Alexander Hosie

Alexander Lindsay "Alec" Hosie (6 August 1890 – 11 June 1957) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket in both England and British India. In England, he was mostly associated with Hampshire, for whom he made 80 first-class appearances. In British India, he played for the Europeans cricket team in the Bombay Tournament, in addition to being Bengal's first captain in the Ranji Trophy. Hosie was the chairman of selectors for India's first home Test series against England in December 1933–March 1934. He later served as the president of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club from 1945 to 1948.

Early life and wartime cricket Hosie was the only son of the British diplomat and China expert Alexander Hosie and his first wife, Florence Lindsay. He was born in Wenzhou in China, but was educated in England at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate. From there, he matriculated to Magdalen College, Oxford. At Oxford, he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club against Kent at Oxford in 1913. He made four further first-class appearances for Oxford in 1913, in addition to playing three matches for Hampshire in the County Championship. After graduating from Oxford, Hosie moved to British India.

During the First World War, he was commissioned into the British Indian Army Reserve as a second lieutenant in March 1917. Hosie gained promotion to lieutenant in March 1918. A member of the European community in Calcutta, Hosie played first-class cricket in India during the war, playing twice for Bengal Governor's XI against a Maharaja of Cooch-Behar's XI at Calcutta in November 1917 and December 1918, and shortly after the war for Morice Bird's personal team against the Maharaja of Cooch-Behar's XI in January 1919;

Post-war cricket 1920s Hosie returned to England in 1921, where he was engaged by Hampshire as their deputy-captain. He played for Hampshire on 24 occasions during the 1921 season, 22 of which came in the County Championship. Alongside playing for Hampshire in 1921, he also played for the Free Foresters against Oxford University. Returning to India after the 1921 season, Hosie made two appearances in the 1921–22 Bombay Quadrangular for the Europeans cricket team against the Hindus and the Parsees. Over the proceeding two years, he remained in India and played predominantly for the Europeans in the Bombay Quadrangular.

Hosie returned to England upon the death of his father in March 1925. He remained in England during the summer of 1925, playing ten times in the County Championship and twice for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The 1928 season was to be his best for Hampshire, with Hosie scoring 1,187 runs at an average of 31.23, which stood him third in the Hampshire averages that season. During the season, he scored two centuries and made his highest first-class score for Hampshire, a score of 155 runs against Middlesex at Portsmouth.

Hosie captained Bengal in their inaugural first-class match against the touring Australians in December 1935, and subsequently played for Bengal in the 1935–36 Ranji Trophy, He was described by Wisden as "a quick-footed, hard-hitting batsman". He was a member of the Bengal Hockey Association.

Later life and death Hosie maintained his connection with Indian cricket into the 1940s, when he served as president of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club from 1945 to 1948, having succeeded Reginald Lagden. He died in June 1957, aged 66, at Ashurst, Hampshire.