Plum Warner

Sir Pelham Francis Warner, affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or the Grand Old Man of English cricket was born on 2 October 1873 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and died on 30 January 1963 at West Lavington, Sussex.

A right-hand bat, Warner played first-class cricket for Oxford University, Middlesex and England. He played 15 test matches, captaining in 10 of them, with a record of won 4, lost 6. Indeed, when he captained England on the tour of South Africa in 1905/6 to a resounding 1–4 defeat, that was the first time England had lost to South Africa in a test match.

He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1904 and 1921, making him one of the few to have received the honour twice (the normal rule is that it can only be won once). After retiring as a player, he became a tour manager, most notably on the infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932/3. He later became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club. He was knighted for his services to cricket in 1937.

Warner wrote extensively on cricket. He detailed his Ashes tests and a history of Lord's cricket ground. He was married to Agnes in the summer of 1904 and had a son, Esmond, and a daughter, Elizabeth.

External references

• Cricinfo page on Plum Warner
• The Golden Age of Cricket 1890–1914 by David Frith ISBN 0–907853–50–1

Bibliography

• Lord's 1787–1945 ISBN 1–85145–112–9