Full Name

Charles Stowell Marriott

Born

September 14, 1895, Heaton Moor, Lancashire

Died

October 13, 1966, Dollis Hill, Middlesex, (aged 71y 29d)

Also Known As

Father
Birth registered as Charlie Stowell Marriott

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak Googly

Wisden Obituary
Marriott, Charles Stowell, who died on October 13, aged 71, was one of the best legbreak and googly bowlers of his era. He learned his cricket in Ireland, where he was educated at St. Columba's, and gained a Blue at Cambridge in 1920 and 1921, meeting with remarkable success in the University matches. In 1920, when rain prevented play on the first two days, he took seven wickets for 69 runs and in the following season he played a leading part in a triumph for the Light Blues in an innings with 24 runs to spare by dismissing seven Oxford batsmen in the match for 111 runs.

In all first-class cricket he took 724 wickets at an average cost of 20.04 runs and his bowling skill so far exceeded his ability as a batsman that his victims exceeded his aggregate of runs by 169. Cunning flighting, allied to the ability to turn the ball sharply, made him a menace to batsmen even on good pitches and when the turf gave him help, he could be well-nigh unplayable. His action was high with a free, loose arm which he swung behind his back before delivery in a manner reminiscent of Colin Blythe. From 1919 to 1921 he appeared for Lancashire and when beginning a long association with Dulwich College as master-in-charge of cricket, he threw in his lot with Kent, whom he assisted during the school holidays from 1924 to 1937.

In his first season with the Southern county he distinguished himself by taking 5 for 31 and 6for 48 in the game with Lancashire at Dover and against Hampshire at Canterbury he returned figures of 5 for 66 and 5for 44, and he achieved many other notable performances in later years.

He met with great success on the occasion of his one appearance in a Test match for England. That was at The Oval in 1933, when he so bewildered the batsmen that he took 5 for 37 runs in the first innings and, with second innings figures of 6 for 59, hurried the West Indies to defeat by an innings and 17 runs--a feat described by Wisden of the time as one of the best accomplished by a bowler when playing for England for the first time.

Father Marriott, as he was popularly known, engaged in two tours abroad. In 1924-25 he was a member of Lord--then the Hon. Lionel--Tennyson's side in South Africa and in 1933-34 he went with Douglas Jardine's MCC team to India, where, against Madras, he did the hat-trick for the only time in his first-class career. During the Second World War he served as an anti-aircraft gunner in the Home Guard.
Wisden Almanack 1967

Charles Marriott Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAve100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests110000.00000010
FC15917848574214.4100--470

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests1224796116/5911/968.722.3322.4021
FC159-37223143047118/98-20.112.3052.3-4810
CS 'Father' Marriott

Explore Statsguru Analysis

Test

Debut/Last Matches of Charles Marriott

FC Matches

Span
1919 - 1938

Recent Matches of Charles Marriott

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
England vs West Indies05/37 & 6/5912-Aug-1933The OvalTest # 229
Lancashire vs Australians130/4103-Aug-1921LiverpoolFC
Cambridge U vs Australians0 & 03/14601-Jun-1921CambridgeFC
Oxford Uni vs 2* & 13/65 & 2/6405-Jun-1919OxfordFC
Gents Eng vs Oxford Uni2 & 04/56 & 0/2912-May-1919OxfordFC

Photos of Charles Marriott

CS 'Father' Marriott
CS 'Father' Marriott in action
The Cambridge side of 1922