Emilius Bayley

Reverend Sir John Robert Laurie Emilius Bayley, 3rd Baronet (16 May 1823 – 4 December 1917), later Reverend Sir John Laurie, was an English clergyman, baronet and amateur cricketer. He was generally known by his middle-name Emilius and changed his surname to Laurie in 1887.

Bayley was born in Bloomsbury in London in May 1823, the son of lawyer Sir John Bayley, 2nd Baronet and his first wife Charlotte. He is thought to have been given the name Emilius, by which he was generally known, after the name of one of his father's horses which won The Derby in 1823. His grandfather, Sir John Bayley, 1st Baronet, had the Bayley Baronetcy of Bedford Square created for him in 1834. This became known as the Laurie baronetcy after 1887.

Bayley was educated at Eton college where he was in the cricket team for four years and captain in 1840 and 1841. He set a record for the highest score in the Eton v Harrow match, scoring 152 at Lord's in 1841, a record which stood until 1904. He went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1846, studying Divinity, completing his Bachelor of Divinity in 1862.

He did not play cricket for the University team, but did appear for MCC, of which his father was President in 1844, in 1842 against the University. He appeared nine times for Kent County Cricket Club between 1842 and 1844, first playing for the team before its foundation at the 1842 Canterbury Cricket Week. In total Bayley played in 29 first-class cricket matches, appearing 12 times for MCC and six for the Gentlemen of Kent as well as once for an England team. His career as a churchman cut short his serious cricket career.