
| Balls bowled | 0 | 2,261 | ||
| Wickets | – | 46 | ||
| Bowling average | – | 29.95 | ||
| 5 wickets in innings | – | 3 | ||
| 10 wickets in match | – | 0 | ||
| Best bowling | – | 6/49 | ||
| Catches/stumpings | 1/– | 103/– | ||
| Source: Cricinfo, 11 November 2008 | ||||
Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower (pronounced /ˈluːsən ˈɡɔər/ "Loosen Gore"; 8 May 1873 in Titsey Place, Surrey – 1 February 1954 in London) was an English cricketer who played for Oxford University and Surrey as well as England. He was the seventh son of Granville William Gresham Leveson-Gower JP DL FSA, by his wife The Hon Sophia Leveson Gower LJStJ (née Leigh).
He captained England in all three of the Test matches he played, winning one and losing two against South Africa in 1909/10, with Frederick Fane captaining on the other two Test matches of the series.
He was captain of Surrey from 1908 to 1910, and the club's president from 1929 to 1939. He was an England Test selector in 1909, and chairman of selectors in 1924 and from 1927 to 1930.[1] Leveson Gower was knighted for his services to cricket in 1953. In the same year he published a book of reminiscences entitled Off and On the Field. For fifty years he played a major role in organising the Scarborough Festival which takes place at the end of each English cricket season.[2]
Leveson Gower was nicknamed "Shrimp" but few cricket sources refer to him by anything other than his initials. During a tour of America in 1897 organised by Plum Warner[3] that Leveson Gower took part in, the Philadelphian journalist Ralph D. Paine published the following piece of humorous verse concerning the pronunciation of his surname:
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Archie MacLaren |
English national cricket captain 1909/10 |
Succeeded by Johnny Douglas |