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Brief profile of Richard Daft
by Don Ambrose


Player:R Daft

DAFT, Richard.
Amateur.
Born at Nottingham, 2nd November 1835.
Died at Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, 18th July 1900.
He appears to have learned his cricket with the Nottingham Britannia Club and later with the Nottingham Commercial Club with which he was associated for many years. His first important match was in 1857 and that year he played twice for the All England Eleven. He played three times for the All England Eleven in 1858 but thereafter became a regular member of the team. In 1858 he played his first game for Nottinghamshire, soon becoming established as one of the finest batsmen of his day. In 1857 and 1858 he played as an amateur, but in 1859 turned professional. In total he played in 254 first-class matches, 157 of them being for Nottinghamshire. He made a non-first-class tour of North America in 1879 and he captained Nottinghamshire from 1871 to 1880. He reverted to amateur on his retirement from the captaincy and would probably not have played in the 1881 season had it not been for the players strike. Business limited his cricketing activities after 1862 when he became a partner in the Radcliffe-on-Trent Brewery. He also opened a ‘cigar and cricket depot’ at 1 Lister Gate, Nottingham and from 1881 he was the proprietor of the Trent Bridge Inn.
His brother Charles Frederick played for Nottinghamshire 1862-64 and his sons Richard Parr (1886) and Harry Butler (1885-99) also played for Nottinghamshire.
In the 1881 Census he was living at Main Street, Radcliffe-on-Trent, aged 45, a brewer cricket outfitter, with his wife Mary aged 38, son Richard P. aged 17 and three daughters Ann H. aged 9, Mary M. aged 7 and Amy E. Daft aged 6. There was one domestic servant.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Don Ambrose)

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