Clement Gibson

Clement Herbert Gibson (23 August 1900 – 31 December 1976) twice won fleeting fame as a cricketer.

Gibson was born in Argentina. In 1918, in the absence of first-class cricketers to choose from because cricket was suspended during the First World War, Wisden picked Gibson, a fast-medium swing bowler from Eton College, as one of its Cricketers of the Year, along with four other "public school bowlers".

Three years later, in 1921, having had two successful seasons playing for Cambridge University, Gibson was picked by the former England captain Archie MacLaren as a member of his amateur eleven that took on, and beat, the all-conquering Australian cricket team, led by Warwick Armstrong, that had won eight successive Test matches against England. Gibson took six Australian wickets for 64 runs in the second innings.

After Cambridge, Gibson moved back to Argentina, where he spent the rest of his life. At MacLaren's instigation, he was invited to join the 1924-25 England tour of Australia and New Zealand, but declined the invitation. He played occasional games for Sussex until 1926 and his last first-class appearance was for the M.C.C. in 1939. In 1932, he captained the South American touring team which played six first-class matches in England. He also represented Argentina in matches against touring sides. He died, aged 86, in Buenos Aires.

References

• Wisden, passim
• CricketArchive where there is also a picture of Gibson