William Armitstead

Not to be confused with William Martin Armistead.
William Armitstead
Personal information
Full name William George Armitstead
Born 22 March 1833
Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England
Died <12 March 1907 (aged 73)
Goostrey, Cheshire, England
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Unknown
Role Batsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1853-1857 Oxford University
1864 Marylebone Cricket Club
1852 Manchester
1862 Gentlemen of the North
Career statistics
Competition FC
Matches 14
Runs scored 293
Batting average 12.20
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 38
Balls bowled Unknown
Wickets Unknown
Bowling average -
5 wickets in innings -
10 wickets in match -
Best bowling -
Catches/stumpings -
Source: Cricket Archive, 31 May 2014

William George Armitstead (22 March 1833 - 12 March 1907) was an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman, Armistead was a member of a cricketing family: his brother Henry played first class cricket, while brothers John and Robert, and nephew William, all played school cricket.[1] Armitstead played fourteen first class matches between 1853 and 1862, the majority for Oxford University with solitary appearances for the Gentlemen of the North, Manchester Cricket Club, and the Marylebone Cricket Club.[2]

Armitstead was also a founding member of the Free Foresters Cricket Club, along with his brother Henry.[3] It was during a match between a United England XI and the Free Foresters in 1861 that he is credited with the introduction of the white coat for cricket umpires.[1] Armitstead requested that the umpires wear something white in colour, as their existing garments were causing him to lose sight of the ball and the bowlers hand during their delivery.[4][5]

Armistead had a modest batting record, scoring only 293 runs in twenty-five innings at a batting average of 12.20.[6] 249 of these runs were made for Oxford, for whom he made eleven appearances.[7] His best was a score of 38, made opening the batting against the Marylebone Cricket Club on 3 June 1853.[8] He took six catches, and is noted as having bowled however his bowling style or statistics are not recorded.[1][6] Born in Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, he died in Goostrey aged 73.[6]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Player Profile: William Armitstead". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "FC Batting Per Team". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Obituaries in 1912". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. ↑ WKR Bedford (1895). Annals of the Free Foresters. London: Free Foresters Cricket Club. p. 44.
  5. ↑ "Cricket". Auckland Star. 22 July 1905. p. 12. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Player Profile: William Armitstead". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "FC Batting By Team". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Oxford University v Marylebone Cricket Club University Match 1853". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
Sources