Walter Livsey
Encyclopedia
Walter Herbert Livsey was an English
cricket
er for Hampshire from 1913 until 1929. A wicket-keeper
, Livsey played 320 first-class
matches and was considered one of the greatest keepers of the 1920s with 649 dismissals. He was also a tidy keeper, allowing only three byes
during Oxford's 554–run innings in his first match. For this success he became Hampshire's regular keeper, and performed a noted stumping of Jack Hobbs
in 1914. He fought during World War I
, and was demobilised for the 1920 season. He continued at Hampshire until 1929, when his health forced him into retirement.
however the form of Bert Strudwick, who would later play 28 tests for England and took 1237 catches and 258 stumpings in first-class cricket, meant that he could not find a place. He was later persuaded to move to Hampshire
to begin his cricketing career.
at the County Ground, Southampton
. He scored 11*
and 7*, taking two catches and making one stumping. He allowed only three byes
in the University's first innings of 554. Such tidy keeping prompted Hampshire to take Livsey on as their regular keeper. He played his first full season the following year, playing 28 matches in all. Batting at number ten in the order, Livsey was not out on many occasions, 20 of his 37 innings during this season alone and across his whole career he was not out on 137 occasions. He scored only 130 runs in the 1914 season, with a high score of 42* and an average of 7.64, however he took 39 catches and completed 23 stumpings. The most famous of these, of Surrey player Jack Hobbs, was made on 23 July 1914 during a 3-day match at Portsmouth
. Hobbs, on three, was bowled a "sharply lifting ball" by Alec Kennedy which was passing wide of leg stump. Livsey was able to retrieve the ball and remove the bails
before Hobbs could get back behind the crease
. This dismissal, of such a prestigious player, caused "quite a sensation" according to the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
.
Upon the outbreak of World War I at the end of the 1914 cricket season, Livsey joined the war effort. During his military career he played three cricket matches in India
, across the winters of 1915-16, 1917-18 and 1918-19, scoring a total of 18 runs and taking two catches and completing three stumpings throughout. The third of these matches, in November 1918, was organised by Lord Willingdon to aid Indian Famine Relief, and was played between two teams dubbed "England" and "India", the former of which was captained by Willingdon himself. Livsey was not demobilised until 1919, and thus missed this season in England. He returned for the 1920 season, however, and enjoyed greater form with the bat: playing 26 matches and scoring 285 runs at 12.95. He also scored his maiden half-century with a season high score of 50*, and enjoyed success with the gloves also, taking 23 catches and completing 26 stumpings. This was to be surpassed in the 1921 season, however, with 48 catches and 32 stumpings from 29 matches. His form with the bat also improved, hitting 471 runs at 15.19, including two half-centuries and a high score of 70*. The latter score formed part of a 192 partnership with Horace Alexander William Bowell against Worcestershire on 10 August 1921.
In 1922, Livsey played 31 matches, with 348 runs at 14.50, 35 catches and 22 stumpings. During this season that Livsey forged a partnership of 177 with George Brown
against Warwickshire, who had scored 223 in their first innings and bowled Hampshire out for 15. In the follow-on, Hampshire had a lead of 66 when Livsey came in at number ten, however his maiden century, 110*
with Brown and later Stuart Boyes
, gave Hampshire a 155 run victory. He failed to pass 50 on any other occasions during that season, however.
The 1923 season saw reduced success for Livsey with the bat. He scored one half-century, however his season total was a lower 247 at 9.14, and this included 14 not outs. His glove work continued to be successful, however, taking 38 catches and performing 21 stumpings. In 1924 Livsey improved his batting once again with 369 runs at 12.72, with a high score of 67. In the 29 matches he played during the season, he also took 21 catches and completed 21 stumpings. In 1925 success with both bat and gloves continued, with 425 runs at 15.74, 21 catches and 21 stumpings from 27 matches, and 1926 saw a career-best 562 runs at 19.37, with two half-centuries, a top score of 54, 34 catches and 18 stumpings, all from 29 matches.
Livsey's batting continued to reach new heights in 1927, when he hit another career-best 615 runs from 27 matches at 20.50, the first time he had ever broken into the 20s with his batting average
. He scored two half-centuries, the highest being 56*, and took 29 catches and completed 13 stumpings. His form with the bat peaked in 1928. Across 31 matches, Livsey scored 896 runs, including his only other first-class century, 109* against Kent in Dover
on 29 June 1928. His average for the season was 22.97, a career best, and he scored two other half-centuries. He also took 38 catches and performed 29 stumpings. His final season in domestic cricket was equally successful with the gloves, taking 44 catches and completing 30 stumpings from 29 matches, however his form with the bat decreased, passing 50 only once and scoring 556 at 13.56. In his final match, played on 28 August 1929 against Gloucestershire, he completed three stumpings and scored four and 27 as Gloucestershire won by 14 runs. By the end of this season, his health forced him into retirement.
He was butler
to his county captain, the Hon Lionel Tennyson
(subsequently Lord Tennyson).
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...
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 for Hampshire from 1913 until 1929. A wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
, Livsey played 320 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...
matches and was considered one of the greatest keepers of the 1920s with 649 dismissals. He was also a tidy keeper, allowing only three byes
Bye (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bye is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batsman and the ball has not hit the batsman's body.-Scoring byes:...
during Oxford's 554–run innings in his first match. For this success he became Hampshire's regular keeper, and performed a noted stumping of Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
in 1914. He fought during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and was demobilised for the 1920 season. He continued at Hampshire until 1929, when his health forced him into retirement.
Early life
Livsey was born in Todmorden, Yorkshire, and was registered at birth as Walter Herbert Livesey, though he would use Livsey for the rest of his life. Initially, Livsey hoped to find a career at The OvalThe Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
however the form of Bert Strudwick, who would later play 28 tests for England and took 1237 catches and 258 stumpings in first-class cricket, meant that he could not find a place. He was later persuaded to move to Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
to begin his cricketing career.
Career
Livsey's debut for Hampshire came on 30 June 1913 against Oxford University CCOxford 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...
at the County Ground, Southampton
County Ground, Southampton
The County Ground in Southampton, England was a former cricket and football ground. It was the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club from the 1885 English cricket season until the 2000 English cricket season...
. He scored 11*
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
and 7*, taking two catches and making one stumping. He allowed only three byes
Bye (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bye is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batsman and the ball has not hit the batsman's body.-Scoring byes:...
in the University's first innings of 554. Such tidy keeping prompted Hampshire to take Livsey on as their regular keeper. He played his first full season the following year, playing 28 matches in all. Batting at number ten in the order, Livsey was not out on many occasions, 20 of his 37 innings during this season alone and across his whole career he was not out on 137 occasions. He scored only 130 runs in the 1914 season, with a high score of 42* and an average of 7.64, however he took 39 catches and completed 23 stumpings. The most famous of these, of Surrey player Jack Hobbs, was made on 23 July 1914 during a 3-day match at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
. Hobbs, on three, was bowled a "sharply lifting ball" by Alec Kennedy which was passing wide of leg stump. Livsey was able to retrieve the ball and remove the bails
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
before Hobbs could get back behind the crease
Crease (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, the crease is a certain area demarcated by white lines painted or chalked on the field of play.The term crease also refers to any of the lines themselves, particularly the popping crease. Law 9 of the Laws of Cricket governs the size and position of the crease markings...
. This dismissal, of such a prestigious player, caused "quite a sensation" according to the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
.
Upon the outbreak of World War I at the end of the 1914 cricket season, Livsey joined the war effort. During his military career he played three cricket matches in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, across the winters of 1915-16, 1917-18 and 1918-19, scoring a total of 18 runs and taking two catches and completing three stumpings throughout. The third of these matches, in November 1918, was organised by Lord Willingdon to aid Indian Famine Relief, and was played between two teams dubbed "England" and "India", the former of which was captained by Willingdon himself. Livsey was not demobilised until 1919, and thus missed this season in England. He returned for the 1920 season, however, and enjoyed greater form with the bat: playing 26 matches and scoring 285 runs at 12.95. He also scored his maiden half-century with a season high score of 50*, and enjoyed success with the gloves also, taking 23 catches and completing 26 stumpings. This was to be surpassed in the 1921 season, however, with 48 catches and 32 stumpings from 29 matches. His form with the bat also improved, hitting 471 runs at 15.19, including two half-centuries and a high score of 70*. The latter score formed part of a 192 partnership with Horace Alexander William Bowell against Worcestershire on 10 August 1921.
In 1922, Livsey played 31 matches, with 348 runs at 14.50, 35 catches and 22 stumpings. During this season that Livsey forged a partnership of 177 with George Brown
George Brown (cricketer)
George Brown was an English cricketer who played in 7 Tests from 1921 to 1923. George Brown was born in Cowley, Oxfordshire, the son of Edwin Brown and Sarah Ann...
against Warwickshire, who had scored 223 in their first innings and bowled Hampshire out for 15. In the follow-on, Hampshire had a lead of 66 when Livsey came in at number ten, however his maiden century, 110*
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
with Brown and later Stuart Boyes
Stuart Boyes
George Stuart Boyes was an English first class cricketer who played with Hampshire.Boyes was a slow left-arm bowler with a high action, taking 1415 wickets for Hampshire. He twice took a hattrick, one of them when he took his career best figures of 9 for 57 against Somerset at Yeovil in 1938...
, gave Hampshire a 155 run victory. He failed to pass 50 on any other occasions during that season, however.
The 1923 season saw reduced success for Livsey with the bat. He scored one half-century, however his season total was a lower 247 at 9.14, and this included 14 not outs. His glove work continued to be successful, however, taking 38 catches and performing 21 stumpings. In 1924 Livsey improved his batting once again with 369 runs at 12.72, with a high score of 67. In the 29 matches he played during the season, he also took 21 catches and completed 21 stumpings. In 1925 success with both bat and gloves continued, with 425 runs at 15.74, 21 catches and 21 stumpings from 27 matches, and 1926 saw a career-best 562 runs at 19.37, with two half-centuries, a top score of 54, 34 catches and 18 stumpings, all from 29 matches.
Livsey's batting continued to reach new heights in 1927, when he hit another career-best 615 runs from 27 matches at 20.50, the first time he had ever broken into the 20s with his batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
. He scored two half-centuries, the highest being 56*, and took 29 catches and completed 13 stumpings. His form with the bat peaked in 1928. Across 31 matches, Livsey scored 896 runs, including his only other first-class century, 109* against Kent in Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
on 29 June 1928. His average for the season was 22.97, a career best, and he scored two other half-centuries. He also took 38 catches and performed 29 stumpings. His final season in domestic cricket was equally successful with the gloves, taking 44 catches and completing 30 stumpings from 29 matches, however his form with the bat decreased, passing 50 only once and scoring 556 at 13.56. In his final match, played on 28 August 1929 against Gloucestershire, he completed three stumpings and scored four and 27 as Gloucestershire won by 14 runs. By the end of this season, his health forced him into retirement.
He was butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
to his county captain, the Hon Lionel Tennyson
Lionel Tennyson, 3rd Baron Tennyson
Lionel Hallam Tennyson, 3rd Baron Tennyson was known principally as a cricketer who captained Hampshire and England...
(subsequently Lord Tennyson).