Percy Chapman

Arthur Percy Frank Chapman (3 September 1900 – 16 September 1961) was an English cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1926 and 1931.

A left-handed batsman, he played 26 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 17 of those games.

Chapman was born on 3 September 1900 in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Frank Chapman, a schoolteacher, and his wife Bertha Finch.

Chapman's father encouraged him to play cricket and coached him personally.

Chapman was first educated at his father's preparatory school, Fritham House, and by the age of eight was in the school's first eleven.

In September 1910, he joined Oakham School and scored his first century, dominating the cricket and football teams.

From 1914 to 1918, he attended Uppingham School.

Although his academic performance was undistinguished, he soon established a cricketing reputation.

By 1916, he was in the Uppingham first team; he achieved second place in the school's batting averages, bringing him to the attention of the wider public.

Chapman improved his record in 1917, scoring 668 runs at an average of 111.33; he hit two fifties, two centuries and a double century in his last five innings.

In 1918, Chapman scored 472 runs at 52.44 and took 15 wickets; the following year, he captained the team, scored 637 runs at an average of 70.77 and took 40 wickets.

In both 1918 and 1919 he was selected for prestigious school representative matches at Lord's Cricket Ground; although his weak defensive play drew comment, he was regarded as one of the most promising cricketers of his generation when he left Uppingham in 1919.

Born in Reading, Berkshire and educated at Uppingham School, Chapman established a reputation as a talented school cricketer and was named one of Wisden's schoolboy Cricketers of the Year in 1919.

He went to Pembroke College, Cambridge and represented the University cricket team with great success; his fame reached a peak when he scored centuries against Oxford University and in the Gentlemen v Players match within the space of a week.

As a consequence of his achievements, he was chosen as one of the Cricketers of the Year for 1919 in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

In 1919, Chapman entered Pembroke College, Cambridge.

He failed in two trial games, organised prior to the 1920 cricket season to inform the selection of the Cambridge team, and despite his reputation, was omitted from the University's opening first-class match against Essex.

But on the day of the match, a player withdrew from the Cambridge team and Chapman replaced him.

Making his first-class debut on 15 May 1920, he scored 118 in a rapid innings and kept his place in the team for the remainder of the season.

After a century and two fifties, he was selected for the University Match against Oxford.

Chapman scored 27 in this final game of the university season to aggregate 613 runs at an average of 40.86, second in the Cambridge batting averages.

Unusually for someone in their first year of University cricket, he was subsequently selected for the prestigious Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. Although not particularly successful with the bat, critics singled him out for his effective fielding.

During August, he played second-class Minor Counties cricket for Berkshire as an amateur and headed the team's batting averages; he later appeared in three end-of-season first-class games at the Scarborough Festival where he scored 101 in a Gentlemen and Players game against a bowling attack containing three internationals.

Chapman made his Test debut in 1924, although he had yet to play County Cricket.

Chapman's fame as a cricketer made him a popular public figure; he and his wife, whom he married in 1925, were well-known figures in fashionable society and their appearances were followed closely in the press.

Outside of cricket, he worked for a brewery.

In his later years, Chapman increasingly suffered from the effects of alcoholism and was often seen drunk in public.

Chapman was appointed captain for the final, decisive Test of the 1926 series against Australia; under his captaincy, England defeated Australia to win the Ashes for the first time since 1912.

An amateur cricketer, Chapman played Minor Counties cricket for Berkshire and first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Kent.

Never a reliable batsman, Chapman nevertheless had a respectable batting record.

He could score runs very quickly and was popular with spectators.

As a fielder, contemporaries rated him extremely highly.

Although opinions were divided on his tactical ability as a captain, most critics accepted he was an inspirational leader.

Having qualified for Kent, he was the surprise choice to take over from Arthur Carr as England captain in 1926.

He achieved victory in his first nine matches in charge but lost two and drew six of his remaining games.

Perceived tactical deficiencies and possibly growing concerns over his heavy drinking meant that Chapman was dropped from the team for the fifth Test against Australia in 1930.

He captained England on one final tour in 1930–31, after which he never played another Test.

After he assumed the Kent captaincy in 1931, his career and physique declined until he resigned from the position in 1936; he retired altogether in 1939, by which time he was drinking heavily.

He and his wife divorced in 1942; he spent his final years, mainly alone, suffering from depression, arthritis and a continued dependence on alcohol.

Following a fall at his home and a subsequent operation, Chapman died in 1961, aged 61.