William Edward Hickmott (10 April 1893 – 16 January 1968) was an English breeder of golden retrievers and professional cricketer who played between 1914 and 1924.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Edward Hickmott | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 April 1893 Boxley, Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 16 January 1969 (aged 75) West Malling, Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Left-arm slow-medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Edward Hickmott (uncle) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1914–1921 | Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1923–1924 | Lancashire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 31 August 1914 Kent v Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last FC | 12 July 1924 Lancashire v Surrey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 2 August 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life edit
Hickmott was born at Boxley in Kent, the son of William and Mary Hickmott. His family ran The King's Arms public house in the village. He was taken on at Kent County Cricket Clubs Tonbridge Nursery in 1910 and played for Kent's Second XI from 1911.[1] He made his first-class cricket debut in August 1914, playing for Kent in their final match of the season against Hamspshire and Bournemouth.[1][2] An uncle, Edward Hickmott, had played for Kent in the 1870s as a wicket-keeper.[1]
Military service edit
Hickmott had already enrolled in the British Army when he made his senior debut. He served initially in the West Kent Yeomanry before transferring to the Royal West Kent Regiment (RWK), serving with 6 and 8 battalions RWK on the Western Front during World War I. He reached the rank of corporal.[3]
Post-war cricket edit
After the war, Hickmott played as a professional for Ramsbottom Cricket Club in the Lancashire League. He played twice for Kent in 1921 but was not engaged by the club and played for Lancashire in 1923 and 1924, making 34 first-class appearances.[1][3] A left-arm bowler, Wisden recorded that Hickmott "bowled medium to rather slow and sometimes caused a lot of trouble without doing steady enough work to fulfil expectations".[4] After 1925 he left Ramsbottom, playing Central Lancashire League cricket for Rochdale, for whom he took a league record 140 wickets in 1927. He later played for Wallasey and appeared for Liverpool District against a touring South American side in 1932.[1][4]
Later life edit
In later life, Hickmott became a well-known breeder of golden retrievers, regularly showing his dogs at Crufts.[1][3] He died in 1968 at West Malling in Kent, aged 74.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition), pp. 248–249. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
- ^ William Hickmott, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ a b c Lewis P (2013) For Kent and Country, p.328. Brighton: Reveille Press. ISBN 978-1-908336-63-7
- ^ a b Hickmott, William Edward, Obituaries in 1968, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1969. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
- ^ William Hickmott, CricInfo. Retrieved 2020-08-02.