Thomas Mycroft (28 March 1848 — 31 August 1911) was an English

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 who played for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and MCC between 1877 and 1887. Mycroft was born in Brimington,

, the son of George Mycroft and his second wife Elizabeth Lowcock. His father was an ironstone and coal miner who kept the Red Lion public house at Brimington. Mycroft became an

iron moulder A moldmaker (mouldmaker in English-speaking countries other than the US) or molder (moulder) is a skilled tradesperson who fabricates ''molds'' (or ''moulds'') for use in casting metal products. Moldmakers are generally employed in foundries, w ...

. He was playing cricket for Chesterfield in 1871. His first-class career started in the 1877 season, when he made his debut for Derbyshire as wicket-keeper against

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, scoring eight runs. He played one more match that season. In the 1878 season he played one game for Derbyshire against the All England XI but started playing predominantly for MCC. Derbyshire over the period was well served by their regular wicket-keepers Alfort Smith and

James Disney James Joseph Disney (20 November 1859 – 24 June 1934) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire as wicket-keeper between 1881 and 1890. Disney was born in Butterley near Ripley, Derbyshire and became a plumber a ...

. Mycroft played a large number of non-status matches for MCC against local clubs until 1883 and one or two first-class matches for MCC each year. In 1882 against Hampshire he took a rare bowling stint of 7 overs without gaining a wicket but scored 11 and 10 in his two innings. In the 1884 season Mycroft played ten county matches for Derbyshire, and played two games for MCC. In 1885 he played a single MCC V Derbyshire match in which he had a small bowling spell for Derbyshire. In 1887 he played for South against North and his final match was for MCC against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Mycroft was wicket keeper in all but two first-class games when he bowled in all 44 balls without a wicket. He was a left-handed batsman and played 46 innings in 24 first-class matches with a top score of 24 not out and an average of 7.78.Thomas Mycroft at Cricket Archive
/ref> Mycroft returned to the game as an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

, from 1897 to 1905, standing in two

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) ...

Matches. Mycroft died in

Mickleover Mickleover is a village in the unitary authority of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is west of Derby, northeast of Burton upon Trent, southeast of Ashbourne and northeast of Uttoxeter. History The earliest recorded mention of Mickleov ...

at the age of 63. His half-brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, was a Derbyshire cricketer between 1873 and 1885.

References

External links

Mycroft cricketers family history - includes photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mycroft, Thomas 1848 births 1911 deaths Derbyshire cricketers English Test cricket umpires Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Moldmakers People from Brimington Cricketers from Derbyshire North v South cricketers English cricketers