Charles Ollivierre

Charles Augustus Ollivierre (20 July 1876 – 25 March 1949) was a Vincentian cricketer who represented the West Indies in matches before they attained Test match status. Born in St Vincent, Ollivierre initially played first-class cricket for Trinidad; he was selected to tour England with the West Indies team in 1900. He later qualified to play first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1901 and 1907, becoming the first black West Indian to play for an English county. Ollivierre was reasonably successful in county cricket and had a reputation as a stylish batsman. However, he dropped out of first-class cricket after 1907 owing to eye trouble.

Early life and career Ollivierre was born in St Vincent on 20 July 1876. His family were enthusiastic cricketers, although the region had little history within the sport, and his two younger brothers Richard and Helon went on to represent the West Indies in first-class cricket.

Initially, Ollivierre played for Trinidad; he made his first-class debut against an English touring team in March 1895 at the age of 18. He took two wickets, scored 7 runs in his first innings and 12 runs in the second. In non-first-class cricket, he continued to represent St Vincent, Although predominantly made up from white players, the team contained several black cricketers; at the time, the dominant teams in the West Indies were exclusively white. His highest score, and only century, came against Leicestershire, when he scored 159 runs and shared an opening partnership of 238 with Pelham Warner. He also shared an opening partnership of 208 with Percy Cox against Surrey. During the tour, Ollivierre agreed to play for Derbyshire and remained in England to begin the two-year process of qualification for the County Championship. As Ollivierre is described as "Mr" in his obituary, he was an amateur throughout his career. where Ollivierre lived. After further appearances in 1902, while waiting to qualify, against London County and the Australian touring team, he became eligible for county matches in July and made his Championship debut against Essex. Later in 1902, he scored 167 against Warwickshire, his maiden first-class century. Over the following seasons, Ollivierre's form faded. In 1905, he scored 759 runs at an average of 18.07. Ollivierre scored 0 and 64 not out. while Neville Cardus, writing in 1920, named Ollivierre among a list of top-quality batsmen who did not do themselves justice at the highest level: "Geniuses who have just lost their way ...every one of them in possession of an excellent enough record in county cricket, but every one of them really intended by nature to wear the most precious laurels the greatest of games has to offer".

Ollivierre was the first black West Indian cricketer to play county cricket, and the first West Indian cricketer to establish a cricketing reputation outside of that region. At least one of Ollivierre's Derbyshire colleagues was unhappy playing alongside a black cricketer; Bill Storer, according to the cricket writer E. H. D. Sewell, believed in "England for the English" and specifically objected to presence of black people. However, there is no evidence that Ollivierre experienced any difficulties from spectators, and the historian Jack Williams suggests that despite racism inherent in English cricket at the time, Ollivierre's presence may have "created goodwill towards non-whites among [Derbyshire's] white supporters".