H. D. G. LEVESON-GOWER

'Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson-Gower' (pronounced "Loosen Gore" ()) (born 8 May 1873 in Titsey Place, Surrey, died 1 February 1954 in London) was an English cricketer who played for Oxford University and Surrey as well as England. He captained England in all three of the Test matches he played, winning one and losing two against South Africa in 1909/10, with Frederick Fane captaining on the other two Test matches of the series.
He was captain of Surrey from 1908 to 1910, and the club's president from 1929 to 1939. He was an England Test selector in 1909, and chairman of selectors in 1924 and from 1927 to 1930.^[1] Leveson-Gower was knighted for his services to cricket in 1953. In the same year he published a book of reminiscences entitled ''Off and On the Field''.
Leveson-Gower was nicknamed "Shrimp" but few cricket sources refer to him by anything other than his initials. During a tour of America in 1897 organised by Plum Warner^[2]
that Leveson-Gower took part in, the Philadelphian cricket poet Ralph D. Paine published the following piece of humorous verse concerning the pronunciation of his surname:
:''At one end stocky Jessop frowned,''
:''The human catapult''
:''Who wrecks the roofs of distant towns''
:''When set in his assault.''
:''His mate was that perplexing man''
:''We know as "Looshun-Gore",''
:''It isn’t spelt at all that way,''
:''We don’t know what it’s for.''
:''But as with Cholmondeley and St John''
:''The alphabet is mixed,''
:''And Yankees cannot help but ask -''
:''"Why don't you get it fixed?"''^[3]

Contents

Notes

External reference

Notes

1. ''The Cricket Captains of England'', Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, ISBN 1-85145-390-3, p112
2. Warner's Wisden obituary refers
3. ''The Cricket Captains of England'', Alan Gibson, 1989, The Pavilion Library, ISBN 1-85145-390-3, p114

External reference

★ Cricinfo page on H D G Leveson-Gower