John Sandford Robinson (5 February 1868 – 21 April 1898) was an English cricketer. He played for Cambridge University, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Nottinghamshire between 1888 and 1896.[1] He was born at Arnold, Nottinghamshire and died at Worksop, also in Nottinghamshire.[2] He was known during his lifetime as "Sandford Robinson" as his father was called "John Robinson".[3]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Sandford Robinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 February 1868 Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 21 April 1898 (aged 30) Worksop Manor, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1888 | Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1888–1896 | Nottinghamshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 4 August 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography
editRobinson's father founded the successful Home Brewery in Daybrook, Arnold in 1875, later acquired Worksop Manor and was knighted in 1905; Sandford Robinson was sent to Harrow School and then he went to Trinity College, Cambridge.[4] As a cricketer, he was a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicketkeeper, but neither at school nor at university did he make much impression: at Harrow he did not play in the grand set-piece cricket matches against the other major public schools, though he did appear in a 12-a-side match with the MCC in 1886.[5] At Cambridge, he played in two trial games but was given only one chance in the first team: a match against the Gentlemen of England in which he opened the batting, scored 7 and 1, and took a catch in each innings.[6] He did no better in a game for Nottinghamshire later in that season and in single matches in both 1889 and 1890 against Cambridge University – playing for an opposing team was a frequent ploy used by Cambridge when they wanted to try a cricketer out, but in Robinson's case it led to no further first-team appearances.[7]
Robinson graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1890.[4] In 1891 and 1892, he played first-class cricket fairly regularly for Nottinghamshire, captaining the team on occasion, and for some amateur teams, though only in 1892 did he have any success: his two first-class scores of more than 50 both came in this season.[7] His best innings was a score of 72 in the Nottinghamshire game against Middlesex when he put on 161 for the fifth wicket with Arthur Shrewsbury, who made 212.[8] At the end of the 1892 English cricket season he joined Lord Hawke's XI cricket team in Ceylon and India in 1892–93, where he played in a single first-class match; he did not then appear at all in first-class cricket in 1893.[7] He reappeared in Nottinghamshire matches in 1894 and occasionally kept wicket that season, and at the end of it he went on a second tour, this time with Lord Hawke to North America, where he played in two first-class cricket matches.[7] He played occasionally in both 1895 and 1896 with no success.
Robinson had other interests outside cricket, though he appears not to have had a career or profession. He was a captain in the Robin Hood Rifles, a volunteer army unit raised in Nottinghamshire and he also played football for Worksop Town F. C.[3] He was also engaged in field sports and a fall from his horse while hunting two weeks before he died was thought to have accelerated his death, which was unexpected.[3]
References
edit- ^ "John Robinson". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ "Obituaries in 1898". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 24 November 2005.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Mr J. Sandford Robinson". Sheffield Daily Telegraph/British Newspaper Archive. Sheffield. 22 April 1898. p. 7.
- ^ a b J. Venn and J. A. Venn. "Alumni Cantabrigienses: John Sandford Robinson". Cambridge, University Press. p. 332. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Miscellaneous Matches Played by Sandford Robinson". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ "Scorecard: Cambridge University v Gentlemen of England". www.cricketarchive.com. 17 May 1888. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Sandford Robinson". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Scorecard: Middlesex v Nottinghamshire". www.cricketarchive.com. 20 June 1892. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
External links
edit- John Robinson at ESPNcricinfo
- John Robinson at CricketArchive (subscription required)