A-Z (E1)

A-Z (E1)

December 9, 2017, 3:05 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Just a couple today, to get the Es started:

Eagar, Edward Desmond Russell (297 – Amateur) born Cheltenham 8.12.1917, died Devon 13.9.1977. As a Hampshire cricketer Desmond Eagar had a modest record: he was essentially a batsman and in 311 first-class matches he scored just over 10,000 runs at an average of 21.02 with eight centuries in 12 seasons. He passed 1,000 runs in six seasons, but as a player his outstanding contribution was taking catches close to the wicket – mainly short-leg – and he is one of the few regular Hampshire cricketers to average better than one catch per match. At Oxford University before the war he took 16 wickets bowling slow-left-arm in 23 games, but with Hampshire he took just 15 in total.

Eagar was nonetheless one of the most important figures in Hampshire’s history. He played first for his native Gloucestershire in 1935 age just 17 (21 matches from 1935-1939) and after his University (‘blue’ in 1939) and war service he applied successfully for the twin roles of captain and secretary and by combining them could retain his amateur status on the field. As with many counties, he inherited an ageing side of men returning from war and initially he sought to introduce fresh blood through amateurs, but the austere 1940s and early 1950s hardly helped that approach, so he set about assembling a group of good professionals from elsewhere, occasional overseas cricketers and crucially a core of promising youngsters. Reflecting his own skills, he insisted on high standards of fielding, and appointed one of his pre-war professionals Arthur Holt as coach.

As captain his great year was 1955. Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie deputised for Leo Harrison in one match, otherwise Eagar led just 13 men to third place in the Championship for the first time. Those 13 included six Hampshire-born, home-grown players, Gray, Burden, Sainsbury, Barnard, Heath, and Harrison plus Vic Cannings, recruited from Warwickshire but Hampshire-born too. In 1956 and 1957, Eagar gave Ingleby-Mackenzie opportunities to develop his captaincy skills and the young man took over in 1958, at which point Eagar became full-time secretary and saw his efforts come to fruition in 1958 (second place) and 1961 (Champions). That side was getting older so he set about building another with men like Jesty, Turner, Greenidge, Lewis and his apparent successor Richard Gilliat in the role of captain and Assistant Secretary. In 1973 Eagar saw that side win a second title and they had begun to win limited overs titles when he died suddenly and unexpectedly while on holiday at the end of the 1977 season.

Eagar was a great collector of cricket literature and cricketana and an expert on cricket history. He played University and county standard hockey and reported on it for the Telegraph newspapers. But he will be remembered very fondly, primarily as the chief architect of the fine Hampshire sides of the first three post-war decades.

Eccles, Charles Vernon (Pre ’95 – Amateur) born Cheshire 20.8.1843, died India 21.2.1890. He was a right-hand batsman and occasional lob bowler who attended Cheltenham College and in 1870 & 1875 played in two first-class matches for the county, scoring 36 runs in four innings. There is an extensive record of his minor matches for clubs like I Zingari, and teams in the county from 1863-1879; by 1881 he was in India and played one match for Poona v Bombay. His brother (WH) played for MCC and was Hon Secretary of Hampshire, 1867-1869, without ever playing a match for Hampshire.

 

 

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