Thomas Plumb (26 July 1833 – 29 March 1905) was an English first-class cricketer. Plumb played first-class cricket for several teams between 1866–79, and was considered by some to be the finest wicket-keeper of his time.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Thomas Plumb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 July 1833 Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 March 1905 (aged 71) Northampton, Northamptonshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 24 June 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Life and cricket career
editPlumb, who was born at Aylesbury, was considered the finest wicket-keeper of his time, with W. G. Grace describing him as ‘about the best wicket-keeper of his time.’[1] He was considered by others to have been the equal of Ted Pooley and George Pinder.[1] Plumb was never attached to one of the major county teams of the time, playing for Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, then second-class counties.[2][1] He made his debut in first-class cricket for the North in the North v South fixture of 1866. Between 1866 and 1879, he played first-class cricket for no less than eight teams, including for the Players in the 1869 Gentlemen v Players fixture. He also appeared for All-England teams, including the United England Eleven and the All England Eleven.[2] Making 26 first-class appearances, Plumb scored 474 runs at an average of 12.81, with a high score of 67. Behind the stumps, he took 27 catches and made 15 stumpings.[3]
Outside of cricket he was a publican, running the Queen's Head in Billesdon. In his later years he lived under poor circumstances, perhaps owing to the misfortune of not belonging to a major county during his career.[1] He lived out his final years in a workhouse in Northampton, dying there in March 1905.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Wisden - Obituaries in 1905". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Teams Thomas Plumb played for". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Player profile: Thomas Plumb". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 June 2019.