Charles Anguish

Charles Anguish (13 February 1769 – 25 May 1797) was an English soldier and first-class cricketer in the late 18th century.[1] He was a member of the White Conduit Club and an early member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).[1] He made his first-class debut during the 1789 season, playing for MCC, and is known to have played in 32 first-class matches from then until 1795, most frequently appearing for MCC sides, as well as a number of other matches for the club.[1][2]

Chales Anguish
Personal information
Born(1769-02-13)13 February 1769
Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England
Died25 May 1797(1797-05-25) (aged 28)
Cape of Good Hope, British controlled Cape Colony[lower-alpha 1]
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 32
Runs scored 367
Batting average 6.79
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 29
Catches/stumpings 1/–
Source: CricInfo, 17 April 2022

Anguish was born at Bloomsbury in Middlesex in 1767, as a member of the Anguish family which owned land across East Anglia. He was the son of Thomas Anguish, who served as the Accountant-General in the Court of Chancery, and was educated at Eton College and later played cricket for Old Etonians. He was nominated for a place at King's College, Cambridge in 1786 but did not attend the university, instead serving in the British Army.[3]

In 1797 Anguish went to South Africa as part of the first British party to control the Cape of Good Hope in 1797 with George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, the newly appointed Governor of the recently conquered Cape. Anguish arrived at Table Bay on 4 May and was appointed as Comptroller of Customs.[4] He is sometimes held to be the first person to have played cricket in what is now South Africa, although there is no evidence that he ever did so.[1][5]

Less than a month after arriving at the Cape, Anguish died on 25 May, committing suicide after having been unwell and taking medication.[1][4][6] His obituary in The Gentleman's Magazine described him as "a young man of abilities and of a good temper, but with so odd a cast of manners that he was perpetually on the brink of a quarrel, even with those who knew his intentions were quite harmless, and could make every allowance for his peculiarities".[7] Lady Anne Barnard, who knew Anguish at the Cape, wrote that he was a "good-humoured, easy-tempered young man" and that "I thought him rather a happy man"; in her view "mental malady had been produced by bodily malady only".[6] He was buried at the Cape close to the Review Ground at the Castle of Good Hope.[6]

Notes
  1. The Cape of Good Hope was controlled by the Dutch East India Company from 1652 as the Dutch Cape Colony. During the French Revolutionary Wars it was invaded by the British in 1795 who controlled it until 1803 when it was ceded to the Batavian Republic before being invaded again by the British in 1806, after which the British controlled Cape Colony was established.

References
  1. Pradip Dhole (23 August 2017). "Charles Anguish and birth of cricket in South Africa". cricketcountry.com. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  2. "Charles Anguish". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  3. Notes and Queries, third series, vol. I, January–June 1862, p. 474. (Available online at Google Books. Retrieved 17 April 2022.)
  4. Murray, Bruce; Vahed, Goolam (2009). Empire & cricket: The South African Experience 1884–1914. University of South Africa. p. 4.
  5. Jonty Winch (2013) Sir William Milton: a leading figure in Public School Games, Colonial Politics and Imperial Expansion, 1877–1914, p. 7. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  6. Wilkins WH ed (1901) South Africa a century ago; letters written from the Cape of Good Hope (1791–1801) by Lady Anne Barnard, 1750–1825. London: Smith, Elder & Co. (Available online at the University of Pennsylvania library. Retrieved 17 April 2022.)
  7. Deaths, The Gentleman's Magazine 1797, part 2, p. 389. Retrieved via Google Books, 17 April 2022.
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