Vincent Tancred
Encyclopedia
Vincent Maximillian Tancred (7 July 1875 - 3 June 1904) was a South Africa
n cricket
er who played in one Test
in 1899.
Born into a cricketing family in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tancred, along with his brothers Bernard
and Louis
, showed cricketing talent from a young age and began playing for the Pretoria
based Union Club while pursuing a legal career. Under the coaching of Albert Trott
, Tancred developed into one of the best cricketers in the country, making his first-class
debut on 7 March 1898 for Abe Bailey's Transvaal XI against Natal, scoring 57 and 4*. Tancred was second in the first-class batting averages for the 1897/98 season.
Tancred made his Test debut for South Africa
at Johannesburg
in the first Test of the 1898/99 series against England. Opening the batting, Tancred scored 18 and seven and was dropped for the second Test.
Tancred worked as Secretary of the Pretoria Club until the commencement of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899, after which he enlisted in the South African Light Horse, serving as a Lieutenant during the relief of Ladysmith
, and was mentioned in despatches.
Following the war, Tancred gained work as a customs clearing agent and was keen to return to the South African side but, while playing for Transvaal against the touring 1902 Australian
side, scored one and 0 and was left out of the ensuing Test series.
Tancred still harboured hopes of making the 1904 touring side to England but when only listed as a reserve, supposedly lapsed into depression.
Following an evening playing billiards with friends at a club in Johannesburg, Tancred borrowed a revolver and returned to the hotel in Roodepoort where he was staying. There, Tancred apparently shot himself in the head three times and was found unconscious by his brother Bernard, who had rushed to the hotel upon hearing of the revolver in Vincent’s possession. Tancred died four hours later. A bachelor, he left no heirs.
Tancred’s brother Louis, a member of the South African touring team to England, heard of Vincent’s death and temporarily withdrew from the team before returning to the side to post some large scores in Vincent’s memory.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n 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 played in one 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...
in 1899.
Born into a cricketing family in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tancred, along with his brothers Bernard
Bernard Tancred
Augustus Bernard Tancred was a leading 19th century South African Test cricketer.Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tancred attended St...
and Louis
Louis Tancred
Louis Joseph Tancred was a South African cricketer who played in 14 Tests from 1902 to 1913, including three as captain....
, showed cricketing talent from a young age and began playing for the Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
based Union Club while pursuing a legal career. Under the coaching of Albert Trott
Albert Trott
Albert Trott was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He remains the only batsman who has struck a ball over the top of the Lord's pavilion...
, Tancred developed into one of the best cricketers in the country, making his 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...
debut on 7 March 1898 for Abe Bailey's Transvaal XI against Natal, scoring 57 and 4*. Tancred was second in the first-class batting averages for the 1897/98 season.
Tancred made his Test debut for South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in the first Test of the 1898/99 series against England. Opening the batting, Tancred scored 18 and seven and was dropped for the second Test.
Tancred worked as Secretary of the Pretoria Club until the commencement of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899, after which he enlisted in the South African Light Horse, serving as a Lieutenant during the relief of Ladysmith
Siege of Ladysmith
The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
, and was mentioned in despatches.
Following the war, Tancred gained work as a customs clearing agent and was keen to return to the South African side but, while playing for Transvaal against the touring 1902 Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
side, scored one and 0 and was left out of the ensuing Test series.
Tancred still harboured hopes of making the 1904 touring side to England but when only listed as a reserve, supposedly lapsed into depression.
Following an evening playing billiards with friends at a club in Johannesburg, Tancred borrowed a revolver and returned to the hotel in Roodepoort where he was staying. There, Tancred apparently shot himself in the head three times and was found unconscious by his brother Bernard, who had rushed to the hotel upon hearing of the revolver in Vincent’s possession. Tancred died four hours later. A bachelor, he left no heirs.
Tancred’s brother Louis, a member of the South African touring team to England, heard of Vincent’s death and temporarily withdrew from the team before returning to the side to post some large scores in Vincent’s memory.