Thomas Straw (1 September 1870 – 8 September 1959) was an English

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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

er. A right-handed batsman born in Hucknall Torkard,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, he kept wicket for

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebranded ...

in their early years of first-class cricket. He was a poor batsman, with a top score of just 32 in his 94 innings, and went in at or near the bottom of the order. Straw made his debut on 4 May 1899 in Worcestershire's very first first-class match, against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

at New Road. He batted at number 11, making 9 and nought, and claimed no victims in Yorkshire's first innings, although he did get off the mark in the second with a notable scalp when he held a catch to dismiss David Denton off the bowling of

George Wilson George Wilson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Balch Wilson (born 1927), American composer, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan * George Washington Wilson (1823–1893), Scottish photographer * George Christopher (actor) ...

. In his 13 matches during the 1899 season, Straw held 29 catches and made one stumping, the latter against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. For the next two seasons he remained an integral part of the Worcestershire side, claiming a total of 90 dismissals in those two summers; however, he was replaced by George Gaukrodger for the 1902 season. Straw returned to the side for a single game against Oxford University in 1903, but was otherwise absent from the team for several years. In May

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship French cruiser Jean Bart ( ...

, he made a return to the Worcestershire side against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, although only 58 overs of play were possible in the game and he did not get a mention on the scorecard. Later that same year, in August, he played four more matches, the last of these against Surrey at New Road. Straw's final victim in first-class cricket was

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mas ...

, caught for 2 off the bowling of

John Cuffe John Alexander Cuffe (26 June 1880 – 5 May 1931) was an Australian-born English first-class cricketer who played more than 200 times for Worcestershire between 1903 and 1914, having previously made a single appearance for New South Wales. Aft ...

. In the whole history of first-class cricket (prior to 2012) there have been only 23 instances of a batsman being dismissed for obstructing the field, but it happened to Straw on two occasions, in 1899 and 1901, both times against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

.''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''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" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', 2012 edition, , p. 1258 and p. 423. Straw died in the place of his birth a week after his 89th birthday.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Straw, Thomas 1870 births 1959 deaths Sportspeople from Hucknall Cricketers from Nottinghamshire English cricketers Worcestershire cricketers Wicket-keepers