David Alexander Elder (29 April 1865 at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Victoria, Australia – 22 April 1954 at
Deepdene, Victoria
Deepdene is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Deepdene recorded a population of 2,101 at the 2021 census.
Formerly a neig ...
) was a
cricket Test match umpire.
Career as umpire
He umpired twelve
Test matches, all between Australia and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He made his debut in the match played at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
on 30 December 1911 to 3 January 1912, won by England by 8 wickets. All Elder's other matches were after the
First World War
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 ...
. His last match was played at
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
on 1 February to 8 February 1929, won narrowly by England in spite of
Archie Jackson's 164 on debut. His colleagues were
Bob Crockett
Robert Maxwell Crockett (1863 in Hepburn, Victoria – 11 December 1935, at Footscray, Victoria), was an Australian Test Cricket Umpires, Australian Test match umpire.
Crockett umpired a total of 32 Test cricket, Test matches, the highest n ...
and
George Hele.
Johnnie Moyes
Alban George "Johnny" Moyes (2 January 1893 – 18 January 1963) was a cricketer who played for Southern Redbacks, South Australia and Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria. Following his brief playing career, Moyes, a professional journalist, later ...
thought that, after Crockett...
Personal life
Off the field, Elder was a
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
worker. He was married twice and had one son. He died of heart failure, aged 88.
See also
*
Australian Test Cricket Umpires
__NOTOC__
This is a list of umpire (cricket), cricket umpires who have officiated at least one men's Test cricket, Test match. As of June 2025, 500 umpires have officiated in a Test match. Current members of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, Emirate ...
*
List of Test umpires
__NOTOC__
This is a list of cricket umpires who have officiated at least one men's Test match. As of June 2025, 500 umpires have officiated in a Test match. Current members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, appointed by the Internatio ...
External links
*
1865 births
1954 deaths
Australian Test cricket umpires
People from the Colony of Victoria
{{Australia-cricket-bio-1860s-stub