Arthur Lang

Arthur Horace Lang (25 October 1890 – 25 January 1915) was an English cricketer active in the first decade of the 1900s and in the first years of the following decade, making over twenty appearances in first-class cricket. Born at Bombay in the British Raj, Lang was a right-handed batsman who played as a wicket-keeper.

Arthur Lang

Lang as a Grenadier Guards officer.
Personal information
Full name	Arthur Horace Lang
Born	25 October 1890 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British Raj
Died	25 January 1915(1915-01-25) (aged 24) Cuinchy, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Wicket-keeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1912–1913	Cambridge University
1911–1913	Sussex
1907–1911	Suffolk
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 22 Runs scored 830 Batting average 22.43 100s/50s 2/2 Top score 141 Balls bowled – Wickets – Bowling average – 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling – Catches/stumpings 17/16
Source: Cricinfo, 9 December 2013

Cricket career

Lang was educated at Harrow School, where he captained the school cricket team in 1908 and 1909.[1] A year prior to captaining the school, Lang had made his debut in county cricket for Suffolk against Hertfordshire in the 1907 Minor Counties Championship, with him making two further appearances for the county in that season.[2] He followed this up by playing three matches for Suffolk in 1908, but played only one match each in 1909 and 1910.[2] He played three further matches for the county in the 1911 Minor Counties Championship, the last of which came against Norfolk.[2]

In May 1911, Lang made his debut in first-class cricket for Sussex against Cambridge University at Fenner's, in what was his only first-class appearance of that season.[3] He played six first-class matches for Sussex in 1912, as well as making his debut for Cambridge University (where he was at Trinity College[4]) against the Marylebone Cricket Club.[3] Lang secured his place in the Cambridge side in 1913, displacing the incumbent wicket-keeper Walter Franklin who the Cambridge selectors considered an inferior batsman to Lang.[5] He played seven first-class matches for the university in 1913, as well as six for Sussex, most of which came in the latter stages of the County Championship.[3] He made what would be a final appearance in first-class for LG Robinson's XI in 1914.[3] In a total of 22 first-class appearances, Lang scored 830 runs at an average of 22.43, with a high score of 141, while behind the stumps he took seventeen catches and made sixteen stumpings.[6] He made two centuries in first-class cricket, both for Sussex.[7]

War service and death

With the onset of the First World War, Lang enlisted in the British Army and served with the Grenadier Guards with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.[1] He was reported missing in action on the Western Front near the village of Cuinchy in northern France on 26 January 1915, presumed killed the previous day.[1][8]

References

1. "Wisden - Obituaries in 1915". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
2. "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by Arthur Lang". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
3. "First-Class Matches played by Arthur Lang". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
4. "Lieutenant Arthur Horace Lang". Imperial War Museum.
5. "Obituaries - 1968". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
6. "Player profile: Arthur Lang". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
7. "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Arthur Lang". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
8. "Cricketers who died in World War 1 — Part 4 of 5". Cricket Country. Retrieved 28 November 2018.

External links

• Arthur Lang at ESPNcricinfo
• Arthur Lang at CricketArchive