Ludford Charles Docker (26 November 1860 – 1 August 1940) was a businessman and an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er. He played first-class cricket for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

between 1881 and 1886, captaining the side in 1884, and for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

in 1894 and 1895.

Early life

Docker was born in

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

, Staffordshire, the son of Ralph Docker and his wife Sarah Sankey. His father was a solicitor in practice at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and Smethwick who took on a large number of public appointments. He was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birm ...

Cricket career

Docker played cricket for Birmingham and Kidderminster in 1879 and also played for Derbyshire Colts in the 1879 season. His first-class debut was for Derbyshire in the 1881 season. He topped their batting averages that season. He played 48 first-class matches for Derbyshire and captained the team in the 1884 season. He played his club cricket with Handsworth Wood, in the Birmingham League and in 1886 presented the Docker Shield for competition between Birmingham Schools. In 1887 he moved to

and in the winter of 1887/88 he played with

Arthur Shrewsbury Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an English cricketer and rugby football administrator. He was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace for the accolade of best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked whom he wo ...

's XI in Australia. He played several non-class games and some first-class games for Warwickshire when they joined the league, his last match being in 1895.Ludford Docker on Cricket Archive
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Business and public service

Docker had joined his brother

Frank Dudley Docker Frank Dudley Docker (26 August 1862 – 8 July 1944) was an English businessman and financier. He also played first-class cricket for Derbyshire in 1881 and 1882. Biography Family background, early life and education Docker was born at Pax ...

in Docker Brothers in 1886 and in 1898 became a director of Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company of Saltley Birmingham before the amalgamation of carriage companies by his brother in 1902. He was President of Warwickshire County Cricket Club from 1915 to 1930 and in 1923 was

High Sheriff of Warwickshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Warwickshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

. He was also a J. P. Docker died in

Alveston Leys Alveston is a village, civil parish and former royal manor in South Gloucestershire, England, inhabited in 2014 by about 3,000 people. The village lies south of Thornbury and north of Bristol. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur E ...

, Warwickshire aged 79. Docker's brothers Ralph Docker and Frank also played cricket for Derbyshire and Warwickshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Docker, Ludford 1860 births 1940 deaths English cricketers Derbyshire cricket captains Warwickshire cricketers North v South cricketers High Sheriffs of Warwickshire Sheriffs of Warwickshire Sportspeople from Smethwick Cricketers from Staffordshire