Ronald Aird (4 May 1902 – 16 August 1986) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er, cricket administrator and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. Aird began his

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 ...

career with

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...

in 1920, making over 100 appearances for the county in which he scored over 3,600 runs. After also playing first-class cricket 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 ...

while studying at

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, Aird was appointed assistant secretary of 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 ...

(MCC) in 1926, which restricted his appearances in first-class cricket thereafter. He served as assistant secretary under William Findlay and Rowan Rait Kerr, and was himself elected secretary following Kerr's retirement in 1952. Aird remained in the post until 1962 and became MCC president in 1968, the year in which he chaired the special general meeting of the MCC over relations with

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 ...

during the

D'Oliveira affair The D'Oliveira affair was a prolonged political and sporting controversy relating to the scheduled 1968–69 tour of South Africa by the England cricket team, who were officially representing the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The point of cont ...

. He was president of Hampshire County Cricket Club from 1971 to 1983. Outside of cricket, Aird served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

and was decorated with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

Early life and cricket career

The son of Malcolm Rucker Aird, who was the son of Sir John Aird, he was born at

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

in May 1902. He was educated at

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 ...

, where he played for the college cricket team in the Eton v

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 ...

matches. He was also active in rackets at Eton, reaching the pairs final at

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in Barons Court, West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "HSBC Championships" for spo ...

twice. During his final two years at Eton in 1920 and 1921, Aird trialled for

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, ...

, making his debut in

against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. From Eton, he matriculated to

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

. Despite featuring for Hampshire regularly in the 1922 County Championship, it was not until 1923 that he played first-class cricket for

, having not been in the running for selection in 1922. He gained a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

in 1923, a season in which he made 12 appearances for the university, largely due to his performance against

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 ...

, when he scored 64 against a strong bowling line-up containing

George Macaulay George Gibson Macaulay (7 December 1897 – 13 December 1940) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to ...

Wilfred Rhodes Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...

Emmott Robinson Emmott Robinson (16 November 1883 – 17 November 1969) was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1919 to 1931. He was awarded his county cap in 1920. Robinson was a right-handed batsman who b ...

and

Abe Waddington Abraham "Abe" Waddington, sometimes known as Abram Waddington (4 February 1893 – 28 October 1959), was a professional cricketer for Yorkshire, who played in two Test matches for England, both against Australia in 1920–21. Between 191 ...

. For Hampshire, it took him time to acclimatise to the level of first-class cricket, but he soon became a regular member of the Hampshire side. In 1924, he played his only full season of

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

, making 28 appearances and passing 1,000 runs for the season for the only time, while also scoring his maiden first-class

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

. He played first-class cricket for Hampshire until 1938, making 108 appearances for the county. He was known, on occasion, to deputise as captain for Lionel Tennyson, doing so for matches in 1924, 1926 and 1931. Aird scored 3,603 runs for Hampshire at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 22.24; he made four centuries and ten half centuries. His highest score of 159 came against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in 1929, in a total of 272. A capable fielder, he took over 50 catches in first-class cricket. Aird began his association with the

(MCC) when he was appointed assistant secretary in 1926, with William Findlay succeeding

Francis Lacey Sir Francis Eden Lacey (19 October 1859 — 26 May 1946) was an English cricketer, cricket administrator and barrister. Lacey played first-class cricket for Hampshire from 1880 to 1896, either side of the club losing its first-class status betw ...

as MCC secretary in the same year. He also played first-class cricket for the MCC from 1927 to 1939, making fifteen appearances and scoring 520 runs at an average of exactly 26. His administrative duties with the MCC had the effect of greatly reducing his appearances for Hampshire, so much so that after the 1926 season he never made more than seven appearances for the county in a given season. Aird maintained his role as assistant secretary in 1936, when Findlay was succeeded as secretary by Rowan Rait Kerr. In addition to playing first-class cricket for Hampshire and the MCC, Aird also played for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

fixture of 1925.

War service and cricket administration

Aird served in the

during the

, being commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

into the

in August 1939, a day before the outbreak of hostilities. He saw action during the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

and was wounded several times, once severely. He had been the sole survivor of a destroyed tank on two occasions. He was awarded the

in November 1942. He remained in the military following the war, transferring to the 4th County of London Yeomanry. He was conferred the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

in April 1951, at which point he held the rank of

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 ...

. He exceeded the age limit for liability to recall in August 1952, at which point he ceased to belong to the

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. Descended from the Territorial Force ( ...

, but was allowed to retain his honorary rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Following the war, he continued to assist Rait-Kerr, until he succeeded him as MCC secretary in 1952. A year into the post, he gave permission for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

to broadcast live coverage of the deciding

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) ...

of the 1953 Ashes Series, due to 'enormous public interest' as England sought to win back

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, ...

for the first time in 19 years. The remainder of his secretaryship was summarised by ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' as one absent of any startling reforms or innovations. He retired in 1962, being succeeded as secretary by

Billy Griffith Stewart Cathie Griffith, (16 June 1914 – 7 April 1993), known as Billy Griffith, was an English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played in three Test matches for England in 1948 and 1949. He played first-class cricket for Cambridg ...

. Although known as a man who was imperturbable, he gained admiration from his peers during his presidency of the MCC in 1968, when he chaired the heated special general meeting over relations with

in light of the

, which led to the cancellation of England's tour of South Africa. He praised D'Oliveria for the great dignity that he had maintained throughout the affair. He was elected a trustee of the MCC in 1971, a position he held until his appointment as a life vice-president in 1983. In addition to his administrative roles within the MCC over a sixty-year period, Aird was also an administrator in

; he served as president of Hampshire County Cricket Club between 1971 and 1983, being succeeded by Cecil Paris. He was also involved with

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 ' ...

for over fifty years, as secretary and treasurer, helping raise the club from the low esteem with which it had fallen to in the 1920s, to a club whose membership again became popular. Outside of cricket, Aird competed 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 ...

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

, winning the silver racket six times between 1933 and 1949, though he never won the gold racket, being defeated twice by Baron Aberdare and four times by W. D. Macpherson. In retirement, he moved to the

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, ...

village of

Yapton Yapton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District, Arun District of West Sussex, England, three miles (4.8 km) north east of Bognor Regis at the intersection of the B2132 and B2233 roads. Yapton lies on the coastal plain south west ...

, where he was resident at West Down House. His move there bought him close to nearby

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

, with Aird becoming associated with the Friends of Arundel Castle Cricket Ground, to whom he provided much wisdom and experience. In his latter years, Aird struggled with illness and died at Yapton in August 1986, aged 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aird, Ronnie 1902 births 1986 deaths Cricketers from the City of Westminster People from Paddington People educated at Eton College Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Hampshire cricket captains English cricket administrators Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Tank Regiment officers Recipients of the Military Cross Secretaries of the Marylebone Cricket Club Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club 20th-century English sportsmen