page_title: Percy Chapman
section_title: University cricket
hierarchical_section_title: Percy Chapman / University cricket
caption_attribution_description: Kent and England cricketer Percy Chapman, circa 1922
context_page_description: Arthur Percy Frank Chapman, usually known as Percy Chapman, was an English cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1926 and 1931. A left-handed batsman, he played 26 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 17 of those games. Chapman was appointed captain for the final, decisive Test of the 1926 series against Australia; under his captaincy, England defeated Australia to win the Ashes for the first time since 1912. An amateur cricketer, Chapman played Minor Counties cricket for Berkshire and first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Kent. Never a reliable batsman, Chapman nevertheless had a respectable batting record. He could score runs very quickly and was popular with spectators. As a fielder, contemporaries rated him extremely highly. Although opinions were divided on his tactical ability as a captain, most critics accepted he was an inspirational leader.
  Born in Reading, Berkshire and educated at Uppingham School, Chapman established a reputation as a talented school cricketer and was named one of Wisden's schoolboy Cricketers of the Year in 1919.
context_section_description: In 1919, Chapman entered Pembroke College, Cambridge. He failed in two trial games, organised prior to the 1920 cricket season to inform the selection of the Cambridge team, and despite his reputation, was omitted from the University's opening first-class match against Essex. But on the day of the match, a player withdrew from the Cambridge team and Chapman replaced him. Making his first-class debut on 15 May 1920, he scored 118 in a rapid innings and kept his place in the team for the remainder of the season. After a century and two fifties, he was selected for the University Match against Oxford. Chapman scored 27 in this final game of the university season to aggregate 613 runs at an average of 40.86, second in the Cambridge batting averages. Unusually for someone in their first year of University cricket, he was subsequently selected for the prestigious Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. Although not particularly successful with the bat, critics singled him out for his effective fielding. During August, he played second-class Minor Counties cricket for Berkshire as an amateur and headed the team's batting averages; he later appeared in three end-of-season first-class games at the Scarborough Festival where he scored 101 in a Gentlemen and Players game against a bowling attack containing three internationals. In all first-class matches in 1920, Chapman scored 873 runs at 39.68.
  In 1921, Chapman averaged over 50 for the University and scored three centuries, although his growing reputation meant some critics felt he had underachieved. He once again played in the University match against Oxford, and for the Gentlemen against the Players, and impressed commentators. Some critics suggested he, along with other promising University players, should play for England; the Test side were in the middle of a series against Australia which was lost 3–0, in the course of which an unusually large number of players were selected. Chapman once more appeared for Berkshire in August, scoring 468 runs and taking 19 wickets. At the end of the season, he was selected by Archie MacLaren in a match at Eastbourne, playing for an all-amateur non-representative England team against the undefeated Australian touring team. In a match which became famous in later years, MacLaren's team became the first to defeat the tourists, although Chapman was not successful personally. Chapman finished the season with 954 runs at 39.75.
  That winter, The Cricketer magazine named Chapman as a young cricketer of the year. However, at the beginning of the 1922 season, his form was so poor that critics suggested leaving him out of the University Match. He had scored 300 runs from 14 innings, but retained his place partially on the strength of his fielding. After Cambridge batted very slowly on the first day, Chapman attacked the bowling on the second morning to score 102 not out. Cambridge won easily, concluding Chapman's cricket at the university, but his innings impressed critics to the extent that he was again selected for the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. There, he scored 160 and shared century partnerships with Arthur Carr and Frank Mann. Chapman earned praise for his aggression and his stroke-play on the off side. The Times described it as "one of the great innings in the history of the game". Shortly after this, Sydney Pardon wrote in The Times: "In the cricket field the most interesting figure at the moment is, beyond all comparison, Mr. A. P. F. Chapman. A fortnight ago we were all lamenting his ill-success this season and wondering whether he would ever do justice to his great gifts and fulfil the hopes entertained of him in 1920. Most effectually he has put his critics to shame ... he is in such a position that if an England eleven had to meet Australia next week he would be picked at once with acclamation." Prior to this, only R. E. Foster had scored centuries in both the University Match and the Gentlemen v Players match in the same year. Chapman ended his season by scoring 805 runs and taking 19 wickets for Berkshire, and playing in festival
caption: Chapman in about 1922
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D700", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.4.7", "Image DateTime": "2018:05:18 18:14:54", "Image Artist": "Popperfoto", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "372", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1068", "Image Gamma": "11/5", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "18", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "160", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:09:05 10:10:19", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:09:05 10:10:19", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "870723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "166797/20000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "17/5", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "7/20", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "60", "EXIF SubSecTime": "38", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "38", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "38", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "542", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "914", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "60", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}