John Daniell (cricketer)

John Daniell, (12 December 1878 – 24 January 1963) was an international rugby union player for England and a first-class cricketer for Somerset and Cambridge University Cricket Club.

Daniell achieved international success at rugby and was an international selector and a prominent administrator in the game for many years. He was president of the Rugby Football Union for two seasons from 1945 to 1947. His longer playing career was as a cricketer: he was captain of Somerset for 13 of the 15 seasons in which first-class cricket was played between 1908 and 1926, acted as occasional secretary and general organiser for the county over many other years, and was a national selector for the England cricket team.

Daniell was born in Bath, Somerset. Educated at Clifton College, he went on to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and was immediately successful as a rugby player, representing the university as hooker in The Varsity Match with Oxford University for three years. His club rugby was for Richmond and he represented England in seven matches between 1899 and 1904.

His cricket career was slower to start. In the summer of 1898, having not played for the university cricket team, he was picked for six Somerset matches by captain Sammy Woods. The following season, he again played for Somerset during the university term, and in late June scored 107, his first century, as Somerset beat Lancashire by 10 wickets. That led to his selection for Cambridge's last match before the Varsity Match and he retained his place in the team to meet Oxford University.