William Clifford (cricketer)

William Clifford (christened 14 December 1811 – 5 September 1841) was an English cricketer who played for Kent county teams between 1834 and 1841. He was a right-handed batsman and a slow bowler who often fielded as a wicket-keeper.[3]

William Clifford
Personal information
Full name
William Clifford
Born1811 (1811)[lower-alpha 1]
Bearsted, Kent
Died5 September 1841 (aged 29–30)
Gravesend, Kent
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm slow
RoleWicket-keeper
Relations
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1834–1841Kent
FC debut7 July 1834 Kent XI v England XI
Last FC7 June 1841 Kent XI v Sussex
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 29
Runs scored 521
Batting average 12.70
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 49
Catches/stumpings 20/3
Source: CricInfo, 1 June 2022

Clifford was christened at Bearsted in Kent in December 1811.[1] He was the son of Robert and Catherine Clifford;[2] his grandfather, also Robert Clifford, was a well-known all-rounder who bowled leg breaks for Kent sides at the end of the 18th-century and made more than 70 appearances in top-level matches. William's brother, Francis Clifford, also played in first-class matches for Kent County Cricket Club during the mid-19th century.[4]

Playing club cricket for a range of sides, including Bearsted and Leeds, William Clifford made his first-class cricket debut in 1834.[1] Renowned as one of the best batsmen in the Kent side, he played 17 of his 29 first-class matches for Kent teams, often opening the batting.[2] He played four times for the Players against the Gentlemen and for England sides[lower-alpha 2] and three times for the South against the North.[2] In 1841 he opened a cricket ground, Rucks Lane, at Gravesend[lower-alpha 3][6] and played his final first-class matches the same year.

Clifford worked as a wheelwright before becoming a publican at Gravesend in 1837. He died in September 1841 of a "bilious fever".[2] He was probably aged less than 30.[3]

Notes
  1. Carlaw gives Clifford's year of birth as 1812. CricketArchive gives the date of his christening as 11 December 1811.[1][2]
  2. During the time Clifford played, England sides were not representative of the country. Instead, they were sides composed of players from a range of locations brought together to play against another side.[5]
  3. The Bat and Ball Ground at Gravesend was established in around 1848 by Tom Adams, probably on the site of a private ground which had been created for the use of Lawrence Ruck, a Gravesend grocer who had built the nearby Ruckland House. This is likely to be the same ground.[6][7]

References
  1. William Clifford, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-17. (subscription required)
  2. Carlaw, pp. 112–113.
  3. William Clifford, CricInfo. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  4. Carlaw, pp. 111–112.
  5. Birley, p. 364.
  6. Milton 1999, p. 14.
  7. Milton 2020, p. 137.

Bibliography
  • Birley D (1999) A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978 1 78131 1769
  • Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition). (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
  • Milton H (1999) The Bat & Ball Gravesend: a first-class history. Gravesend: Gravesend Cricket Club. ISBN 0 9536041 0 1
  • Milton H (2020) Kent County Cricket Grounds. Worthing: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78531-661-6

William Clifford at ESPNcricinfo


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