On the 19 June, 1936, the one-eyed England bowler, John William Sharpe, died.

Born in 1866, in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, Sharpe partnered George Lohmann in the formidable Surrey sides that dominated the early years of the official cricket County Championship.

Sharpe was a fast-medium bowler, who could make the ball break back on hard pitches, and his extra-fast yorker was deadly. Having lost an eye, he had no pretensions as a batsman, but was quite active in the field for a player in that time.

Though born in Nottinghamshire, Sharpe was overlooked by his native county in the 1880s, eventually emerging in 1889 when he collected 5 wickets for 5 runs against Oxford University. However, his reputation was such that he was an automatic choice for the 1891-1892 Ashes Tour, when in played in three Test matches. 

He played for Nottinghamshire a couple of times in 1894, and retired at the remarkably young age of 28.

Sharpe bowled 14,855 ball in first-class cricket, taking 338 wickets at an average of 16.06, his best figures being 9 for 47.

19 June, 2019