Evelyn Rockley Wilson (25 March 1879 – 21 July 1957) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, established in 1820, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. The club was recognised as holding first-class cricket, first-class status until 2020. The university played ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and

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 ...

Life

Wilson was born in

Bolsterstone Bolsterstone is a village in South Yorkshire, England, south of Stocksbridge, and 8.5 miles to the northwest of the City of Sheffield and within the city borough. It lies on the border of the Peak District national park. Bolsterstone had a pop ...

Stocksbridge Stocksbridge is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish, it is encircled to the north and east by the southern edge of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, although since 1974 it lies within the borders of the City of Sheffield, in ...

, Yorkshire, and educated at Bilton Grange, Rugby and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he graduated BA in 1901 and MA in 1905. An amateur whose main profession was as a schoolmaster for 43 years at

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 ...

(1903–1946), Wilson bowled slow right-arm spinners that move either way off the pitch, and batted well enough to score a century on first-class cricket debut, and another one in the annual

Varsity match A varsity match in Britain and Ireland is a fixture, especially of a sporting event or team, between university teams, usually the highest-level team, or varsity team, in that sport. The University Match in cricket between Oxford University an ...

. He played a little for Yorkshire from 1899, but after leaving Cambridge in 1902, he then played no first-class cricket for the next ten years, preferring, he said, to play three club matches a week rather than two county games. But after turning down an approach in 1913 by

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, where he lived, he was persuaded to rejoin Yorkshire, the county of his birth, and stayed with them until 1923, playing mostly in the August school holidays. He played 66 times for Yorkshire. He served in 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 ...

in the army, being commissioned Lieutenant 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 ...

before transferring to intelligence staff work. He demobilised as captain in 1919. In 1920, at the age of 41, he bowled so successfully that he finished fourth in the national averages, and was given leave from Winchester to tour Australia with the 1920–21

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 ...

(MCC) team, led by

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...

. In a disastrous series in which the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in international cricket. Along with England, it is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing and winning the first ever Test match in 1877; the team also plays One ...

won all five

Tests 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) ...

, Wilson made his Test debut at the age of 41 years and 337 days, the second oldest debutant in English cricket (after

James Southerton James Southerton (16 November 1827 – 16 June 1880) was an English professional cricketer whose first-class career spanned 26 seasons from 1854 to 1879. Right-handed as both batsman and bowler, he began his career as a specialist batsman. He ...

in the first Test match of them all in 1877). He scored five in each innings and took three wickets cheaply, but England still lost the match. Wilson ran into trouble on the tour for filing reports back to the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' newspaper. As a result, when he subsequently encountered Lord Harris in the Long Room at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

, the encounter was frosty. Harris offered him only the most cursory of handshakes, and Wilson observed, loudly enough for Harris to hear as he moved on, "Lucky to get a touch really, lucky to get a touch." Known as a witty, self-deprecating man, Wilson is credited as an influence on several generations of public school cricketers at Winchester. Amongst his pupils was

Douglas Jardine Douglas Robert Jardine ( 1900 – 1958) was a Scottish cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English ...

. Just before the 1932-33

Bodyline Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their English cricket team in Australia in 1932–33, 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinar ...

series, Wilson was asked by a journalist what England's prospects were under Jardine's captaincy. "He might well win us

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

," Wilson said, "but he might lose us a Dominion."Frith, David (2002). Bodyline Autopsy. The full story of the most sensational Test cricket series: Australia v England 1932–33. p. 70. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-896-4. His brother,

Clem Wilson The Reverend Clement Eustace Macro Wilson (15 May 1875 – 8 February 1944) was an English amateur first-class cricketer and Church of England clergyman. Cricket career Wilson played first-class cricket for Cambridge University between 1895 and ...

, also played for Yorkshire and England, and an older brother, Rowland, played fleetingly for Cambridge University. Wilson died in July 1957 in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Hampshire, aged 78.

References

External links

Cricinfo profile including his Wisden Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rockley 1879 births 1957 deaths Cambridge University cricketers English cricketers England Test cricketers Schoolteachers from Hampshire Yorkshire cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Military personnel from South Yorkshire Cricketers from Sheffield British Army personnel of World War I Rifle Brigade officers People educated at Bilton Grange People educated at Rugby School Teachers at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen B. J. T. Bosanquet's XI cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club Australian Touring Team cricketers R. A. Bennett's XI cricketers