Alfred James Bowerman (22 November 1873 – 20 June 1947) 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 two first-class matches for Somerset in the early 20th century, and also played in the only cricket match at the Olympic Games, at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

in Paris.

Personal life

Alfred James Bowerman was born in Broomfield,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

on 22 November 1873. After attending

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

in Tiverton, Devon, he worked as a timber merchant in the

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

area. He married Frances Mabel (née Long) in 1895. In 1910, he was taken to court over a gambling debt, and two years later he sold his timber business and emigrated with his family to Australia in December 1912 to establish a new career as a farmer. He served in the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, active in the Middle East. In October 1946, while a resident at Eventide Nursing Home, he was hospitalised after a fall, and fractured his skull. He died the following year, on 20 June 1947 in Brisbane, Queensland.

First-class cricket

Bowerman played twice for

as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

. In 1900, he played 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 ...

and five years later, he appeared against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, scoring eight runs in four innings and taking one catch. In his biography of the player, the Somerset cricket historian Stephen Hill describes Bowerman as "a decent club cricketer".

Olympic career

He played for the Devon Wanderers team that represented Great Britain in the

cricket competition, the only time that cricket has featured in the Olympics. In the only game against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Bowerman scored seven in the first innings, and in the second innings he scored 59, the top score of the match as Great Britain picked up the gold medal.

Notes

References

External links

*
Alfred Bowerman's profile at Sports Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowerman, Alfred 1873 births 1947 deaths English cricketers Somerset cricketers English Olympic competitors Olympic cricketers for Great Britain Cricketers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain People from Sedgemoor (district) Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Cricketers from Somerset People educated at Blundell's School Australian Army soldiers Military personnel from Somerset Australian military personnel of World War I