Arthur Cursham

Arthur William Cursham (14 March 1853 – 24 December 1884)[1] was an English cricketer and footballer. He played football for England and for Notts County between 1876 and 1883. He played cricket for Nottinghamshire from 1876 to 1879 and for Derbyshire from 1879 to 1880.

Arthur Cursham
Personal information
Full nameArthur William Cursham
Born(1853-03-14)14 March 1853
Wilford, Nottingham, England
Died24 December 1884(1884-12-24) (aged 31)
Florida, USA
BattingRight-handed batsman
BowlingRound arm slow bowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1876-1878Nottinghamshire
1879–1880Derbyshire
First-class debut28 August 1876 Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
Last First-class26 August 1880 Derbyshire v Kent
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 21
Runs scored 314
Batting average 8.97
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 67
Balls bowled 104
Wickets 1
Bowling average 49.00
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling 1-39
Catches/stumpings 10/-
Source: , 10 August 2010

Early life

Cursham was born in Wilford, Nottingham the son of William Cursham, later vicar of Cropwell Butler. He attended Oakham School and became a mine manager.[2]

Football career

He played football for Notts County, between 1876 and 1883 and made his England footballing debut in March 1876 in a 3–0 home defeat at the hands of Scotland. A photograph of this team is believed to be the first ever photograph of an English team. However Cursham does not appear in the picture - it is believed he was behind the camera.[3] He made six international footballing appearances in total, four coming against Scotland and two against Wales.

Cricket career

Cursham made his County Cricket debut during the 1876 season, playing his first game for Nottinghamshire in a low-scoring victory against Yorkshire. He, along with the rest of the Nottinghamshire team, failed to impress in a match in which only one player would reach double figures in each of the first three innings, himself scoring just three runs from the middle order. Cursham, a right-handed batsman and a round-arm bowler, appeared extensively for Nottinghamshire during the 1877 and 1878 seasons, scoring a maiden career half-century against Middlesex in 1877.

Cursham moved to play briefly for Derbyshire during the 1879 season. He played regularly in the Derbyshire lower order, scoring a duck in his debut innings, though failing to break into the side as a bowler. He played for Derbyshire again in the 1880 season, retiring from the game at the age of 27.

Three years after the end of his cricketing career, Cursham played two further games for the England national football team, a victory against Wales in which he scored his second and final international goal, and a defeat against Scotland.

Cursham emigrated to the United States at the end of his footballing career, just a year after his final international footballing appearance. He died in Florida at just 31 years of age from yellow fever.[1]

His brother Henry was also an England international footballer.

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References
  1. Betts, Graham (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing. p. 83. ISBN 1-905009-63-1.
  2. British Census 1881
  3. Mail Online The first ever photo of the England football team in 1876 08:29 08 May 2008
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