Lionel Cranfield

Who was Lionel Cranfield?

Lionel Lord Cranfield played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire and Somerset between 1903 and 1922. He was born in Brixton, London and died at Sale, Cheshire.

Cranfield was a right-handed lower-order batsman and a left-arm orthodox spin bowler. He had a very spasmodic career in first-class cricket, playing four games for Gloucestershire in 1903, four for Somerset in 1906, and then two more for Gloucestershire in 1910. In 1913 and 1914 he appeared in seven and eight games respectively, and there were then four appearances in three different seasons after the First World War; all of these later matches were for Gloucestershire. As late as the early 1930s he was playing Lancashire League cricket for Enfield.

Cranfield's best bowling figures were achieved in the first innings of his first first-class match: six for 67 against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia at Cheltenham in 1903. He passed 50 only once in a first-class innings, making an undefeated 51 against Kent at Gloucester in 1914; he also made 46 in the second innings of this match.