Not That One

 posted by John Winn

The first surname that I will mention in this post is Shackleton and you would be perfectly entitled to think that the subject might be Derek of that ilk, the almost robotic seam bowler who took over 100 wickets in first class cricket in 20 consecutive seasons, mainly for Hampshire for he played in only seven tests, 13 years separating his first and last appearances for England. Sorry to disappoint you but the Shackleton I have in mind is, dare I suggest, even better known, viz Ernest Shackleton, polar explorer. 

This Shackleton, born 1874 and who died in South Georgia aged only 47, has been in the news this week as it is just one year since his ship Endurance was discovered at a depth of almost 10,000 feet in the Weddell Sea where it had lain for over 100 years. Remarkable photos of the wreck were shown on BBC Breakfast early this week. This was accompanied by an interview with Shackleton's granddaughter which prompted me to enter Ernest's name in a search engine which showed that his wife Emily Dorman, who outlived her husband by more than twenty years, had a brother Arthur who was a first class cricketer. Phew, got their in the end. 

Arthur William Dorman, born 1862 in Sydenham, was educated at Dulwich College, where he captained the XI, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. A slow left arm bowler, he played just eight first class matches but had he not opted to take holy orders on graduation his bowling statistics suggest he could have played many more. He died aged just 51 in 1914 and his obituary in the following year's Wisden stretches to only 12 lines but describes him as 'a first-rate left-handed bowler, with a high delivery and good break'. Close examination of his bowling analyses shows he was very accurate. 

Seven of Dorman's eight first class matches were for Cambridge University, he gained his blue in 1886, and their opponents included Yorkshire twice, at Fenner's and Bramall Lane, the touring Australians, Surrey at The Oval and MCC at Lord's. Against Yorkshire he took nine wickets in the match at Fenner's whilst conceding 103 runs from 57 four ball overs, steady stuff, Arthur.  The icing on his career came in his last match, being picked for The Gentlemen v The Players at The Oval but he took only one wicket and his analysis of 41 overs, again four ball, 25 maidens, 1 for 48 is described by Wisden as 'expensive'. Bit harsh? Curiously in his obituary Arthur is described as ' good straight bat, playing the ball very hard'. 28 runs for Cambridge University in 11 innings at an average of 4.00 suggests otherwise. In his one innings for The Gentlemen he scored three not out, batting as usual low down the order. 

Dorman took holy orders in 1890 and was curated at Knaresborough the following year but very soon moved on to Wiltshire, then to his birthplace of Sydenham then to Hinton Charterhouse in Somerset, four miles south of Bath, where he was vicar until his early death. Wikipedia records that Shackleton visited his brother-in-law regularly where he spent 'quiet and happy week-ends'. A few months after Arthur died Endurance set sail for Antarctica. Shackleton delayed his departure and joined the ship in Buenos Aires.

It would appear that Arthur Dorman played no serious cricket after entering the church for under the heading Miscellaneous Matches, Cricket Archive lists only matches he played for Dulwich College. So a short career but one that took in the varsity match, matches at Lord's and The Oval and Dorman gained a Cambridge Blue and represented The Gentlemen in what at that time was one of the most prestigious matches in the cricket calendar. It is nice to read that Hinton Charterhouse has a thriving club with a first XI playing in the West of England Premier Wiltshire Division. In addition it has a Saturday 2nd XI, a Sunday XI and a 'vibrant junior section'. It would be nice to think that brothers-in-law Ernest and Arthur enjoyed watching cricket at Hinton Charterhouse, Ernest planning a trip to Antarctica, Arthur putting the finishing touches to his Sunday sermon, but alas the club was not formed until 1920.