Fuller Pilch
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Fuller Pilch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
17 March 1803 Horningtoft, Norfolk, England |
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| Died | 1 May 1870 (aged 66) Canterbury, Kent, England |
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| Batting style | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Right arm slow (roundarm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1836–1854 | Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1830–1847 | Suffolk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1842–1845 | Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1831–1845 | Marylebone Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1830–1844 | Surrey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1837–1842 | Sussex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1820–1836 | Norfolk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricket Archive, 10 November 2009
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Fuller Pilch (17 March 1803 – 1 May 1870) was an English cricketer. Described as "the greatest batsman ever known until the appearance of W. G. Grace", the right-hand batting Pilch played 229 first class cricket matches between 1820 and 1854 for an assortment of counties, including Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex, as well as Norfolk and Cambridge Town Club (aka Cambridgeshire). An early pioneer of batting, Pilch's advert of the "Pilch poke", or art of playing the ball forward, was an early manifestation of modern batting practices.
Though his statistics reflect by modern standards as fairly ordinary, the ten centuries he amassed throughout his entire club and first class playing career were considered "remarkable" in the context of round-arm bowling and poorly maintained cricket pitches encountered during the period. He was also known for his success at single-wicket matches, defeating Tom Marsden in 1833. He came from a cricketing family: nephew William Pilch and brothers Nathaniel and William all played first-class cricket.
He was the son of Nathaniel Pilch and Frances Fuller, who were married at Brisley and later returned to live there. Fuller Pilch followed in the footsteps of his two elder brothers, Nathaniel and William, and became a professional cricketer. His first appearance at Lord's was a three-day match in July 1820, playing for Norfolk. He then went to Sheffield to play cricket and earn his living as a tailor.
Writing in 1862 in his Scores and biographies, Arthur Haygarth called Pilch "the best batsman that has ever yet appeared". The main characteristic of Pilch's batting was his forward play, a shot that was called 'Pilch's poke'. Haygarth further wrote : "His style of batting was very commanding, extremely forward, and he seemed to rush to the best bowling by his long forward play before it had time to shoot or rise, or do mischief by catches".
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