William Evans

William Henry Brereton Evans (29 January 1883 – 7 August 1913) was a South African-born English first-class cricketer who played 66 times in the early 20th century. An all-rounder, he played county cricket for Worcestershire and Hampshire, as well as representing the Gentlemen against the Players, but he appeared most for Oxford University, whom he represented on 31 occasions. He scored nearly 1,800 runs, and took 120 wickets for Oxford. It was said in Wisden in 1914 that he was "one of the best all-round amateurs of his day," and that if he had played more regularly, it was "quite likely" he would have played Test cricket for England. Evans died in one of the earliest aviation accidents in August 1913, when he was thrown from Samuel Franklin Cody's prototype Cody Floatplane.

Early life and education

William Henry Brereton Evans was born in South Africa in January 1883, the oldest of five children born into a family with a long history in the colonial service in British India and South Africa, his grandfather William Evans was Deputy Surgeon General and Inspector General of hospitals in India in the mid-1800s.

Evans was educated in England at Malvern College, where he achieved notoriety as a schoolboy sportsman by representing the college in association football, cricket and rackets. Evans won the Public School Racquets Championship in 1900 alongside Basil Foster, with the pair defeating the Winchester College pair of Sydney Smith and K. G. Hunter.

Cricket career Early first-class career During the summer which followed his final year at Malvern, Evans made his debut in first-class cricket for Worcestershire against Sussex at Worcester in the County Championship, making six appearances that season. He scored his maiden first-class century in his final match of the season, making 107 against Gloucestershire, whilst sharing in a partnership of 238 for the third wicket with R. E. Foster. From Malvern, he matriculated in the autumn of 1901 to Oriel College, Oxford. He played first-class cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club during his freshman year, debuting against H. D. G. Leveson Gower's personal eleven at Oxford in 1902. He played eight times for Oxford during his freshman year, Bowling performances of note included his 7 for 41 against Somerset, and his 7 for 52 in The University Match, in which he took 11 for 86 across the match and made a half century (60). For the only time he failed with the bat in that season's University Match, but did recover his bowling form to some extent across the season. With the ball, he took 120 wickets at an average of 19.85, taking five wickets in an innings on ten occasions. His tally ranks as the sixteenth highest number of wickets for Oxford in first-class cricket. Whilst at Oxford, Evans also played association football for Oxford University A.F.C. for three seasons from 1902, where he played alongside another Old Malvernian, James Balfour-Melville. Evans also made five further appearances for Hampshire in the 1905 County Championship, and that season played for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture, in addition to playing for the Gentlemen of England against the touring Australians. Had he continued regularly playing first-class cricket, Wisden considered it "quite likely that he would have had the distinction of playing Test cricket for England". whilst with the bat he scored 360 runs at an average of exactly 24. After playing for the Gentlemen in July 1909, he would remain absent from first-class cricket for the next twelve months, before making two final first-class appearances for Hampshire in the 1910 County Championship against Yorkshire and Middlesex.

Death

Evans died on Laffans Plain near Aldershot in a flying accident, aged only 30. with he and Cody both being killed as they were thrown from the wreckage; neither Cody nor Evans were strapped in, and experts at the time surmised that if they had been, both men might have survived.

Evans' funeral was held on 13 August 1913 at St Peter's Church in Tadley in Hampshire. Large crowds attended, drawn there because of the tragic circumstances of his death. Malvern College placed a stained-glass window in his memory in the chapel at the college.