William Edward Hickmott (10 April 1893 – 16 January 1968) was an English breeder of golden retrievers and professional cricketer who played between 1914 and 1924.

William Hickmott
Personal information
Full name
William Edward Hickmott
Born(1893-04-10)10 April 1893
Boxley, Kent
Died16 January 1969(1969-01-16) (aged 75)
West Malling, Kent
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLeft-arm slow-medium
RoleBowler
RelationsEdward Hickmott (uncle)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1914–1921Kent
1923–1924Lancashire
FC debut31 August 1914 Kent v Hampshire
Last FC12 July 1924 Lancashire v Surrey
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 37
Runs scored 301
Batting average 10.37
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 31*
Balls bowled 4,892
Wickets 92
Bowling average 25.65
5 wickets in innings 2
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 5/20
Catches/stumpings 25/–
Source: CricInfo, 2 August 2020

Early life

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Hickmott was born at Boxley in Kent, the son of William and Mary Hickmott. His family ran The King's Arms public house in the village. He was taken on at Kent County Cricket Clubs Tonbridge Nursery in 1910 and played for Kent's Second XI from 1911.[1] He made his first-class cricket debut in August 1914, playing for Kent in their final match of the season against Hamspshire and Bournemouth.[1][2] An uncle, Edward Hickmott, had played for Kent in the 1870s as a wicket-keeper.[1]

Military service

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Hickmott had already enrolled in the British Army when he made his senior debut. He served initially in the West Kent Yeomanry before transferring to the Royal West Kent Regiment (RWK), serving with 6 and 8 battalions RWK on the Western Front during World War I. He reached the rank of corporal.[3]

Post-war cricket

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After the war, Hickmott played as a professional for Ramsbottom Cricket Club in the Lancashire League. He played twice for Kent in 1921 but was not engaged by the club and played for Lancashire in 1923 and 1924, making 34 first-class appearances.[1][3] A left-arm bowler, Wisden recorded that Hickmott "bowled medium to rather slow and sometimes caused a lot of trouble without doing steady enough work to fulfil expectations".[4] After 1925 he left Ramsbottom, playing Central Lancashire League cricket for Rochdale, for whom he took a league record 140 wickets in 1927. He later played for Wallasey and appeared for Liverpool District against a touring South American side in 1932.[1][4]

Later life

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In later life, Hickmott became a well-known breeder of golden retrievers, regularly showing his dogs at Crufts.[1][3] He died in 1968 at West Malling in Kent, aged 74.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition), pp. 248–249. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
  2. ^ William Hickmott, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  3. ^ a b c Lewis P (2013) For Kent and Country, p.328. Brighton: Reveille Press. ISBN 978-1-908336-63-7
  4. ^ a b Hickmott, William Edward, Obituaries in 1968, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1969. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  5. ^ William Hickmott, CricInfo. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
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