Edward Morant
Edward Gregory Morant Gale (1772–1855) was an English amateur cricketer who made 3 known appearances in first-class cricket matches from 1793 to 1795. He was also a noted patron who organised a number of matches in the 1790s.
Early years
Morant was the son of Edward Morant MP and his second wife Mary Whitehorne Goddard, daughter of James Goddard of Conduit St London. He inherited estates of his aunt Elizabeth Morant and her husband William Gale who died in 1784 and of his father who died in 1791.[1] He assumed the name Gale.
Morant served as ensign in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards from 1791.[2]
Cricket career
Morant was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Berkshire.[3] He played his first-class match for R Leigh's XI at Burley-on -the Hill in August 1792 and his last in a Middlesex XI v Oldfield match at Lord's cricket ground in July 1795. He played 6 innings, was not out in three of them, and scored a total of 13 runs. He never bowled but took one wicket by stumping and another with a catch - which suggests he played as wicket-keeper.[4]
Family
Morant lived at Upham near Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire and died in 1855. He married twice. His first wife was Elizabeth Townsend whom he married in 1798, and his second wife was Emily Jane Gambier. His daughter Louisa married William Skipwith, son of Sir Grey Skipwith, 8th Baronet in 1843. His son Edward John Morant Gale was also a cricketer, and married Maria Henrietta, second daughter of Sir Simeon Stuart in 1845.[1]
References
- UCL Legacies of British Slave Ownership
- Office, Great Britain War (1791). A List of the Officers of the Army and Marines, with an Index: A Succession of Colonels and a List of the Officers of the Army and Marines on Half-Play : Also with Index. War-Office. p. 71.
- Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862
- ESNPcricinfo Edward Morant