Somerset Cricketers 1882-1914

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Somerset Cricketers 1882-1914

Somerset Cricketers 1882 – 1914 contains richly-illustrated and hugely informative biographies of each of the 227 cricketers who appeared for Somerset before the First World War.

By introducing the men in order of their debut appearance and exploring their lives, the author has pieced together a compelling story and enabled us to gain an in-depth understanding of the development of the game in the county.

There is a wealth of new information to satisfy the students of cricket and those interested in social history. Myths are exploded and countless new facts unearthed.

Many of the life-stories are fascinating tales of hardship or privilege, portraits of men from all walks of life, tales of triumph and disaster. And all within the framework of the county cricket team’s continued struggled for survival, spiced with glorious surprises.

Researched with forensic attention to detail but written with real warmth and an eye to readability, and accompanied by photographs of virtually all the team members mentioned, this book can be devoured from cover to cover as a gripping story of Somerset’s changing fortunes or can be dipped into, with so many individual stories to delight the reader.

Stephen Hill was born in Bishops Lydeard and educated in Taunton but now lives in Nottinghamshire. He has supported Somerset CCC since 1963. A former businessman, he is the author of two novels (writing as Stephen Edden). This is his first work of non-fiction.

Barry Phillips was born and educated in Taunton. Now retired, he was an accountant by profession spending his working life in Oxford. He has been a lifelong supporter of Somerset CCC, having first watched them play the Australians in 1956. Forty years later he wrote No Mere Slogger, the acclaimed biography of Arthur Wellard.