Frank Chester (umpire)
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Frank Chester (20 January 1895 – 8 April 1957) was briefly an English first-class
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 before the First World War. After losing an arm in active service in 1917, he was a
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...
for 31 years. ''
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 ...
'' stated in his obituary that he "raised umpiring to a higher level than had ever been known in the history of cricket". Chester was born in
Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
. An all-rounder, Alec Hearne suggested that he qualify for
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
. Chester played as a right-handed middle-order batsman and a right-arm bowler of off breaks in 55 first-class matches for Worcestershire as a teenager from 1912 to 1914. In 1913, when he was 17 years old, he scored 108 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 ...
to become the youngest player then to score a county century, a record that still stood until the 1950s. During 1913 Chester was summoned to meet Dr
W G Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...
who wished to congratulate him on a century scored 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 ...
that season. He was praised in the 1913 ''Wisden'' as the "youngest professional regularly engaged in first-class cricket ... Very few players in the history of cricket have shown such form at the age of seventeen and a half". In 1914, he scored his highest first-class score, 178 not out, 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 ...
. He volunteered to serve in the First World War and joined the
Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...
in a battery commanded by Major Allsopp, captain of the Worcestershire Second Eleven. He served at the Second Battle of Loos and moved with his unit to
Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
he lost his right arm below the elbow in July 1917 after a shrapnel wound became gangrenous, ending his cricket playing career. Chester turned to umpiring when he returned to England, using an artificial arm to make the necessary signals, and stood in his first first-class match in 1922, showing early promise and an uncompromising fairness. In his first county match as an umpire, between Essex and Somerset at
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 ...
, he gave both captains out,
J. W. H. T. 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 ...
lbw and John Daniell stumped. He was widely recognised as the best umpire in England for many years. Sir
Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane ...
said he was the greatest umpire under whom he had played, but Chester objected to the strident appealing of the visiting Australians in 1948 and 1953, and did not stand in the 1953 Ashes Tests after the First Test. One unusual decision was when
Sonny Ramadhin Sonny Ramadhin, CM (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a West Indian cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first of many West Indian cricketers of Indian origin, and was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year ...
bowled
Doug Insole Douglas John Insole (18 April 1926 – 5 August 2017) Obit ...
off his pads in the Test between England and West Indies at
Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...
in 1950. Chester doggedly stuck to his decision to give Insole out lbw rather than bowled, claiming that he raised his finger to mark the dismissal in the time between the ball touching Insole's pads and then hitting the stumps. Chester stood in what was then a world record 48
Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
from 1924 to 1955. The record was later passed by
Dickie Bird Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, (born 19 April 1933) is an English former cricketer and retired international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a much-loved figure among players and viewing public, due to his excellence ...
. Two years after officiating in his last Test match, Chester died in the town of his birth,
Bushey, Hertfordshire Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
. For much of his later years, he experienced
stomach ulcers Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...
, a painful complaint that created an irascible temper that marred his decision-making towards the end of his career. E.W. Swanton described him as "as nearly infallible as a man could be in his profession".EW Swanton, ''Cricketers of my time'', 2000, pp. 25–26


References


External links


ESPN Cricinfo profile




''Wisden'' 1954, ESPN Cricinfo 1895 births 1957 deaths English cricketers Worcestershire cricketers English Test cricket umpires Royal Field Artillery soldiers British Army personnel of World War I English amputees Sportspeople with limb difference English disabled sportspeople People from Bushey 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-cricket-bio-stub