Father Marriott

Father Marriott Biography

Charles ‘Father’ Stowell Marriott was one of the best leg-break googly bowlers in England during the 1920s and 1930s.

His career was full of brief but scintillating highs. He took a hat-trick at Madras when in India with Douglas Jardine’s men, and scalped 11 wickets in the only Test he played at the age of 37. But, he essentially remained a one-Test wonder, and never played again. He remains the only person to have taken more than 7 wickets in his only Test.

Master in charge of cricket at Dulwich College after his successful stint at Cambridge, Marriott played for Kent whenever the school was not in session. He never managed too many matches, but did enough over 14 seasons to scalp 711 wickets in 159 matches at 20.11. His batting, one of the worst in the land, got him 574 runs at 4.41, ensuring the wickets-more-than-runs trivia comfortably. He was a pretty poor fielder as well.

It was his continued success in the county circuit that got him his only Test call, at the age of 37. It was at The Oval against West Indies and he captured 5 for 37 and 6 for 59 in an innings win in just over two days. He thus finished his career with an average of 8.72. It is no surprise that his only innings in Test cricket earned him a duck.

Marriott toured twice, once with Hon. Lionel Tennyson’s team to South Africa in 1924-25, and later with Jardine’s team to India. He, however, did not feature in the three Tests played by the latter side.
In the Second World War, Marriott served as an anti-aircraft gunner for the Home Guard.

Arunabha Sengupta

Father Marriott Batting & Fielding Averages

Career

Avg

100s

50s

Test

ODIs

T20s

World Cup

Father Marriott Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
ODIs	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--