Cornelius Coward
Encyclopedia
Cornelius Coward was an English
cricket
er. A talented fielder and right-handed batsman, popularly known as Kerr, Coward played 49 first class matches for Lancashire Cricket Club between 1865 and 1876. He scored 1,210 runs in the middle order
for Lancashire, before retiring to play club cricket
for his home town of Preston – who he also coached – as well as becoming a cricket umpire for 98 matches, a licensed victualler
and a teacher at the Roman Catholic institutions of Stoneyhurst College in Lancashire and Clongowes Wood College in Ireland
.
against a 20-man-Yorkshire team. Coward was dismissed for a duck
by William Iddison; took two catches to dismiss Joseph Thewlis off the bowling of George Tarrant
and John Thewlis off the bowling of Edgar Willsher
; and then scored a second duck to end the match with a pair. He then played a second match in June 1862, for a team of professionals against the MCC
at Lord's, where he scored another duck in the first innings, and then top-scored with 17 in the second innings, earning a presentation bat from the Hon. F. Ponsonby.
He then played four matches between 1863 and 1864 for two Lancashire teams – Gentlemen of Lancashire and Players of Lancashire – against similar Shropshire
, Warwickshire
and Yorkshire. On 25 May 1865, he played a three day match against the United South of England Eleven for a 22-strong Pleasington
. Coward scored four and 25 as Pleasington fell to a 12-run defeat. His skills with the bat, "reckoned to be an excellent batsman and a good field at long-leg or cover-point," attracted the attention of Lancashire.
. Middlesex won the toss and batted first, reaching 226 and dismissing Lancashire for 112 with Coward making 23. Following on, Coward was run out
for a duck, with Lancashire's 130 all out leaving Middlesex only 17 to win, which they reached without losing a wicket, and with a day still remaining in the game. Coward did not play another match in the 1865 season, however he became a more regular fixture in the 1866 season, with five appearances for his county. He scored 183 runs at 20.33, including his career-best 85. This score came in a 5 July 1866 match at Old Trafford, where Coward came in to bat with Lancashire on 48/6. He took Lancashire to 181 before becoming the last wicket to fall. He scored four more in the second innings, but could not prevent a 54-run defeat by Middlesex. His abilities with the bat earned him places in the United All England Eleven sides as well as both Gentlemen and Players' teams. He would go on to score 81 runs from three matches for the United All England Eleven side.
Coward enjoyed regular first class appearances during the next two seasons – 1867 and 1868 – making ten appearances in both. He scored 285 runs in 1867, another career best, at 16.76 with a high score of 34; and he scored 267 runs in 1868 at 14.05 – which included more matches for North of England Eleven – with a best of 46. He also took six catches in the field. Coward made eight other appearances in 1869, scoring 165 runs at 15.00. On 27 May 1869, Lancashire faced Surrey, where Coward scored his season-best of 49, followed by 16*. He also faced the MCC on 19 July, where Coward scored five in the first innings, and 15 in the second before he was bowled by WG Grace. Coward also played two All England Eleven matches against Worksop
and Northamptonshire, scored five, three, 15 and 18; and in the latter match her took four catches.
Coward continued to umpire cricket matches while he played more occasionally for Lancashire. Coward played six matches in 1871, scoring 162 runs at 16.20; and three further matches in 1872 which returned only 33 runs at 6.60. His umpiring then tapered off, and would not resume to any great extent until the 1880s. He would also not play first class cricket between 1872 and 1875, with an appearance on 27 August 1874 for United North of England Eleven against Northamptonshire being his only cricket appearance. He returned in 1875 for three matches, scoring only 54 runs at 10.80, and one final match in 1876 where he failed to score a run. This would be his last appearance as a player in any first class matches, and he resumed umpiring briefly from 1876-1879, before becoming a regular umpire from 1880 until 1893. He enjoyed a match for his benefit between Lancashire and Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford in July 1878.
In 1889, Coward also received the benefit of a match between Lancashire and an 18-man team from Preston Cricket Club. Coward's final match as an umpire, saw Surrey face Gloucestershire at the Kennington Oval on 1 June 1893. During it, Coward oversaw WG Grace passing 38500 first class runs in partnership with fellow, and international Test umpire, C Clements.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. A talented fielder and right-handed batsman, popularly known as Kerr, Coward played 49 first class matches for Lancashire Cricket Club between 1865 and 1876. He scored 1,210 runs in the middle order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
for Lancashire, before retiring to play club cricket
Club cricket
Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are always observed...
for his home town of Preston – who he also coached – as well as becoming a cricket umpire for 98 matches, a licensed victualler
Victualler
A victualler is traditionally a person who sells food or other provisions, similar to a grocer, and in particular British usage can be used to mean a person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages....
and a teacher at the Roman Catholic institutions of Stoneyhurst College in Lancashire and Clongowes Wood College in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Early days
Coward was born in January 1838, in Preston, Lancashire. His brother, Frederick Coward, was born on 11 February 1842 while Cornelius was aged four. On 26 May 1862, aged 24, Coward appeared for All England Eleven – a team of hitherto untested cricketers who had not played professional cricket before – at Lord's cricket groundLord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
against a 20-man-Yorkshire team. Coward was dismissed for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
by William Iddison; took two catches to dismiss Joseph Thewlis off the bowling of George Tarrant
George Tarrant
George Frederick Tarrant was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1860 to 1869...
and John Thewlis off the bowling of Edgar Willsher
Edgar Willsher
Edgar "Ned" Willsher was an English cricketer who is famous for being the catalyst in the shift from roundarm to overarm bowling....
; and then scored a second duck to end the match with a pair. He then played a second match in June 1862, for a team of professionals against the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
at Lord's, where he scored another duck in the first innings, and then top-scored with 17 in the second innings, earning a presentation bat from the Hon. F. Ponsonby.
He then played four matches between 1863 and 1864 for two Lancashire teams – Gentlemen of Lancashire and Players of Lancashire – against similar Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and Yorkshire. On 25 May 1865, he played a three day match against the United South of England Eleven for a 22-strong Pleasington
Pleasington
Pleasington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It had a population of 467 in the 2001 census.It is a rural village set on a hillside above the River Darwen...
. Coward scored four and 25 as Pleasington fell to a 12-run defeat. His skills with the bat, "reckoned to be an excellent batsman and a good field at long-leg or cover-point," attracted the attention of Lancashire.
First class cricket
Coward made his debut for Lancashire on 7 August 1865, against Middlesex in a cricket ground at IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
. Middlesex won the toss and batted first, reaching 226 and dismissing Lancashire for 112 with Coward making 23. Following on, Coward was run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
for a duck, with Lancashire's 130 all out leaving Middlesex only 17 to win, which they reached without losing a wicket, and with a day still remaining in the game. Coward did not play another match in the 1865 season, however he became a more regular fixture in the 1866 season, with five appearances for his county. He scored 183 runs at 20.33, including his career-best 85. This score came in a 5 July 1866 match at Old Trafford, where Coward came in to bat with Lancashire on 48/6. He took Lancashire to 181 before becoming the last wicket to fall. He scored four more in the second innings, but could not prevent a 54-run defeat by Middlesex. His abilities with the bat earned him places in the United All England Eleven sides as well as both Gentlemen and Players' teams. He would go on to score 81 runs from three matches for the United All England Eleven side.
Coward enjoyed regular first class appearances during the next two seasons – 1867 and 1868 – making ten appearances in both. He scored 285 runs in 1867, another career best, at 16.76 with a high score of 34; and he scored 267 runs in 1868 at 14.05 – which included more matches for North of England Eleven – with a best of 46. He also took six catches in the field. Coward made eight other appearances in 1869, scoring 165 runs at 15.00. On 27 May 1869, Lancashire faced Surrey, where Coward scored his season-best of 49, followed by 16*. He also faced the MCC on 19 July, where Coward scored five in the first innings, and 15 in the second before he was bowled by WG Grace. Coward also played two All England Eleven matches against Worksop
Worksop
Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated to be 39,800...
and Northamptonshire, scored five, three, 15 and 18; and in the latter match her took four catches.
Umpiring
Coward was reduced to two appearances in 1870, first against Surrey where he scored one and two not out, and the second for United North of England Eleven first against United South of England Eleven. Instead, Coward undertook first class cricket umpiring, with his first match taking place on 21 July between Lancashire and Hampshire. Coward went on to umpire 98 first class matches, and 19 other matches.Coward continued to umpire cricket matches while he played more occasionally for Lancashire. Coward played six matches in 1871, scoring 162 runs at 16.20; and three further matches in 1872 which returned only 33 runs at 6.60. His umpiring then tapered off, and would not resume to any great extent until the 1880s. He would also not play first class cricket between 1872 and 1875, with an appearance on 27 August 1874 for United North of England Eleven against Northamptonshire being his only cricket appearance. He returned in 1875 for three matches, scoring only 54 runs at 10.80, and one final match in 1876 where he failed to score a run. This would be his last appearance as a player in any first class matches, and he resumed umpiring briefly from 1876-1879, before becoming a regular umpire from 1880 until 1893. He enjoyed a match for his benefit between Lancashire and Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford in July 1878.
In 1889, Coward also received the benefit of a match between Lancashire and an 18-man team from Preston Cricket Club. Coward's final match as an umpire, saw Surrey face Gloucestershire at the Kennington Oval on 1 June 1893. During it, Coward oversaw WG Grace passing 38500 first class runs in partnership with fellow, and international Test umpire, C Clements.