William Yardley (cricketer)

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Willam Yardley


country = England
fullname = William Yardley
nickname =
dayofbirth = 10
monthofbirth = 6
yearofbirth = 1849
placeofbirth = Bombay
countryofbirth = India
dayofdeath = 28
monthofdeath = 10
yearofdeath = 1900
placeofdeath = Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey
countryofdeath = England
heightft =
heightinch =
heightm =
batting = Right-hand batsman
bowling = Slow left-arm
role = Batsman, occasional wicketkeeper
club1 = Kent
year1 = 1868–1878
club2 = MCC
year2 = 1870–1873
club3 = Cambridge University
year3 = 1869–1872
type1 = First-class
debutdate1 = 5 August
debutyear1 = 1868
debutfor1 = Kent
debutagainst1 = Gentlemen of MCC
lastdate1 = 22 August
lastyear1 = 1878
lastfor1 = Kent
lastagainst1 = Lancashire
deliveries = balls
columns = 1
column1 = FC
matches1 = 83
runs1 = 3609
bat avg1 = 25.77
100s/50s1 = 3/19
top score1 = 130
deliveries1 = 360
wickets1 = 7
bowl avg1 = 32.42
fivefor1 = 0
tenfor1 = –
best bowling1 = 2-10
catches/stumpings1 = 43/6
date = 28 November
year = 2007
source = http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/34/34136/34136.html CricketArchive

William Yardley (June 10, 1849 – October 28, 1900) was an English cricketer, and later a playwright and lyricist. In the early 1870s, only WG Grace was reckoned his superior amongst amateur batsmen. [HS Altham, "A History of Cricket", Volume 1, Allen & Unwin, 1962, p144.] In addition to his batting, he occasionally kept wicket.

His first-class career lasted from 1868 to 1878. In 83 matches he scored 3609 runs at the fine average for the period of 25.77, with three centuries. He played for Kent throughout that period, but his most famous deeds were for Cambridge University, for whom he played from 1869 to 1872. Two of his three hundreds were made in the University Match: 100 in 1870 and 130, his highest score, in 1872. These were the first two hundreds ever to be made in the fixture. The 1870 fixture was "Cobden's Match", when F.C. Cobden's taking of the last three Oxford wickets in consecutive balls gave Cambridge victory by 2 runs, but Cobden's heroics would not have been possible but for Yardley's contribution. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/1/1641.html Scorecard of 1870 University Match] ]

He appeared nine times for the Gentlemen in their prestigious fixture against the Players, and had the fine average of 36.25, with three fifties and a highest score of 83.

His Wisden obituary says of him: "...his style was free and commanding and his hitting brilliant in the extreme. He thought himself that the finest innings he ever played was 73 for South against North at Prince's on a very difficult wicket in May, 1872."

When he and WG Grace were on the same side they used to have a small bet on who would record the higher score. Yardley was proud that in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's in 1871, he beat Grace's score in both innings. He was the "ghost writer" of one of Grace's four "autobiographies": "The History of a Hundred Centuries", published by Gill in 1895. [Alan Gibson, "The Cricket Captains of England", Pavilion Library, 1989, p50.]

He was also known in the world of theatre. He was part author of a burlesque entitled "Little Jack Sheppard" and of farces called "The Passport" and "Hobbies" (1885). He was also a producer and a theatre critic.

Yardley was born at Bombay (now Mumbai) in India and died at Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey.

Notes

References

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/34/34136/34136.html CricketArchive]
* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/23547.html Cricinfo including his Wisden obituary]