Howard Henry Francis (26 May 1868 – 7 January 1936) was a South African cricketer who played in two Test matches in 1899.
Francis was born in Clifton, Bristol, England. A batsman, he played for Gloucestershire from 1890 to 1894 before moving to South Africa in 1895. There he played for Western Province from 1895–96 to 1902–03. His highest first-class score was 55 for Gloucestershire against Middlesex at Clifton in 1894, when he and Jack Board added 137 for the ninth wicket out of a team total of 225.[1]
Francis was the top-scorer on either side when Lord Hawke's XI played the first match of their tour in 1898–99 against a Western Province XIII, scoring 45 in the first innings batting at number three.[2] Three weeks later he also top-scored, with 33, in the first innings for Cape Colony against Lord Hawke's XI in the first first-class match of the tour.[3] He played for South Africa in the two Test matches that followed, but was unsuccessful. However, he top-scored batting at number three in South Africa's second innings in the First Test, scoring 29 out of a team total of 99.[4]
Francis was also a footballer, playing for Clifton until he moved to South Africa.[5]
References
- ^ "Gloucestershire v Middlesex 1894". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Western Province v Lord Hawke's XI 1898-99". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Cape Colony v Lord Hawke's XI 1898-99". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "1st Test, England tour of South Africa at Johannesburg, Feb 14-16 1899". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Association Football". Bristol Mercury. 31 August 1895. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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