Geoffrey Foster

Who was Geoffrey Foster?

Geoffrey Norman Foster was an English cricketer who played county cricket for Worcestershire and Kent, as well as appearing a number of times for Oxford University and MCC. He was one of the seven Foster brothers, all of whom played first-class cricket for Worcestershire, and he led the county on a few occasions in the absence of the regular captain. He was a fast scorer, once making 101 in an hour for Oxford against Gentlemen of England.

Born in Malvern, Worcestershire, Foster was educated, like all his brothers, at Malvern College, where he was in the cricket eleven. He made his first-class debut for Worcestershire against Leicestershire at New Road in August 1903, but made a duck in his only innings. He played a handful more matches in that and the following season, but his only achievement of note was an innings of 81 against Somerset in August 1905.

He went to Oxford University in 1905, and got his Blue every year from then until 1908. In 1905 he took the first of his few wickets, that of Gentlemen of England's Maynard Ashcroft. A fine all-round sportsman, Foster was also a Blue at golf and rackets, as well as captaining the university's football team in 1908. Cricket was, however, his forté, and combining his appearances for Oxford with those for his county, he scored particularly heavily in 1907, when he hit 1,182 first-class runs at an average of over 40. He also passed a thousand runs in 1908.