Dudley David Pontifex (12 February 1855 – 27 September 1934) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey, Somerset and the Marylebone Cricket Club, plus other amateur sides, between 1878 and 1896.[1] He was born at Weston, Bath, Somerset, and died at West Dulwich, London.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dudley David Pontifex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 February 1855 Weston, Bath, Somerset, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 September 1934 (aged 79) West Dulwich, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1881 | Surrey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1882 | Somerset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1883–96 | Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 3 June 1878 Gentlemen of England v Oxford University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 19 May 1896 MCC v Essex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 11 July 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pontifex was a right-handed middle-order or opening batsman. Educated in Bath, he appeared in a freshmen's trial match at Cambridge University but failed to make the first team; he did, however, win a Blue for billiards.[2]
Appearing in minor cricket for amateur sides in Somerset and for Somerset County Cricket Club in non-first-class matches from 1877, Pontifex made his first-class cricket debut in 1878 against Oxford University for a Gentlemen of England side, and was successful neither in that nor in the South v North match that followed.[3] After university, Pontifex moved to London to qualify as a lawyer and in 1881 he appeared fairly regularly in first-class matches for Surrey. In the match against Nottinghamshire at The Oval, he opened the batting and scored 89; this was his only score of more than 50 in first-class cricket.[4] This was his only season of regular cricket. In 1882, he made a single first-class appearance in Somerset's debut season as a first-class team. He then played for MCC irregularly, and only very occasionally in first-class matches, over the next 14 seasons until his final first-class match in 1896.
His obituary in The Times in 1934 stated that after the age of 45 he took up golf and "became a scratch player"; he was also known as a real tennis and billiards player.[5]
References edit
- ^ "Dudley Pontifex". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ "Brief profile of D.D. Pontifex". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ "Scorecard: Oxford University v Gentlemen of England". www.cricketarchive.com. 3 June 1878. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ "Scorecard: Surrey v Nottinghamshire". www.cricketarchive.com. 21 July 1881. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ "Obituaries: Mr D. D. Pontifex". The Times. No. 46874. London. 2 October 1934. p. 19.