Charles Stowell "Father" Marriott (14 September 1895 – 13 October 1966) 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

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

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 ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Marriott played between 1919 and 1938 and was considered one of the best leg-break and

googly A googly, also known as a wrong'un or Bosie, is a type of delivery in the game of cricket bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ...

bowlers of the time. He went on to teach, having served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Marriott played in one Test match for the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

in 1933 at the age of 37, taking 11 wickets.

Early life

Marriott was born at

Heaton Moor Heaton Moor is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is one of the Four Heatons and borders Heaton Chapel, Heaton Norris and Heaton Mersey. Heaton Moor has Victorian housing, built between 1852 and 1892, along affluent tree ...

near

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

; his birth was registered as "Charlie Stowell Marriott".Charles Marriott

CricInfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

. Retrieved 11 December 2018. His father, Joshua Marriott, was a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

. He was educated in Ireland, first at Monkston Park School in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

from 1904 to 1909 and then at The Royal School, Armagh between 1909 and 1912 before attending St Columba's College, Dublin from 1912 to 1913. He played cricket in the school XI at both Royal School and St Columba's and was a member of the St Columba's Officer Training Corps (OTC).Lewis P (2014) ''For Kent and Country'', pp.247–253. Brighton: Reveille Press. . After leaving school Marriott enrolled at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

where he was also a member of the OTC. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of

Military service

Marriott enrolled in the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, and the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. It had many diffe ...

in September 1915 and was commissioned as a temporary Second Lieutenant in the 21st Reserve Battalion the following month. In March 1916 he was posted to France with the 16th Battalion and he was on the front line at Thiepval when the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

began and saw action during the first two days of the battle. He spent time on the front line at Ovillers and, later in the year, to the north of

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

and was promoted, first to Lieutenant and then to acting Captain, commanding a company. He was injured falling on frozen duckboards during early 1917 and spent some time convalescing in England before returning to the war, seeing action at Savy Wood, Saint-Quentin, Nieuwpoort and around

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

during the summer. He was gassed near Nieuwpoort in July 1917 and evacuated home, spending time recovering in Dublin. Doctors determined that he was suffering from

photophobia Photophobia is a medical symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light. As a medical symptom, photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure or by presence o ...

and had many of the classic signs of

shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...

and that he was unfit for front line service. He spent early 1918 with the 3rd Battalion at

Withernsea Withernsea is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, wh ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and transferred to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in July, joining the Cadet Wing at

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

with the rank of Lieutenant for the remainder of the war. He was demobilised in April 1919.

Cricket career

Having played some cricket during the war, including for a side organised by FS Jackson at

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

in 1918, Marriott made his

debut for the Gentlemen of England against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in May 1919.Father Marriott
CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 December 2018. He went on to make his

debut later the same month. The match, against

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

, is reported to be the first

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

match Marriott had ever seen. He played 12 matches for Lancashire from 1919 to 1921. Marriott enrolled at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

in 1919. He played for

Cambridge University Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, established in 1820, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. The club was recognised as holding first-class cricket, first-class status until 2020. The university played ...

, making 17 first-class appearances for the side in his two years at Cambridge. He won

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

in 1920 and 1921, meeting with "remarkable success", taking seven wickets in both of his University Matches.Charles "Father" Marriott
Obituary, ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'', 1967. Retrieved 17 December 2018. It was at Cambridge that Marriott was nicknamed "Father" on account of his relatively advanced age of 25. After Cambridge, Marriott went on to take up a post as a teacher of modern languages at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

in 1921. He took responsibility for cricket at the school between 1921 and 1926. The post allowed him to play for

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ken ...

in the school holidays, although he initially declined Lord Harris' invitation to do so. He eventually accepted the opportunity and played for the Kent side between 1924 and 1937, making 101 first-class appearances for the county, taking 429 wickets. In his first season for Kent Marriott topped the county's

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

s and was awarded his

county cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

. He took 10 wickets 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, ...

and 11 against Lancashire and had a "remarkable impact" on the side. He toured South Africa over the English winter of 1924/25 with SB Joel's XI, playing in eight of the 14 first-class matches during the tour and played regularly for Kent during August in each season until 1935, other than in 1930 when he played no first-class cricket. His last match for Kent came in 1937 against

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, and his final first-class match was the following year for

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an England, English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the ...

against Oxford University.

International cricket

Marriott was selected in the squad for the 4th Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1921, but didn't make the final eleven. Marriott's only Test match was in the third Test against the touring West Indies at

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

in 1933. He was aged 37 when he was called in to the England side as a replacement for the injured

Hedley Verity Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire and England national cricket team, England between 1930 and 1939. A Left-arm orthodox spin, slow left-arm orth ...

. He took 11 wickets during the match, 5/37 in the West Indies first innings, and 6/59 in the second, making him the fourth cricketer to take two five wicket hauls on Test debut. ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' reported that with "clever fighting of the ball, perfect length and spin" he produced "one of the best performances accomplished by a bowler when playing for England for the first time"Third Test match
England v West Indies 1933, ''

'', 1934. Retrieved 17 December 2018. and Marriott remains the bowler with the lowest bowling average to have taken more than 10 wickets in Test matches. He "bewildered" the West Indian batsmen as he "disguised his spin very well and never made the ball break too much". The following winter Marriott toured India with an official England side led by

Douglas Jardine Douglas Robert Jardine ( 1900 – 1958) was a Scottish cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English ...

. He did not play in any of the three Test matches on the tour and ''Wisden'' reported that he "was seldom as good as in England",M. C. C. team in India, 1933-34
''

'', 1935. Retrieved 17 December 2018. although he took a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, the only time he completed the hat-trick during his career. He played nine times for MCC during the tour, taking 32 wickets, and made a further appearance for the club against the touring Australians in May 1934.Lynch S (2011
The one and only

, 8 November 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2018.

Playing style and legacy

Marriott was one of the best

leg break Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins from ...

bowlers of the 1920s and 1930s.Mr. C. S. Marriott, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 15 October 1966, p.10. He bowled with a high bowling action, swinging his arm behind his back before he delivered the ball in a style which ''Wisden'' compared to Kent's great spin bowler

Colin Blythe Colin Blythe (30 May 1879 – 8 November 1917), also known as Charlie Blythe, was an English professional cricketer who played Test cricket for the England cricket team during the early part of the 20th century. Blythe was a Wisden Cricketer of ...

. He bowled an "immaculate length" at slow or medium pace and was "highly disciplined" in his approach to bowling, having developed his skills through what ''

'' called "endless practice". He used "cunning flighting" and "the ability to turn the ball sharply" to be an effective bowler "even on good pitches" and could be "unplayable" on helpful pitches. He bowled a "fierce" top-spinner and although he was able to bowl an effective

, he used it relatively rarely, having injured himself at school whilst bowling the delivery. Haigh G (2002) ''Mystery Spinner: The life ad Death of an Extraordinary Cricketer''. London: Aurum Press.
Available online
Retrieved 17 December 2018.) If he did bowl the delivery it was generally during the first few overs of a spell to act as a deterrent to batsmen. He had begun to write a book, ''The Complete Leg-Break Bowler'', when he died which was published after being completed by Ian Peebles and

Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales and Australia national cricket team, Australia. Following his retirement from international cricket in ...

. The 11 wickets Marriott took in his only Test match remain the best bowling figures for any player who has only played a single Test. He is the only player to have taken two five wicket hauls in their only Test and his Test bowling average of 8.72 runs per wicket is the lowest of any Test cricketer to have taken 10 or more wickets.Mukherjee A (2014
Charles "Father" Marriott: The finest "One-Test Wonder?"
Cricket Country, 14 September 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2018. Marriott took a total of 711 wickets during his first-class career, 429 of them taken for Kent. He took

10 wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowl ...

10 times, eight for Kent, and five wickets in an innings 48 times.Bowling Records in ''Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2018'', pp.167–175. Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club. He was a less than capable fielder and batsman and scored fewer runs, 574, than he took wickets.Miller A, Williamson M (2007
Eleven quirky debuts

, 7 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2018. As a coach at Dulwich College he coached a number of future first-class players, including future

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

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

and Hugh Bartlett.Trevor Bailey
Cricketer of the Year – 1950, ''

'', 1950. Retrieved 17 December 2018.Hugh Bartlett
Cricketer of the Year – 1939, ''

'', 1939. Retrieved 17 December 2018.

Personal and later life

Marriott married Phyllis Taylor at

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

in 1924 and taught at Dulwich College throughout his career. He retired from teaching in 1953, three years early due to ill health. As a teacher he was "well known" for a passion for literature, playing roles in school plays and he played the trombone in the school orchestra. After his retirement he gave readings from literature at schools and literary societies.Mr. C. S. Marriott, ''

'', 21 October 1966, p.14. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Marriott was an anti-aircraft gunner in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

and played cricket in war-time matches, including at Lord's in 1944 when he was 47. He died in a nursing home at

Dollis Hill Dollis Hill is an area in northwest London, which consists of the streets surrounding the Gladstone Park, London, Gladstone Park. It is served by a London Underground station, Dollis Hill tube station, Dollis Hill, on the Jubilee line, providi ...

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 ...

in 1966 aged 71.

Notes

References

External links

*
Scorecard of Charles Marriott's only Test match
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marriott, Charles 1895 births 1966 deaths Cambridge University cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Kent cricketers Lancashire cricketers Free Foresters cricketers British Home Guard soldiers Lancashire Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II People from Heaton Moor Cricketers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Schoolteachers from Greater Manchester S. B. Joel's XI cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen