Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

, was a

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

er and cricket administrator. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

for services to sport in the

1937 Coronation Honours The 1937 Coronation Honours were awarded in honour of the coronation of George VI. Royal Honours Order of the Thistle * The Queen Royal Victorian Chain * The Queen * Queen Mary * Clive, Baron Wigram Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) * The Queen ...

Early life

Warner was born in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a muni ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, the youngest of 21 children. His mother, Rosa Cadiz, was a Spanish woman, and his father Charles Warner, was from an English colonial family. He was educated in Barbados at Harrison College, and then sent to England to

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

Cricket career

As a right-hand batsman, Warner played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

and England. He played 15 Test matches, captaining in 10 of them, with a record of won 4, lost 6. He succeeded in regaining

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...

in 1903–04, winning the series against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

3–2. However he was less successful when he captained England on the tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in 1905–06, suffering a resounding 1–4 defeat, the first time England had lost to South Africa in a Test match. He was also to have captained England on the 1911–12 tour of Australia, but fell ill. He was unable to play in any of the Tests, with

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...

taking over the captaincy. He was named

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1904 and also in 1921, making him one of two to have received the honour twice (the usual practice is that it is only won once: the other is

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

). The second award marked his retirement as a county player after the 1920 season, in which he captained Middlesex to the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It b ...

title. In the mid-1920s he was Chairman of Selectors, and in 1926 during industrial strife served as a Special Constable. He did not, however, play in another first-class fixture until 1926–27, when he captained a

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

(MCC) side to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, in which the four representative matches against the host nation were accorded first-class status. MCC scraped a win in the series by two games to one, with one match drawn. He played one more first-class match, in 1929 for the MCC against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Cricket management

After retiring as a player, he became a tour manager, most notably on the infamous "Bodyline" tour of Australia in 1932–33. He was the chairman of the England Test selectors for several years in the 1930s. He later became President of the

. He was knighted for his services to cricket in 1937.

Cricket writing

Warner wrote extensively on cricket. He detailed his Ashes Tests and a history of

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County ...

. He founded ''

The Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county and club cricket. The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cricket writer. Warner ...

'' magazine. He was cricket correspondent of the '' Morning Post'' from 1921 to 1933, and subsequently of the ''

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''.

Family life

He married Agnes Charlotte Blyth in the summer of 1904 and had two sons, Esmond and John, and a daughter, Elizabeth. He died, aged 89, at

West Lavington, West Sussex West Lavington is a village and civil parish on the edge of Midhurst in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It contains a small private nursery school and the (now deconsecrated) church of St Mary Magdalene. The church was constr ...

. His brother

Aucher Warner Robert Stewart Aucher Warner (9 May 1859 – 1 December 1944) was Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago and a West Indian cricketer. He was known as Aucher Warner. He was born the son of Charles William Warner, the Attorney-General of Trini ...

not only captained the first combined West Indies side in the West Indies during the 1896–97 season (playing against A. A. Priestley's XI and for Trinidad vs. Lord Hawke's touring team, which included Pelham Warner) but also the first West Indian touring side to England in 1900. Marina Warner, novelist and mythographer, is his granddaughter.Marina Warner
,

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Contemporary Writers.

References

External links

* *''The Golden Age of Cricket 1890–1914'' by David Frith, *

Bibliography

*''Lord's 1787–1945'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Plum Trinidad and Tobago knights Cricket historians and writers England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 Cricketers who made a century on Test debut England Test cricket captains English cricketers Middlesex cricket captains Free Foresters cricketers Oxford University cricketers Presidents of Middlesex County Cricket Club Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Wisden Cricketers of the Year People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Knights Bachelor Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods English cricket administrators People of the Victorian era Trinidad and Tobago people of British descent Trinidad and Tobago people of English descent Trinidad and Tobago people of Spanish descent 1873 births 1963 deaths England cricket team selectors Gentlemen cricketers British special constables Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Lord Hawke's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers North v South cricketers Middlesex cricketers Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers P. F. Warner's XI cricketers People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club Australian Touring Team cricketers Pelham