Lestock Handley Adams (10 September 1887 – 22 April 1918) 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

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 ...

between 1908 and 1910. Six of his games attained first-class status, and in these he took 17 wickets and scored 61 runs. Born in

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

, in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, he was a gentlemen cricketer who played for the Gentlemen of England and various representative teams. Emigrating to Canada, he served in the armed forces during

World War I 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 ...

, and was killed in Placaut Wood, France aged 30.

Playing career

The son of Reverend Henry Frederick Spencer Adams and Ethel Emma Louisa Reid, Adams lived in

Congresbury Congresbury is a village and civil parish on the northwestern slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England, which in 2011 had a population of 3,497. It lies on the A370 between Junction 21 of the M5 and Bristol Airport, south of Br ...

, Somerset in his early years, as recorded in the 1891 census. He lost his mother in 1900. Educated at St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate, he was captain of the First XI there for both cricket, rugby and hockey. While attending

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the River Cam with the Mathematical Bridge an ...

, at

, he played a Seniors Match at the invitation of Robert Baily to face an XI created by Charles Lucas. The match, billed as CE Lucas' XI v REH Baily's XI, began on 4 May 1908. Adams, a batsman and bowler of unknown

handedness In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, batted last, scoring four, and took three wickets at the cost of 33 runs. He scored four more in his second innings, and went wickless off three overs as his side took a 61-run victory. Adams went on to make his first-class debut on 25 May against

. He went wicketless, but managed to score 21 in his seconds innings. Cambridge suffered a 171-run defeat. Cambridge then played a representative XI led by

Gerry Weigall Gerald John Villiers Weigall (19 October 1870 – 17 May 1944) was an English cricketer.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition), pp. 557–561.Available onlineat the Association of Cricket Sta ...

, where he took 1/66 in a straightforward victory. Adams did not play another recorded match until May 1910, where he appeared an exhibition game, Etceteras v Perambulators. Adams featured in the latter team, and took a

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 ...

. On 30 May he faced

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 ...

, taking 3/52, and on 6 June he took 2/66 against the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an England, English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the ...

. He took his career-best 6/86 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, ...

on 20 June, with three more wickets in the second innings, but went wicketless against 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 ...

a week later in a rain-affected game. On 27 June he made his final first-class appearance, Gentlemen of England v Cambridge University. Playing for the Gentlemen, he took 2/96 and 2/32, and made a

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Fren ...

with the bat – two scores of zero. He is recorded as living in

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

in Kent in the 1911 census. He moved to Canada and married Emilie Anderson d'Auquier in 1913, residing near

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, playing with "some success" at Winnipeg Cricket Club, according to ''Wisden''. He took part in two games against a touring Australian side in 1913, taking one wicket in the first and 3/62 in the second.

Military career

Adams enlisted in the armed forces and served in

The Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, rising to the rank of lieutenant. Part of the 1st Battalion of the Rifles, he was killed in France in 1918. He is buried at Le Vertannoy British Cemetery,

Pas de Calais The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows, is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, and separating Great Britain from continental ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Lestock 1887 births 1918 deaths Sportspeople from Ormskirk English cricketers Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Cambridge University cricketers British military personnel killed in World War I People educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate Gentlemen of England cricketers Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of World War I Cricketers from Lancashire 20th-century English sportsmen