Joseph Emile Patrick McMaster (16 March 1861 – 7 June 1929) was an Irish amateur cricketer and

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 ...

who played in one retrospectively-recognised Test match for

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 ...

in 1899. That was his only first-class appearance and he was never a member of any

county team A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has ...

. He later umpired first-class matches in South Africa. He was born in

Gilford, County Down Gilford is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. The village sits on the River Bann between the towns of Banbridge, Tandragee and Portadown. It covers the townlands of Loughans, Ballymacanallen and Drumaran. It had a population of 1,93 ...

, and died in London. Educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

, McMaster was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

and, uniquely, a player whose

Test 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) ...

and first-class career consisted of a single match; also, he did not score a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

, take a

wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...

or hold a catch. He did not bowl but he was praised for his fielding."Crossing the St(yx)icks"
''Cricket'', issue 201, 21 February 1889, p. 18.

Tour of South Africa, 1888–89

In 1888, Sir Donald Currie agreed to sponsor the first English cricket team to visit South Africa."The English team for the Cape"
''Cricket'', issue 198, 29 November 1888, p. 449. The 15-man tour party included only nine players who were registered with county clubs and had played in first-class matches. McMaster was one of six additional players who made the numbers up. The team was called Major Warton's XI after its manager, Major R. G. Warton, another occasional player. The

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

was future Hollywood actor C. Aubrey Smith, who was then the captain of

Sussex County Cricket Club Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Sussex. Its limited overs team is called the Sussex Sharks. The c ...

."The English team in South Africa"
''Cricket'', issue 200, 24 January 1889, p. 1. Only two matches, both against a team called the South African XI, were eleven-a-side. These were subsequently recognised as the first

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 ...

Test matches. They were played at the

St George's Oval St George's Park Cricket Ground (commonly known as St George's Park, Crusaders Ground or simply Crusaders) is a cricket ground in Gqeberha, (formerly known as Port Elizabeth), in South Africa. It is the home of the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club, ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

and the

Newlands Cricket Ground Newlands Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in Newlands, Cape Town. One of the oldest sporting stadiums in South Africa, the ground is owned by the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) and is the home of Western Province and MI Cape ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

; England won both convincingly.

Harry Altham Harry Surtees Altham (30 November 1888 – 11 March 1965) was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His '' Wisden'' obituary described him as "among the best known personalitie ...

said the standard of the England team was "about that of a weak county". McMaster played at Newlands and batted once, in the first

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, at number nine in the batting order. He was out for a first-ball

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

. England won by an innings and 202 runs, the match ending on the second day. England scored 292 (

Bobby Abel Robert Abel (30 November 1857 – 10 December 1936), nicknamed "The Guv'nor", was a Surrey and England opening batsman who was one of the most prolific run-getters in the early years of the County Championship. He was the first England player ...

120) and dismissed South Africa for 47 ( Johnny Briggs 7/17) and 43 (Briggs 8/11). Briggs' match return was 15/28."Nineteenth Match v. Eleven of South Africa"
''Cricket'', issue 203, 18 April 1889, p. 55. McMaster returned to England after the tour ended and is known to have played in club cricket for a team called the Ne'er Do Wells. He intended to go back to South Africa towards the end of the year. ''Cricket'' magazine reported that he was going to

Maritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

."Nineteenth Match v. Eleven of South Africa"
''Cricket'', issue 204, 25 April 1889, p. 71. Two seasons later, McMaster umpired three first-class matches in South Africa. His son,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, also played in a single first-class match.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, Emile 1861 births 1929 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers English cricket umpires People educated at Harrow School Cricketers from County Down