Antony Legard

Who was Antony Legard?

Antony Ronald Legard, nicknamed Loopy, was an Indian-born English cricketer who played 36 first-class matches, mostly for Oxford University in the 1930s. He also played twice for Free Foresters and had one match each for Worcestershire, the Europeans in India and MCC.

Legard made his first-class debut for Oxford against Leicestershire at The University Parks in May 1932; he took four wickets, including that of Alan Shipman in both innings. He played consistently that season, including against the South Americans when he scored 38, the only time he ever passed 20. Later in the year he was selected for the Varsity Match against Cambridge University at Lord's, where he took six wickets in a drawn match.

Legard played for much of the 1933 season, but was not selected for the Varsity Match, and did not appear at all in 1934. However, 1935 saw him once again picked for the Lord's game, and once again perform excellently: he obtained career-best figures of 7–36 in the second innings with what his Wisden obituary called a "devastating" opening spell of swing bowling. Even so, a powerful Cambridge side won the game by a wide margin.