Thomas Foster (cricketer, born 1848)

Thomas Foster (December 15, 1848 — March 22, 1929) was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm round-arm fast bowler, and an occasional wicket-keeper. He debuted for Derbyshire in the 1873 season. He was born in Mill Town, Glossop, and died in East Glossop.

Foster played his first match for the side in 1873, an eight-wicket defeat against Lancashire, putting up a sturdy show with the bat but not being called up to bowl. The player later came into his own during 1875, when he was allowed to sparkle in the middle-order, making three excellent appearances at the crease during this season. This stood him in good stead for the following year, though he had a tendency to play rather erratically with the bat. He continued his good form throughout the rest of the 1870s, and into the 1880s, when he played as part of a Gentlemen v. Players match.

Foster continued in a similar vein of erratic form in the 1880s, and in his final year at the club, in 1884, he played five games, dropping to the tailend in the final fixture of his career and losing out to Yorkshire in his final match.

Even prior to his retirement from first-class cricket in 1884, Foster was a licenced innkeeper and landlord of pubs in Hadfield and later East Glossop. During the 1892 season, Foster umpired ten first-class matches. Foster was of no relation to Fostershire, the seven brothers, all surnamed Foster, who played for Yorkshire in the early 20th century.

Foster had a wife and three children, and employed cotton weavers at his house in Glossop.

External links

* [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/29/29499/29499.html Thomas Foster] at Cricket Archive