George Claridge (21 May 1794 – 27 August 1856) was an English lawyer who played first-class cricket in the early 19th century.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 21 May 1794 Sevenoaks, Kent | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 August 1856 (aged 62) Sevenoaks, Kent | ||||||||||||||
| Relations | John Thomas Claridge (brother) | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1818–1828 | Hampshire XI | ||||||||||||||
| 1827–1829 | Kent XI | ||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 17 August 1818 Hampshire v MCC | ||||||||||||||
| Last FC | 29 June 1829 Kent v Sussex | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: CricInfo, 17 July 2022 | |||||||||||||||
Claridge was born at Sevenoaks in Kent in 1794, the son of John Fellowes Claridge and his wife Ann (née Swayne). His father was a solicitor in the town and, after being educated at Harrow School, Claridge followed his father into the law, practising in Sevenoaks from 1815 until his death in 1841.[1][2][3] Claridge's brother, John Thomas Claridge, was at Harrow at the same time and was a contemporary and school friend of Lord Byron. He was a barrister at the Middle Temple, knighted in 1825 and served as the first Recorder of Prince of Wales Island, an area of the Straits Settlements covering Penang, Singapore and Malacca.[2][4]
Claridge played club cricket for variety of sides in London and Kent. He played for a Gentlemen of West Kent side in 1815 and for Prince's Plain Club and the West Kent Cricket Club, living in Chislehurst where the Prince's Plain Club moved to in 1821.[1][5] He made his first-class debut in 1818 for a Hampshire side against MCC at Lord's and played for a variety of club sides, including the Gentlemen of Kent in the period until 1827. Between then and 1829 he played in nine more first-class matches, eight for Kent sides and a further match for a Hampshire XI. Claridge generally played as a wicket-keeper and in his 10 first-class matches scored a total of 68 runs, with a highest score of 12.[1][3]
In later life Claridge used a wheelchair as a result of partial paralysis, but continued to organise and attend cricket matches, particularly at Sevenoaks Vine. He lived in London for a time, with a residence on Great Marlborough Street in 1841, but owned property at Godden Green near Sevenoaks. He married Fanny Chambers in 1846.[1] Claridge died at Sevenoaks in 1856 aged 62.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition), pp. 110–111. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
- ^ a b Dauglish MG, Stephenson PK (1911) The Harrow School Register 1900–1911 (third edition), p. 35. London: Longmans, Green & Co. (Available online. Retrieved 2022-07-13.)
- ^ a b George Claridge, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2022-07-13. (subscription required)
- ^ Foster J (1884) Alumni oxonienses, later series, A–D, p. 254. Oxford: Parker & Co. (Available online. Retrieved 2022-07-13.)
- ^ The History of BCCC, Bromley Common Cricket Club. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ George Claridge, CricInfo. Retrieved 202-207-13.