Leonard Oliver

Who was Leonard Oliver?

Leonard Oliver was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1908 and 1924.

Oliver was born at Glossop, Derbyshire. He made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1908 season in a drawn match against Lancashire. In his first three years he scored moderately and was frequently caught out. He achieved his first century 104 not out against Leicestershire in the 1910 season. In the 1911 season his average almost doubled and he scored a century against Hampshire. In the following three years he maintained his form, scoring centuries against Warwickshire in the 1913 season and becoming the club's top scorer that year. He scored a century against Northamptonshire in the 1914 season. Cricket was then suspended during the First World War.

In the 1919 season he played to his pre-war standard and was top scorer for the county again. In the 1920 season he was acting captain for most of the matches in the absence of John Chapman but the team never won a game and finished at the bottom of the championship table. This was despite Oliver's consistent performance with a top score of 170 against Nottinghamshire which led to his topping the batsmen's scores for the season again. In the 1921 season, Oliver made 151 against Warwickshire. His form then fell off and he played three matches in the 1922 season, two in the 1923 season and three in the 1924 season when he ceased playing in the Championship.