Stephen Newton

Newton assisted Somerset from 1876 until 1890.[1] The county cricket club had only been formally set-up the previous year, and was seeking first-class status.[9] The majority of matches played by Newton for the county between 1876 and 1878 are recorded by CricketArchive as being for the 'Gentlemen of Somerset', and are not categorised as first-class cricket, and although those from 1879 onwards are recorded as being for 'Somerset', they are generally regarded as remaining a 'second-class' of cricket.[9][10]

During these pre-first-class seasons, Newton made a name for himself, and in his official history of the club, Peter Roebuck describes him as one of the talents of the side.[11] He took on the captaincy of the club in 1880,[1] a season in which he passed 30 runs in five of the recorded seven innings in which he played.[n 1] His highest score recorded on CricketArchive during these years for Somerset was the 91 which he scored in 1876 against the Gentlemen of Dorset.[16] Team-mate Bill Roe described Newton as a useful batsman who favoured playing balls on his pads.[n 2][11] In his obituary, Newton was described as being "a most excellent field", particularly strong at cover-point, while Haygarth's Scores and Biographies characterised him as "a fine and free hitter, and a most excellent field".[1] He was the county's top run-scorer in 1877, accumulating 285 runs at an average of 25.90, and he was also one of their principle bowlers, collecting 21 wickets during the season.[17] He remained near the top of the batting charts for the club the following year, scoring the second-most runs behind Edward Sainsbury, 146 at an average of 18.25. He was used less as a bowler than in the previous year, taking just six wickets.[18] He once again trailed only Sainsbury amongst batsmen in 1880, scoring 278 runs at an average of 30.88.[19] He was appointed as the club captain for 1881,[20] though he was not able to play as frequently for the club, and finished the season with 93 runs from five innings at an average of 18.3.[21]

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Newton's first-class batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).[22]

Somerset gained first-class status in 1882, and retained it for four seasons.[23] Newton was the club captain for the first three of these seasons, becoming the county's first official captain.[24] He did not, however, appear in Somerset's first three matches: as a schoolmaster in London, he only played for the county in late-July and August.[6][10] In his first match as a first-class cricket captain, he top-scored in both innings, with 57 and 67, as Somerset lost to MCC by one wicket.[25] He then made 80 in the side's next match, a victory over Hampshire.[26] He fared less well in the remainder of the 1882 season, failing to reach a half-century in any of his other three matches. Newton's batting average of 34.44 from his five first-class matches in 1882 was the highest he achieved during his first-class career, and both his total number of runs scored (310) and his number of half-centuries (3) during the season were also career highs.[27]

Newton suffered a slow start to his 1883 campaign, failing to pass 10 runs in his first five innings.[28][29][30] His improvements improved in his next three matches, highlighted by a half-century against Gloucestershire, scored during a 135 run partnership with Edward Sainsbury.[31] His batting average for the season was almost half that of the previous year, and despite playing two additional innings he scored two less half-centuries than in 1882.[27] In his first match for Somerset in 1884, Newton claimed his only wickets in first-class cricket.[32] Bowling with a style that is not recorded on CricketArchive or Cricinfo, he claimed the wickets of Hampshire's Arthur Richards and HH Armstrong, both batsmen being caught off his bowling. Newton utilised himself as a bowler only after using every other member of the side, with the exception of wicket-keeper Francis Terry.[33] In his next match, Newton avoided a pair against Lancashire by top-scoring in Somerset's second innings with 62.[34] That score was to be the last half-century of Newton's season, and his last in first-class cricket for Somerset. He added two further scores above 30 against Kent, scoring 46 and 31,[35] He played three less innings than in the previous season, but surpassed his total runs from that season, and improved his average to 24.22.[7] In his three years of first-class cricket for Somerset, he scored no centuries, five half-centuries, and averaged 24.56 with the bat, higher than he finished with any other first-class cricket side.[7]