Arthur Carr

Who was Arthur Carr?

Arthur William Carr was an English cricketer. He played for the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the English cricket team, captaining both sides.

A promising young batsman, Carr was given his first game of first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire in 1910, while still at school. He played well and was rewarded with the captaincy of Nottinghamshire in 1919.

Carr was selected for England's tour of South Africa in 1922-23, and made his debut in the first Test against the South African cricket team. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1923.

For the Ashes series against Australia in 1926, Carr was named captain of England. In the third Test at Leeds, he controversially put Australia into bat after winning the toss, and compounded it by dropping Charlie Macartney at slip in the first over of the match. Macartney scored a hundred before lunch and England was lucky to avoid defeat. He came down with tonsillitis during the fourth Test of the series, and although he recovered in time for the fifth Test, was replaced as captain by Percy Chapman.