Douglas Carr

Who was Douglas Carr?

Douglas Ward Carr was an English amateur cricketer.

Carr went to Brasenose College at Oxford University and while there played both football and cricket. He injured his knee playing football, and as a result did not make any first-class appearances for the university's cricket team.

After leaving Oxford, he spent some years playing club cricket in the Maidstone area, and it was during this period, in 1908, that he learnt to bowl the then fairly new googly. The following May he made his first-class debut for Kent against his old university, and took seven wickets in the match, including 5-65 in the first innings. His next chances came in July, in two Gentlemen v Players games, and again he met with success, taking a total of fifteen wickets in the four innings.

Carr quickly established himself as a regular in the Kent side, and by the second week of August had claimed no fewer than 42 wickets in his first six first-class games. There was now a clamour for his inclusion in the England team, all the more so as England were 2-1 down in the Ashes series at the time. The selectors agreed, and although Carr was twelfth man for the drawn game at Old Trafford, he was picked for the final match of the series at The Oval, becoming the first man ever to play Test cricket in his first year in the first-class game. Carr took 7-282 in the match, including 5-146 in the first innings, although his efforts could not force an English victory and the resulting draw meant that the Australians carried off the Ashes. The newspapers heavily criticised the England captain AC MacLaren for over bowling Carr.