James Marsh (cricketer)

James William Marsh (16 October 1870 – 26 March 1930) was an English clergyman and a cricketer who played in first-class cricket matches for Cambridge University and amateur teams between 1901 and 1907.[1][2] He was born at Thame, Oxfordshire and died at Ludlow, Shropshire.

James Marsh
Personal information
Full name
James William Marsh
Born16 October 1870
Thame, Oxfordshire, England
Died26 March 1930(1930-03-26) (aged 59)
Ludlow, Shropshire, England
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicket-keeper
RelationsFrederick Marsh (brother)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1898–1906Oxfordshire
1901–1903Cambridge University
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 8
Runs scored 145
Batting average 11.15
100s/50s –/–
Top score 29*
Catches/stumpings 5/5
Source: Cricinfo, 19 June 2022

Marsh was educated at Amersham Hall School, Reading, and at Jesus College, Cambridge, where, unusually, he was in his late 20s by the time of his matriculation in 1900.[3] As a cricketer, he was a lower-order right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper, and he had already played a single Minor Counties game for Oxfordshire County Cricket Club before he arrived in Cambridge.[1] During his time at Cambridge University, Marsh was unable to secure a regular spot in the first cricket team, and as a result, he did not participate in the annual University Match against Oxford University during any of his three years there. His younger brother Frederick, who was contemporary with him at Jesus College but then remained for a fourth year in 1904, was even less favoured by the cricket selectors in the years that James was at the university, appearing only in trial matches from 1901 to 1903. However, Frederick did eventually achieve selection in 1904 and went on to break the record for the highest individual score in the University Match.[4]

James Marsh played for Oxfordshire in the Minor Counties Championship, representing them regularly from 1901 to 1906. However, after leaving the university, he only played in one more first-class match which was an end-of-season game against the 1907 South Africans.[5]

Marsh graduated from Cambridge University in 1903 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3] He was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England in 1904 and as a priest the following year.[3] He had an itinerant clerical career, being successively at Oakham, Rutland and Knighton, Leicester as a curate, then vicar at Belgrave, Leicester and rector at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, and finally reverting to curate status at Bitterley, Shropshire.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "James Marsh". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. ^ "James Marsh". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d J. Venn and J. A. Venn. "Alumni Cantabrigienses: James Marsh". p. 328. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Scorecard: Oxford University v Cambridge University". www.cricketarchive.com. 30 June 1904. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Scorecard: J Bamford's XI v South Africans". www.cricketarchive.com. 5 September 1907. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
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