# Carr's Dictionary of Extraordinary Cricketers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298 "2017-05-23T19:17:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/1 "2017-05-23T19:17:51Z")
I just found a copy of this book. > [@](#): > > **Mr H. Bagshawe** , d. 1902, asked that his umpire’s coat, containing six pebbles, should be his shroud. It’s the smallest book I’ve ever held. > [@](#): > > **Max Beerbohm** , b. 1872, a much admired Edwardian writer who subscrived a shilling to W. G. Grace’s Testimonial ‘_not in support of cricket but as an earnest protest against golf._’ It’s smaller than a sheet of toilet paper, and barely thicker. > [@](#): > > **Richard Daft** , Notts, b. 1831, was the last practitioner of the underleg stroke and the art died with him. Just a few pages of bizarrery. > [@](#): > > **C. B. Fry** , Hants., b 1872, held the world’s long-jump record, played in an F. A. Cup Final, headed the England batting averages in 6 seasons and was a notable classical scholar. At the Treaty of Versailles it was sensibly proposed that he be crowned King of Albania, a blessing denied that unhappy land which, instead, inherited a family called Zog and, later, went Maoist. It’s a very old game. > [@](#): > > **Horace** , c.1890, a horse of such exquisite sensibility that, when Fred Morley, the invariable Notts last man, left the Trent Bridge pavilion, it sidled unobtrusively toward the roller. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/2 "2017-05-23T20:06:18Z")
Where did you find these drugs, and why aren’t you sharing? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/3 "2017-05-23T20:07:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Where did you find these drugs, and why aren’t you sharing? I’m guessing this is a Mornington Crescent kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/4 "2017-05-24T03:01:13Z")
Not much is bizzare, mostly amusing anecdotes, so unsure where you are coming from. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/5 "2017-05-24T07:28:16Z")
Carr’s are a biscuit company, so my WAG is that this was a free gift sold with boxes of biscuits. Cricket has been around for several centuries, but by 1890 other sports were very well established in Britain. > [@](#): > > Horace, c.1890, a horse of such exquisite sensibility that, when Fred Morley, the invariable Notts last man, left the Trent Bridge pavilion, it sidled unobtrusively toward the roller. If true, this is funny. The horse clearly knew that Morley was a bad batsman, and that it would be expected to soon pull the roller to prepare the pitch for the other team’s innings. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/6 "2017-05-24T07:37:23Z")
The pebbles in the umpire’s coat are for counting the “overs” - every 6 balls is an over and the fielding team starts bowling from the other end. I don’t know why batsmen would have played the ball through their legs but it must have looked hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/7 "2017-05-24T08:30:28Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > I don’t know why batsmen would have played the ball through their legs but it must have looked hilarious. Oh, [it did](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Murdoch#/media/File:Ranji_1897_page_059_W._L._Murdoch%27s_under-leg_stroke.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/8 "2017-05-24T08:41:00Z")
For batsmen trying to be contortionists and look as ridiculous as possible just see Younis Khan’s entire fucking career. As collected on Tumblr [http://airborneyouniskhan.tumblr.com](http://airborneyouniskhan.tumblr.com) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/9 "2017-05-24T09:13:34Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > C. B. Fry, Hants., b 1872, held the world’s long-jump record, played in an F. A. Cup Final, headed the England batting averages in 6 seasons and was a notable classical scholar. At the Treaty of Versailles it was sensibly proposed that he be crowned King of Albania, a blessing denied that unhappy land which, instead, inherited a family called Zog and, later, went Maoist. Charles Burbage Fry, relative to [Stephen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFcT-DNWWS4). ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/10 "2017-05-24T13:17:22Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Charles Burbage Fry, relative to [Stephen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFcT-DNWWS4). So what you’re saying is, there’s an alternate universe where Stephen Fry is the king of Albania? I kind of want to move there now. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/11 "2017-05-24T14:00:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m guessing this is a Mornington Crescent kind of thing. OK, so apparently this is a real book of some sort, but it sure as hell reads like one of those quirky British improv games. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/12 "2017-05-24T18:13:21Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > Carr’s are a biscuit company, so my WAG is that this was a free gift sold with boxes of biscuits. What manner of beast sells a free gift? [QUOTE=Carr’s Dictionary of Extra Ordinary English Cricketers] These books hover between a greeting and a present. They fit a common envelope and go for a minimum postage. In cold bedrooms only one hand to the wrist need suffer exposure. A distinguished novelist recommends them for reading in the bath. An ambbassador, albeit an American, claims they can be palmed from the cuff during tedious speeches and profitless sermons. [/quote] R.D and J M Carr. There is a number to call 01284. Whence? Also, > [@](#): > > **The Revd. Francis Cornford** , Vicar of Cam, c.1863, batting on Stinchcombe Ridge, Glos., made a hit yielding 18 runs. ‘Lost Ball!’ could not be called because at no time was the ball out of sight. There’s a mention of a man in my own town who died in a collision with his colleague while running. Also, I didn’t know you could be caught when the ball had ricocheted of the batsman at the other end. > [@](#): > > Julius Caesar, natus Godalming, circa MLCCCXXIX, a slow bowler who, on overseas tours, wept if required to sleep alone. He later was coach at Uppingham. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/13 "2017-05-25T12:28:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, so apparently this is a real book of some sort, but it sure as hell reads like one of those quirky British improv games. Or maybe it’s not. I can’t tell. Argh!!! ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/14 "2017-05-25T12:56:41Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > So what you’re saying is, there’s an alternate universe where Stephen Fry is the king of Albania? I kind of want to move there now. One of his relatives was also asked if he wanted to be the President of Israel when it was first founded. So there’s another alternative universe in which Stephen may have followed in the family tradition. No Blackadder, no QI, but on the plus side, no Great Indoors either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/15 "2017-05-25T17:39:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or maybe it’s not. I can’t tell. Argh!!! Ok, blindboyard is making little sense, and appears unfamiliar with the concept of the “pamphlet”, but the quotes themselves are fully understandable to someone who follows cricket. Which ones are you struggling with? A pamphlet about baseball, written in an arch humorous tone 100 years ago, would probably be equally unfathomable to people who don’t follow that game. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/16 "2017-05-25T18:34:58Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > Ok, blindboyard is making little sense, and appears unfamiliar with the concept of the “pamphlet”, but the quotes themselves are fully understandable to someone who follows cricket. Which ones are you struggling with? > > A pamphlet about baseball, written in an arch humorous tone 100 years ago, would probably be equally unfathomable to people who don’t follow that game. It’s just the humorous tone and bizarre anecdotes like somebody weeping if they sleep alone. So these are joke anecdotes or are they supposed to be true facts? (Though the Julius Caesar gives it away.) That’s what I can’t tell. Or is this a modern pamphlet written in the style of something that would have been written 100 years ago? I mean, I feel like an idiot, because it so obviously is some type of joke or humor, but I can’t ascertain its provenance. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/17 "2017-05-25T19:24:48Z")
No, they all sound plausible enough to be anecdotes about real people. I guessed correctly that ‘natus’ is the Latin for ‘born’; it means that the man’s real name was Julius Godalming, but he was predictably given the nickname ‘Caesar’. I’m pretty sure it’s from about a century ago, otherwise there would be some more recent stories. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/18 "2017-05-25T19:30:22Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > No, they all sound plausible enough to be anecdotes about real people. I guessed correctly that ‘natus’ is the Latin for ‘born’; it means that the man’s real name was Julius Godalming, but he was predictably given the nickname ‘Caesar’. I’m pretty sure it’s from about a century ago, otherwise there would be some more recent stories. The Roman numerals are a nice touch, though. 1829, I think. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/19 "2017-05-26T01:05:38Z")
Oh, [indeed he is a real person](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar_(cricketer)). Apparently real name, but born in Godalming. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298/20 "2017-05-26T08:55:11Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > No, they all sound plausible enough to be anecdotes about real people. I guessed correctly that ‘natus’ is the Latin for ‘born’; it means that the man’s real name was Julius Godalming, but he was predictably given the nickname ‘Caesar’. I’m pretty sure it’s from about a century ago, otherwise there would be some more recent stories. Printed 1999, first edition listed as 1977. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrs-dictionary-of-extraordinary-cricketers/787298.md?page=2)