Edward Gothard

Edward Gothard
Personal information
Full name Edward James Gothard
Born 1 October 1904
Burton upon Trent, England
Died 17 January 1979 (aged 74)
Birmingham, England
Batting style Right-handed batsman
Bowling style Right arm medium pace bowler
Role Derbyshire captain 1947–1948
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
19471948 Derbyshire
First-class debut 31 May 1947 Derbyshire v Northamptonshire
Last First-class 18 August 1948 Derbyshire v Essex
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 45
Runs scored 543
Batting average 12.34
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 50
Balls bowled 1136
Wickets 18
Bowling average 40.55
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling 3–84
Catches/stumpings 10/–
Source: , 16 February 2010

Edward James Gothard (1 October 1904 – 17 January 1979) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1947 and 1948 and captained the side in both years.

Gothard was born in Burton-on-Trent, the son of William Gothard who played cricket for Staffordshire. Gothard himself represented Staffordshire in the Minor Counties Championship in 1927. He was an able rugby player but as a result of injury took to playing hockey instead. He was captain of Burton Hockey Club from 1933 to 1939.[1] During the Second World War he played four cricket matches for Nottinghamshire in 1943. He was captain of Burton Hockey Club again from 1946 to 1947, and was a regular player for the club after the war. He played hockey for Derbyshire 30 times and was a trialist for the "Midlands".[1]

Gothard became cricket captain for Derbyshire in the 1947 season and made his first-class debut in a match at the end of May against Northamptonshire . An innings victory marked the start of a good run for the Derbyshire team. Gothard, 43 years old at this time, was a strict disciplinarian,[2] and they finished in fifth place in the 1947 County Championship. Against Middlesex Gothard took a hat-trick, including the wicket of Bill Edrich, one of the season's top scorers.[3] During the 1948 season, Gothard clean bowled Don Bradman at Derby. At the end of the 1948 season, he retired from first-class cricket. Gothard was a right-arm medium-pace bowler who took 18 first-class wickets at an average of 40.55 and a best performance of 3–84. He was a right-handed batsman who batted in the lower-order. He played 63 innings in 45 first class matches with one half-century and an average of 12.34.[4]

Gothard was later secretary and treasurer of the club.[5] He died in Birmingham at the age of 75.

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Gilbert Hodgkinson
Derbyshire cricket captains
1947–1948
Succeeded by
David Skinner