Henry "Harry" Pickett was an English 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 who represented Essex

Essex County Cricket Club

Essex 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 Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...

 for 17 years although only the last four were at first-class

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 level. A fast bowler

Fast bowling

Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...

 he was 'powerfully built' and 'bowled with a high arm'. His most significant performance came in 1895 when he took all ten 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....

 wickets for 32 runs. These are the best innings figures

Bowling analysis

In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...

 recorded by an Essex bowler, the fourth best in the County Championship

County Championship

The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...

, and the ninth best in first-class cricket.

Born in Stratford

Stratford, London

Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...

, Pickett first played for Essex in 1881 but it would be 13 years before the county was awarded first-class status. In the intervening period he did make several first-class appearances for the Marylebone Cricket Club

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...

 (MCC), the first in 1884 against Sussex

Sussex County Cricket Club

Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...

. He played in Essex's first ever first-class match in 1894 but struggled in that first season taking 11 wickets at an average

Bowling average

Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...

 of 31.09. The following season, Essex's first season in the County Championship, was more successful. He took 66 wickets, at 17.72, including the 10/32 against Leicestershire as well as five-fors in wins against Somerset

Somerset County Cricket Club

Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...

 and Hampshire

Hampshire County Cricket Club

Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...

. Over the next two seasons he took 50 wickets at around 30. He didn't play again for Essex following his benefit season in 1897, he played one match for the MCC in 1898 before two seasons of umpiring

Umpire (cricket)

In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...

. Following the end of his playing career he also coached at Clifton College

Clifton College

Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...

.

Pickett disappeared on 27 September 1907 and a week later was found washed ashore on Aberavon

Aberavon

Aberavon is a settlement in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town...

beach. His death is listed as suicide.