Samuel Evan Butler (15 April 1850 – 30 April 1903) was 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 striki ...

er who attended

St Alban Hall St Alban Hall, sometimes known as St Alban's Hall or Stubbins, was one of the medieval halls of the University of Oxford, and one of the longest-surviving. It was established in the 13th century, acquired by neighbouring Merton College in the ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

. In the University Match of 1871 he took all ten Cambridge University wickets in their first innings, the only time this has been achieved in the fixture, and (as of March 2013) the only time an Oxford bowler has taken ten wickets in any first-class innings.

Life

He was born at Colombo in

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

, the eldest son of Samuel Butler, who bought

Combe Hay Manor Combe Hay Manor in Combe Hay, Somerset, England is a manor house. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The house was built in two phases for Robert Smith and his son, John. The first, western, part dates from 1728 to 1730 and is ...

in 1864. He was educated at Eton College, where he was in the cricket XI. He matriculated in 1869 at

St Alban Hall, Oxford St Alban Hall, sometimes known as St Alban's Hall or Stubbins, was one of the medieval halls of the University of Oxford, and one of the longest-surviving. It was established in the 13th century, acquired by neighbouring Merton College in the ...

, and graduated B.A. in 1875 at Brasenose College. He graduated M.A. in 1876 and the same year was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the Inner Temple. Butler resided at Caisson House near Combe Hay Manor, and from around 1881 had a fuller's earth mine nearby. He married in 1884 Florence Grosvenor, third daughter of the Rev. Frederick Grosvenor, rector of Dunkerton, Somerset. He died at Combe Hay, Somerset on 30 April 1903.

Cricketer

Butler's first-class career lasted only from 1870 to 1874; after leaving Oxford in 1873 he played in only two further first-class matches, both in 1874. 16 of his 21 matches were played for Oxford, the remainder being for various "Gentlemen" sides. He was a right-arm roundarm fast bowler and a right-handed batsman. ''Wisden'' says that he "possessed great pace". He took 106 wickets in his career at an average of 14.33, ten times taking five wickets or more in an innings and three times ten or more in a match. He was a negligible batsman, managing 256 runs at an average of 9.14, with a highest score of only 31. Having taken all ten Cambridge University wickets in their first innings of the University Match of 1871, Butler captured five more wickets in their second innings, for 15 in the match, and assisting Oxford University to win by eight wickets. His figures were 10/38 and 5/57. His ''Wisden'' obituary says of him: "On that one afternoon at Lord's he was unplayable, but he never afterwards approached the same form."''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1904 edition, obituary
/ref> On the strength of his performance in the 1871 University Match, Butler was chosen for the Gentlemen against the Players that year both at

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

and the Oval, but he did nothing of note with the ball and made a duck in all three of his innings. In the 1873 University Match, Butler took 5/48 in Cambridge's first innings, helping Oxford to win a close match by three wickets.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Samuel 1850 births 1903 deaths English cricketers Oxford University cricketers English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Gentlemen cricketers Gentlemen of the South cricketers Cricketers who have taken ten wickets in an innings Gentlemen of England cricketers Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers