Ewart Astill
Encyclopedia
Ewart Astill (1 March 1888, Ratby
, Leicestershire
, England
– 10 February 1948, Stoneygate
, Leicester
, England) was, along with George Geary
, the mainstay of the Leicestershire
team from 1922 to about 1935. He played in nine Test matches
but was never picked for a home Test
or for the Ashes tour. However, for the best part of three decades he was a vital member of a generally struggling Leicestershire team. With no amateur able to play frequently for the county, Astill became the first officially appointed professional captain of any county for over fifty years in 1935. The county enjoyed a useful season, but at forty-seven years of age, Astill was only a stop gap before an amateur of the required standard and availability could be found. He was a nephew of Leicestershire fast bowler Thomas Jayes.
In the wet summer of 1912, Astill regained his place but was expensive considering the favourable conditions, and on the firmer wickets of 1913 he could not retain his place. In 1914, he played only five matches.
. In all he took 100 wickets in nine seasons and passed a thousand runs in eleven.
, playing 24 matches and taking 71 wickets. His form declined from 1933 onwards.
Astill rejoined the Army but later resigned his commission on the grounds of health. His health subsequently declined he died in Leicester Hospital
just three weeks before his sixtieth birthday. He is buried in Welford Road Cemetery
.
player and according to EE Snow(p. 194), was a noted player of trick shots. He was also an accomplished singer and accompanist.
Ratby
Ratby is a commuter village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire. It is situated to the west of Leicester, and just south of the motorway. It has a population of about 4,000. The Roman name for Leicester was Ratae Corieltauvorum...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
– 10 February 1948, Stoneygate
Stoneygate
Stoneygate is part of the City of Leicester, England.Situated on the south-east side of the city some two miles from the centre, Stoneygate is a mainly residential suburb characterised by its large Victorian houses...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, England) was, along with George Geary
George Geary
George Geary was easily the greatest cricketer Leicestershire produced before the advent of David Gower and one of the best and hardest-working bowlers of the inter-war period...
, the mainstay of the Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
team from 1922 to about 1935. He played in nine Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
but was never picked for a home Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
or for the Ashes tour. However, for the best part of three decades he was a vital member of a generally struggling Leicestershire team. With no amateur able to play frequently for the county, Astill became the first officially appointed professional captain of any county for over fifty years in 1935. The county enjoyed a useful season, but at forty-seven years of age, Astill was only a stop gap before an amateur of the required standard and availability could be found. He was a nephew of Leicestershire fast bowler Thomas Jayes.
Pre-1914 career
Astill began his career at the age of eighteen in 1906. He played only one match that season, but his medium-paced right-hand bowling on the treacherous pitches of the following season was so difficult that he took in county cricket 74 wickets for 16.58. The following year, Astill was Leicestershire's chief bowler with 84 wickets. His thirteen for 61 against Derbyshire on a treacherous pitch was a result he was never able to beat for twenty-five years after that. He again did well in 1909, but struggled in 1910 and 1911 and was dropped from his team.In the wet summer of 1912, Astill regained his place but was expensive considering the favourable conditions, and on the firmer wickets of 1913 he could not retain his place. In 1914, he played only five matches.
War service
During the war, Astill gained a commission in the Machine Gun Corps. He played only thrice in 1919 because he was late to be demobilised as he was overseas(Snow p. 247).Great years
Astill started his career low in the batting order but emerged after the war number four or five. His maiden century in 1921 was against newly promoted Glamorgan at Swansea. He completed the double in each season from 1921 to 26, and again from 1928 to 30. He took over 150 wickets in 1921 and 144 in 1922, and his bowling, even if his action was not as high as in the 1900s, was always steady and occasionally deadly. Only in 1927 did he fail to taken 100 wickets, but that season Astill made his highest first-class score of 164 against GlamorganGlamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
. In all he took 100 wickets in nine seasons and passed a thousand runs in eleven.
Tours and Test matches
Astill, was never seriously in the running for a tour to Australia, but toured the West Indies with private parties during the middle 1920s, and played in five Tests on matting in South Africa in 1927/28, and four against the West Indies in 1929/1930, although he was not effective in those matches. In 1926/27 he was a member of the party that toured India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Burma with the MCCMarylebone 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...
, playing 24 matches and taking 71 wickets. His form declined from 1933 onwards.
Later years
Although Astill retired at the end of 1937, Leicestershire was short of effective players and he was forced to come out of retirement twice in 1938 and in 1939. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Astill rejoined the Army but later resigned his commission on the grounds of health. His health subsequently declined he died in Leicester Hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
just three weeks before his sixtieth birthday. He is buried in Welford Road Cemetery
Welford Road Cemetery
Welford Road Cemetery is a public cemetery in Leicester.The Leicester General Cemetery Company was founded in 1845, and the cemetery itself opened in 1849. The buildings and plan of the cemetery were designed by J. R. Hamilton and J. M. Medland, who also designed cemeteries for Birmingham and...
.
Other interests
Ewart Astill was also a champion billiardsBilliards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
player and according to EE Snow(p. 194), was a noted player of trick shots. He was also an accomplished singer and accompanist.