Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an
English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first
British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with
W. G. Grace for the accolade of being the best
batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked who he would most like in his side, replied simply, "Give me Arthur".
An opening batsman, he played his
cricket for
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and played 23
Test match for
England,
captaining them in 7 games, with a record of won 5, lost 2. He was the last
professional to be captain until
Len Hutton was chosen in 1952. He was a
Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1890.
An expert on
sticky wickets,,
Cricinfo, Retrieved on 18 October 2007 Shrewsbury topped the first-class
batting averages seven times including in 1902, his final season. The following spring, incorrectly believing he had an incurable disease, he shot himself at his sister's home in
Gedling, Nottinghamshire.
Early life
Shrewsbury, the seventh child of William Shrewsbury and Mary Ann Wragg, was born in
New Lenton,
Nottinghamshire. He was educated at the People's College, Nottingham and trained as a draughtsman. His early club cricket was, like
William Scotton, with Meadow Imperial and he subsequently played for Nottingham Commercial Club where he came to the notice of the county...
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