A right-arm fast-medium bowler, hard-hitting right-hand batsman and excellent fielder anywhere, Samuel Brown was engaged by Stockport CC in 1882 and played for them until 1895. Brown was the backbone of the old Cheshire County Cricket Club. He scored one of only seven centuries made for that county during those years and was consistently their leading bowler, taking 344 wickets @14.83. Whilst playing for Cheshire he represented the North in three First-Class games against the South at Lord’s from 1884 to 1886 inclusive. He hit a career best 43 in the second innings on his debut.
He was born in Kimberley on 26 February 1857, and appeared for the Notts XXII Colts in April 1883, when he played a good innings of 27 and also bowled well, capturing the wicket of Arthur Shrewsbury. The Notts Committee selected him to appear for the County but Stockport refused to release him as two years before he had made his debut for Cheshire. This was objected to, since he had no residential qualification, but the objections were not sustained.
Brown went to reside in Cheshire and lived there for the rest of his life. His connection with Notts cricket was renewed only when the old Cheshire club collapsed through lack of support and Notts, in search of bowlers, invited Brown to play. At the advanced age of 39, Brown made his First-Class debut for Notts versus the Australians at Trent Bridge on June 1896; he then appeared in ten of the eleven subsequent Notts fixtures in 1896. He took 5-60 (8-89 in the match) on his Championship debut v Kent at Foxgrove Road in Beckenham. His best bowling was 6-55 v Yorkshire at Huddersfield, when he took 9-119 in the match. Two games later, he had innings figures of 5-69 v Sussex at Hove. He had one moment as a batsman, which was v Gloucestershire at Bristol; Notts were 48-9 overnight, with Brown the last man in. The following morning he and John Gunn added 51 for the last wicket, Brown making 40. Brown played three times for the County in 1897 the last being at Derby in July. In 14 First-Class matches for Notts he scored 194 runs @12.93 and took 47 wickets @23.14.
Brown, who also appeared for Shropshire (1882-83) and Gentlemen of Cheshire (1891-96), ran a sports outfitter’s shop in Stockport. He died at home at Edgeley in Stockport on 5 September 1938 aged 81 years.
He had two brothers, who were useful cricketers, namely George Brown, who played for Notts Colts in 1887, and Thomas William Brown who played for Kimberley CC, Manners Colliery and had some professional engagements including one at Aldershot. Thomas played for Staffordshire between 1885-92. Samuel Brown’s son, also Samuel, played two games for Cheshire in the Minor Counties Championship in 1912 and was a professional with Cheadle Hulme CC; latterly he served the same club as coach and groundsman.
May 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 244