Leonard Oliver (18 October 1886 – 22 January 1948) was an English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

between 1908 and 1924. Oliver was born in

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...

and educated in Manchester. He made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1908 season in a drawn match against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. In his first three years he scored moderately and was frequently caught out. He achieved his first century 104 not out against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in the 1910 season. In the 1911 season his average almost doubled and he scored a century against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. In the following three years he maintained his form, scoring centuries against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

in the 1913 season and becoming the club's top scorer that year. He scored a century against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

in the 1914 season. Cricket was then suspended during the First World War. In the 1919 season he played to his pre-war standard and was top scorer for the county again. In the 1920 season he was acting captain for most of the matches in the absence of John Chapman but the team never won a game and finished at the bottom of the championship table. This was despite Oliver's consistent performance with a top score of 170 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

which led to his topping the batsmen's scores for the season again. In the 1921 season, Oliver made 151 against Warwickshire. His form then fell off and he played three matches in the 1922 season, two in the 1923 season and three in the 1924 season when he ceased playing in the Championship. Oliver was a left-hand batsman and played 322 innings in 174 first-class matches. He scored 6 centuries with a top score 170 and an average 20.39. He was an expensive occasional right-arm medium pace bowler taking 5 wickets at an average of 65.60.Leonard Oliver at Cricket Archive
/ref> Oliver died in Glossop at the age of 61. At the time of his death he was vice-president of Derbyshire County Cricket Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Leonard 1886 births 1948 deaths Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers Cricketers from Glossop 20th-century English sportsmen