William Swain
Personal information
Full name
William Swain
Born8 September 1830
Burley, Yorkshire, England
Died5 October 1910(1910-10-05) (aged 80)
East Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm roundarm fast/slow
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1864Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 2
Runs scored 22
Batting average 11.00
100s/50s –/–
Top score 13*
Catches/stumpings –/–
Source: Cricinfo, 13 June 2021

William Swain (8 September 1827 – 5 October 1910) was an English first-class cricketer, businessman and inventor.

The son of William and Jane Swain, he was born in September 1830 at Burley, Yorkshire.[1] A fast bowler, he adopted the roundarm style of bowling in 1836, at the age of eleven.[2] Swain was a successful cricket coach and was engaged by Christ Church, Oxford in 1857, where he coached for the next nine years.[2][3] During this time he coached the future King Edward VII, whose connections he would use to expand his business contacts.[1] As a club cricketer, he was employed by a number of clubs between 1857 and 1876, predominantly in the North of England, often coaching alongside playing.[4] A benefit match was held between Otley and a United All-England Eleven for Robinson and fellow Otley cricketer Caleb Robinson in 1863, with the Otley side featuring Tom Emmett.[5] He was engaged by the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1864, playing two first-class matches for the club at Lord's against Cambridge University and Oxford University,[6] scoring 22 runs.[7] He was described by Scores and Biographies as a player who "bats in good style, is a nice field, either at point or long-stop".[8] His fielding was so well regarded that he was described by Bell's Life as "the best fielder in Yorkshire, if not in all England".[2] He went into business twice, running a cricket outfitters shop at Halifax in the late 1860s and a tailoring business in the early 1880s at Bradford. Swain invented one of the first mechanical bowling machines in 1870, calling it a cricket battery.[1]

He emigrated to Australia with his family in 1884, settling in Queensland. There he continued his connection to cricket, coaching many future players of the Queensland cricket team.[2] Swain died at East Brisbane in October 1910.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "William 'Billy' Swain". Burley Community Library. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cricket. The Colonist. 7 October 1908. p. 1
  3. ↑ "William 'Billy' Swain (1827-1910)". Burley Community Archive & Library. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Teams William Swain played for". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Lonsdale, Jeremy (2018). Tom Emmett: The Spirit of Yorkshire Cricket. ACS. p. 13. ISBN 9781908165992.
  6. ↑ "First-Class Matches played by William Swain". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by William Swain". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Wisden - Obituaries in 1910". ESPNcricinfo. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
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