Sir Francis Eden Lacey (19 October 1859 — 26 May 1946) 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, cricket administrator and barrister. Lacey 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

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, ...

from 1880 to 1896, either side of the club losing its first-class status between 1886 and 1894; it was during this period that he captained Hampshire in 1888 and 1889. A prolific batsman for Hampshire, he scored over 2,000 runs for the county in 33 first-class appearances, which included a

double century In cricket, a century is a score of 100 or more runs in a single innings by a batter. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century ...

against

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 ...

in 1884. As a roundarm slow bowler, he also took 45 wickets for Hampshire, including three

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Taking ...

s. He made additional appearances in first-class cricket for

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 the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC), amongst others. In a minor fixture against

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

he made 323 runs, which remains the highest individual score in second-class county cricket. A barrister by profession, Lacey was a member of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

who was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1889. It was his profession as a barrister that set him in good stead when he was appointed secretary of the MCC in 1898, setting in motion a number of reforms. He was instrumental in the formation of the

Imperial Cricket Conference The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body was renamed as the Intern ...

in 1909, the forerunner of the International Cricket Council, which set in motion the global governance of the game. He remained secretary of the MCC until 1926, and following his retirement he later served as president of both Hampshire County Cricket Club and

Wiltshire County Cricket Club Wiltshire County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. Founded in 1893, it represents the historic county of Wiltshire. The team is a member of the Minor Counties Champ ...

. He was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

for his services to cricket in the 1926 Birthday Honours list, becoming the first person to be knighted for services to any sport.

Early life and education

The youngest son of William Lacey, he was born in October 1859 at

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parishes in England, civil parish, in the England, English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome southwest of Poole. Situa ...

. He was educated at

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

, where he captained the school in both cricket and football. In cricket, he scored six successive

centuries A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A ...

for the school in his final year. From there, he matriculated in 1878 to

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. He graduated from Cambridge with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1882.

Cricket

Playing career

While studying at Cambridge, Lacey made his debut in

for

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, ...

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

in 1880. He appeared for Hampshire during the summer break from university in 1881 and 1882, in addition playing first-class cricket 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 ...

three times in 1882, including in

The University Match The University Match is an annual cricket fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. First played in 1827, it is the oldest varsity match in the world. Until 2001, when first-class cricket was reorga ...

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 ...

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 ...

. He gained his cricket

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

in cricket in 1882, in addition to gaining a blue in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

the previous year. After graduating from Cambridge, he continued to play

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 ...

for Hampshire until the club lost its first-class status following the 1885 season. During this period, Lacey made two first-class appearances for teams besides Hampshire; in 1884 he appeared for a Cambridge University Past and Present cricket team against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

at Hove and in 1885 he played for A. J. Webbe's XI against Cambridge University at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orc ...

. Prior to the loss of their first-class status, Lacey scored three centuries. The first, a score of 157 came in 1882 against Sussex, while his next two centuries came in 1884, scores of 100 against

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 ...

and 211 against

, a match in which he also made an unbeaten 92. Despite the loss of their first-class status, Lacey continued his association with Hampshire. He was club captain from 1888 to 1894, succeeding Arthur Wood. In 1887, in a minor match against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Lacey made 323

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

, which remains as of the highest individual score in a second-class fixture in England. At the time, it was the fifth-highest score in an inter-county match. Although Hampshire had lost their first-class status, Lacey continued to play in first-class matches for the

(MCC), debut for them in 1887 against

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 ...

; in that same year, he also played for the 'wandering' cricket club

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the ' ...

in a first-class fixture against the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surre ...

at the

Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Ma ...

. In 1890, he played for a

Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present cricket team Oxford () is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every ...

against the touring Australians in 1890 and for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

fixture of 1892. Hampshire regained first-class status in 1894, with

Russell Bencraft Sir Henry William Russell Bencraft (4 March 1858 — 25 December 1943) was an English first-class cricketer, sports administrator, medical doctor, businessman and philanthropist. Bencraft was an important figure in the early history of Hampshi ...

succeeding Lacey as captain. The following season, when Hampshire were admitted to the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

, Lacey resumed his first-class career with the county. He played for Hampshire until 1897, having made 33 appearances for the county in first-class cricket. Described by ''

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 ...

'' as a "stylish bat, hitting with plenty of power especially in front of the wicket", he scored 2,028 runs for Hampshire in first-class matches at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 39.76, making four centuries and ten half centuries. As a roundarm slow bowler, he was described by ''Wisden'' as bowling with deceptive

flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

. For Hampshire, he took 45 wickets at a

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 ...

of 20.93 and took a

on three occasions, with best figures of 7 for 149.

Administrator

With the end of his first-class playing career in 1897, Lacey was nominated by

Spencer Ponsonby-Fane Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane, (''né'' Ponsonby; 14 March 1824 – 1 December 1915) was an English diplomat, civil servant, courtier, and cricketer. Life and career He was born in 1824 in Mayfair, the sixth son of John Ponsonby ...

to succeed the retiring Henry Perkins as MCC secretary, being appointed in 1898. Upon becoming secretary, he instilled a business-based approach to the running of the MCC, which was in contrast to Perkins' easy-going approach. Amongst his reforms were the remodelling of the MCC subcommittees and putting the business of the club on a more formal basis. Under his leadership, the MCC formed the Advisory County Cricket Committee, the predecessor to the

Test and County Cricket Board The Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) was the sports governing body, governing body for Test cricket, Test and county cricket in Great Britain between 1968 and 1996. The TCCB was established in 1968 to replace the functions of the Board of Con ...

, which was designed to bring together representatives of the first-class counties and the minor counties under the chairmanship of the MCC president. In June 1909, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Imperial Cricket Council, which had been the idea of the South African

Abe Bailey Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet (6 November 1864 – 10 August 1940), known as Abe Bailey, was a South African diamond and gold tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer. Early years Bailey's mother, Ann Drummond McEwan, was Scottish by bi ...

and bought together the governing bodies of cricket in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to form a global governing body. At the start of 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 ...

, Lacey issued a statement to confirm the cessation of cricket during the conflict and the placing of Lord's at the disposal of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. In 1922, he protested the burden that the

entertainment tax Entertainment tax, also sometimes referred to as "amusement tax", is any tax levied on any form of commercial entertainment, such as movie tickets, exhibitions, sport events and more. The specific rules such as the tax rate and cases of tax ex ...

was having on

. He retired as secretary in 1926 and was succeeded by William Findlay. Upon his retirement, he was elected a trustee of the MCC, which still afforded him great influence over the running of the club. In December 1926, a presentation was made to Lacey following a meeting of the county secretaries, in which they gifted him a motor vehicle and an illuminated book containing appreciations from all the first-class and minor counties clubs for his time as secretary. He enjoyed a good working relationship with

Lord Harris Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3February 185124March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay, best known for developing cricket administration via Marylebone ...

, regarded as the dominant presence on the MCC committee. In addition to his administrative roles within the MCC, Lacey was also an administrator in county cricket. He was elected president of Hampshire County Cricket Club for a two-year term in 1928. As president, in early 1929 he wanted the club to support calls for reforms to the

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a Batting (cricket), batter can be dismissal (cricket), dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an Appeal (cricket), appeal by the Fielding (cricket), fielding side, the umpire (cricket), ...

rules to discourage pad play, wishing for "the

laws of cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code that specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744. Since 1788, the code has been owned and maintained by the private Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lord's Cr ...

to be a perfectly ethical code as well as a legal code". He later served as president of

, guiding the club to become debt free for the first time in its history in 1932. He remained club president until 1946, when ill health necessitated Sir Henry Everitt to deputise for him in a meeting to discuss the resumption of cricket following the

Second World War 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 ...

Personal life

Outside of cricket, Lacey as a member of the

was

to practise as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in 1889, which limited his availability to appear in cricket matches.Sir Francis Lacey. ''The Times''. 26 May 1946. p. 7 Lacey married twice. Firstly, on 9 April 1890, he married Helen Carnegie, daughter of the 9th Earl of Northesk. She died on 18 May 1908. He married secondly Mary Marshall (née Ramsay), former wife of J. Campbell Walker. He served in the

with the

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

, from its start in 1914 to 1919, the year following its conclusion. Lacey was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1926 Birthday Honours for services to cricket and was the first sportsman to be knighted for services to any sport. In 1927, he was appointed chairman of the London Playing Fields Society. His portrait was painted by

George Spencer Watson George Spencer Watson R.O.I., R.P., A.R.A., R.A. (8 March 1869, in London – 11 April 1934, in London) was an England, English portrait artist of the late romantic school who sometimes worked in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Career H ...

in 1928.

Death

He died on 26 May 1946 at his home, Sutton Veny House in the

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

village of

Sutton Veny Sutton Veny is a village and civil parish in the Wylye valley, to the southeast of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England; the village is about from Warminster town centre. 'Sutton' means 'south farmstead' in relation to Norton Bavant, on ...

, and was survived by his wife. Flags were flown at

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...

at Lord's upon his death.Sir Francis Lacey Dead. ''

Lincolnshire Echo The ''Lincolnshire Echo'' is a weekly British regional newspaper for Lincolnshire, whose first edition was on Tuesday 31 January 1893, and is published every Thursday. It is owned by Reach PLC and it is distributed throughout the county. The ...

''. 27 May 1946. p. 4 He was remembered by

Sir Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport ...

as "a man of high character and integrity".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Francis 1859 births 1946 deaths People from Wareham, Dorset People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Cambridge University Past and Present cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers I Zingari cricketers Hampshire cricket captains Members of the Inner Temple English barristers Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Secretaries of the Marylebone Cricket Club English cricket administrators MI6 personnel Knights Bachelor Cricket people awarded knighthoods Cricketers from Dorset

Early life and education

Cricket

Playing career

Administrator

Personal life

Death

References

Further reading

External links