Henry Knollys Foster MBE (30 October 1873 – 23 June 1950) was an English

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 ...

er who played for

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He first played for Worcestershire in 1888 at the age of only 14. The oldest of seven brothers who played cricket for Worcestershire, Foster was a forceful right-handed middle-order batsman who acted as captain at Worcestershire for 11 of the first 12 season in which the county competed in 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 ...

. He was also for many of those seasons second only to his brother R.E. "Tip" Foster as the county's leading batsman. Educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

, Foster matriculated at

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

in 1892, and first played first-class cricket at Oxford. Not picked for any matches at all in 1893, he won a Blue against

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in each of the next three seasons. In the Varsity match of 1895, he scored 121 in two hours as Oxford, set a target of 331 to win, reached just 196 all out. Foster captained Worcestershire in the county's first Championship match in 1899 and led the side every season until 1910, except for 1901. He scored 1,000 runs in a season eight times, and five times averaged more than 40 runs per innings. Among his 29 first-class centuries, he hit 216 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 ...

in 1903 — the first double hundred for Worcestershire in first-class cricket —and 215 against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

in 1908, both at Worcester. Unlike his brother R.E. "Tip" Foster, Foster did not play

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 ...

, but he led the amateur side in both

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 ...

matches in 1910, and was named as a

Wisden Cricketer 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 ...

in 1911. He stood down as Worcestershire captain after 1910, but returned for the 1913 season. He then played intermittently until 1925, when he finally retired. In 1907, 1912 and again 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 ...

, he acted as an

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 ...

selector. Foster was also a champion rackets player, being English singles champion eight times and winning several doubles titles. He and his brother, W. L. Foster, won the Public Schools Championship for Malvern in 1892. In the next four years he represented Oxford and proved victorious in both Singles and Doubles. Several times, efficiently partnered, he carried off the Doubles Championship, and from 1894 to 1900 and again in 1904 he won the Singles Championship. He also represented Oxford University at rackets for four years.

The Foster family

Foster was the oldest of the seven sons of Henry Foster who in 1867, aged 23, joined the staff of

, a public school founded in 1865. He was ordained as a priest in 1869, and married in 1871 when he took up a position as a housemaster at Malvern College, a post which he held for 48 years. He was an accomplished all-round sportsman who played not only cricket and fives, but was also a rower and an archer for

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, Cambridge. He made many contributions to sport in Malvern and was active in the making of the cricket pitch, acquiring a football field, swimming baths and racquets courts. He was the first scratch golfer in the Midlands and a founder member of

Worcestershire Golf Club Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands county to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to th ...

. Of the 10 surviving children, there were 7 boys and 3 girls. All seven brothers born at No 5 later joined their father's house as pupils and for virtually 25 years held sway in the sporting arena. Between them, the seven Foster brothers scored a total of 42,000 runs in First Class Cricket. The girls also played cricket and were exceptional golfers and Cicely played for England.

Private life

Foster was land agent for the

Stoke Edith Stoke Edith is a village in the English county of Herefordshire, situated on the A438 road between Hereford and Ledbury. The population in 1801 of Stoke Edith parish was 332. The 14th-century church of St Mary is a grade I listed building. ...

and

Prestwood Prestwood is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about half a mile west of its post town, Great Missenden. History Early history and creation of parish The village name is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and me ...

estates of PH Foley.''Sale Particulars'' for those estates in 1913 and 1919.

References

External links

* * *
Wisden Obituary : Henry Foster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Henry Knollys 1873 births 1950 deaths English cricketers England cricket team selectors English racquets players Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Oxford University cricketers Sportspeople from Malvern, Worcestershire Wisden Cricketers of the Year Worcestershire cricketers Worcestershire cricket captains Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

Cricketers from Worcestershire