Robert Henry Fowler (28 June 1857 – 11 May 1957) was an Irish soldier and

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 of English descent. He died seven weeks before what would have been his 100th birthday, making him the longest-lived person to have played international cricket for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He is also one of the longest-lived first-class cricketers of all time, having survived for nearly 81 years after he played his first – and only – first-class match. Fowler was born at

Mellifont Mellifont Abbey (, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of Kells-Mellifont. After i ...

Collon Collon () is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont, and to Collon House, the ancestral home of the Foster family. ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

, Ireland, the eldest son of Robert Fowler (1824–1897). His grandfather, another Robert Fowler (1797–1863), was a deputy lieutenant and justice of the peace in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. His great-grandfather, another

Robert Fowler Robert or Bobby Fowler may refer to: * Robert Fowler (archbishop of Dublin) (1724–1801), bishop in the Church of Ireland * Robert Fowler (artist) (1853–1926), English artist * Robert Fowler (athlete) (1882–1957), American marathoner * Robert ...

, was

Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...

and then

Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin The Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin was the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Ossory, Ferns, County Wexford, Ferns and Old Leighlin, Leighlin in the Ecclesiastical Province of Province of Dublin (Church of Ire ...

from 1817 until his death in 1841, and his great-great-grandfather, yet another

, was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man who settled in Ireland in the 1760s and was

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

from 1779 until his death in 1801. Fowler played cricket for

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

in 1874 and 1875, gaining some success as a right-handed

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

. He went up to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, in 1875 and played one first-class cricket match 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 ...

in 1876, batting twice at number 9 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 ...

and scoring 3 and 1. Also in the Cambridge team were later Test cricketers

A. P. Lucas Alfred Perry "Bunny" Lucas (20 February 1857 – 12 October 1923) was an English first-class cricketer from 1874 to 1907, playing for Cambridge University Cricket Club, Cambridge University, Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey, Middlesex County C ...

and

Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sport ...

(and his brother

Edward Lyttelton Edward Lyttelton (23 July 1855 – 26 January 1942) was an English schoolmaster, cleric and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who was headmaster of Eton College from 1905 to 1916. During his early years he played first-class cricket for Camb ...

). He attended RMC Sandhurst and joined the British Army in 1878, being promoted to captain in the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korea ...

in 1886. Fowler played cricket for the MCC in 1885. He played in two matches for Ireland in 1888, one against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and one against

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the ' ...

,Scorecard for Ireland v I Zingari, 1888
from CricketArchive and then for I Zingari against Ireland in 1889 and 1890. His son, Robert St Leger Fowler, was captain of

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in the match against Harrow in 1910, commonly referred to as

Fowler's match Fowler's match is the name given to the two-day Eton v Harrow cricket match held at Lord's on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 July 1910. The match is named after the captain of Eton College, Robert St Leger Fowler, whose outstanding all round batting ...

due his outstanding all round performance; he is regarded as the best Irish cricketer not to have represented Ireland itself. Fowler died at Rahinstown,

Enfield, County Meath Enfield (), also known as Innfield, is a town in south County Meath, Ireland, situated between Kilcock and Kinnegad and very close to the border with County Kildare. The town is on the Dublin-Sligo railway line. It is located on the R148 re ...

, Ireland.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Robert Henry 1857 births 1957 deaths People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Cricketers from County Louth Irish cricketers Cambridge University cricketers King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers Irish people of English descent Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Sportspeople from County Louth 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from County Louth