Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard

Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard
A profile photograph of a thin, clean-shaven man in his mid-thirties. His facial features are somewhat angular. He wears a brimmed hat and neckerchief.
Hesketh-Prichard in 1910
Born
Hesketh Vernon Prichard

(1876-11-17)17 November 1876
Died14 June 1922(1922-06-14) (aged 45)
Gorhambury, Hertfordshire, England
NationalityBritish
Known forHunter, explorer, writer, cricketer, soldier
Spouse
Lady Elizabeth Grimston
(m. 1908)
Children3
Cricket information
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1900–1913Hampshire
1902–1904London County
1904–1913Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 86
Runs scored 724
Batting average 7.46
100s/50s –/–
Top score 37
Balls bowled 14547
Wickets 339
Bowling average 22.37
5 wickets in innings 25
10 wickets in match 5
Best bowling 8/32
Catches/stumpings 44/–
Source: Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard at ESPNcricinfo, 18 March 2024

Hesketh Vernon Prichard, later Hesketh-Prichard DSO MC FRGS FZS (17 November 1876 — 14 June 1922) was an English cricketer, explorer, adventurer, writer, big-game hunter, and marksman who contributed to sniping practice within the British Army during the First World War. Concerned not only with improving the quality of marksmanship, the measures he introduced to counter the threat of German snipers were credited by a contemporary with saving the lives of over 3,500 Allied soldiers.

He also explored territory never seen before by a European, played cricket at first-class level (taking nearly 340 wickets from 86 appearances), including on overseas tours, wrote short stories and novels in the adventure, mystery, and occult detective genres (one of which was turned into a Douglas Fairbanks film), and was a successful newspaper correspondent and travel writer.

His many activities brought him into the highest social and professional circles. Like other turn-of-the-century hunters such as Theodore Roosevelt, he was an active campaigner for animal welfare and succeeded in seeing legal measures introduced for their protection.