Alfred Diver
The first English touring team pictured on board ship at Liverpool: standing at left Robert Carpenter, William Caffyn, Tom Lockyer; middle row John Wisden, HH Stephenson, George Parr, James Grundy, Julius Caesar, Thomas Hayward, John Jackson; front row Alfred Diver, John Lillywhite.
Alfred John Day Diver (born 6 July 1823 in Cambridge; died 25 March 1876 in Rugby) was an English cricketer whose career spanned the 1843 season to the 1866 season. Diver played mainly for Cambridgeshire CCC during its period as a first-class county and also played for Middlesex and Nottinghamshire CCC.
Popularly known as "Ducky", Diver is best known as a reliable batsman for various All-England Eleven teams. Following the 1859 English cricket season, he was one of the 12-strong party of English players who toured North America. Led by George Parr, this was the first ever overseas cricket tour.
His nephew, Edwin Diver, played over 200 first-class games, mostly for Surrey CCC and Warwickshire CCC.
External sources
Further reading
- H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1926
- Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
- Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volumes 3-9 (1841-1866), Lillywhite, 1862-1867
- John Major, More Than A Game, HarperCollins, 2007 – includes the famous 1859 touring team photo taken on board ship at Liverpool