Ronald Lagden
Encyclopedia
Ronald Owen Lagden was an English
sportsman who played first-class cricket
for Oxford University
and represented England at rugby union
.
, as well as playing with Surrey
. Their father Godfrey appeared in a first-class match for the Marylebone Cricket Club
at the age of 54.
for a duck.
Apart from University Matches
, Lagden also played against touring international sides, Australia in 1909, India in 1911 and South Africa in 1912. One of his two victims in the match against India was captain Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
The final time Lagden played with Oxford was at Lord's
in July 1912, another University Match. He scored 68 in his final innings and dismissed his brother Reginald as his 56th and last first-class wicket.
. He was capped once for England, in the final match of their 1911 Five Nations Championship
campaign, a Calcutta Cup
match against Scotland at Twickenham
. Lagden, a number eight, kicked two conversions in the 13 to 8 win.
and was then attached to the 4th Battalion which were to fight in the Western Front
. Just before the Second Battle of Ypres
, Captain Lagden was one of 300 soldiers that ventured over the trench walls in an attack on the Germans, but was killed.
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...
sportsman who played first-class cricket
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...
for Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
and represented England at rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
.
Family
Lagden had a brother, Reginald, who was a first-class cricketer for Oxford's rivals, Cambridge UniversityCambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
, as well as playing with Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
. Their father Godfrey appeared in a first-class match 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...
at the age of 54.
Cricket
A right arm fast bowler, Lagden batted in the lower order but often contributed valuable runs. His best innings was 99 not out, which he made in 1912 against the H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's XI, missing out on a century when Australian Neville Fraser was adjudged leg before wicket to Ernest SmithErnest Smith (1869)
Ernest Smith was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played twenty one games for Oxford University from 1888 to 1891, 154 matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1888 to 1907, and four for the MCC from 1892 to 1902.Smith was born in Morley, Yorkshire, England...
for a duck.
Apart from University Matches
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
, Lagden also played against touring international sides, Australia in 1909, India in 1911 and South Africa in 1912. One of his two victims in the match against India was captain Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
The final time Lagden played with Oxford was at Lord's
Lord'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...
in July 1912, another University Match. He scored 68 in his final innings and dismissed his brother Reginald as his 56th and last first-class wicket.
Rugby
While at Oxford University, Lagden took part in three Varsity matchesThe Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
. He was capped once for England, in the final match of their 1911 Five Nations Championship
1911 Five Nations Championship
The 1911 Five Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the twenty-ninth series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby...
campaign, a Calcutta Cup
Calcutta Cup
The Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently England's since the 2009 Six Nations Championship....
match against Scotland at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
. Lagden, a number eight, kicked two conversions in the 13 to 8 win.
War
In 1914, Lagden joined the King's Royal Rifle CorpsKing's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
and was then attached to the 4th Battalion which were to fight in the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. Just before the Second Battle of Ypres
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St...
, Captain Lagden was one of 300 soldiers that ventured over the trench walls in an attack on the Germans, but was killed.