Ledger Hill

The son of James Ledger Hill, he was born in July 1871 at Bassett, Hampshire. He was educated at Marlborough College, playing cricket, rugby, and racquets for the college. At Marlborough, he was coached in cricket by Joseph Potter. From there, he matriculated to Jesus College, Cambridge. While studying at Cambridge, Hill made his debut in first-class cricket for Cambridge University against C. I. Thornton's XI at Fenner's in 1890. He was a regular feature in the Cambridge eleven until 1893, making 34 appearances for Cambridge and gaining a blue in each of those seasons for his participation in The University Match against Oxford at Lord's. With his right-arm fast bowling, he took 66 wickets at a bowling average of 23.78, with best figures of 4 for 23. During Hill's studies at Cambridge, he also made a number of first-class appearances for other teams. He made his first appearance for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture of 1891 at Hastings, and later toured British India and Ceylon with Lord Hawke's XI, making four first-class appearances. Hill had success in the first-class part of the tour with the bat, scoring 212 runs at an average of 35.33. With the ball, he took 16 wickets at an average of 12.18, including his maiden five wicket haul (5 for 7) against the Parsees. He also toured North America with Lord Hawke's XI in 1894, making two first-class appearances against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. ==Hampshire==

Early years at Hampshire Hill first played county cricket in 1888 for Wiltshire, five years prior to the official formation of its county club. He first played for Hampshire in 1890, when they were a second-class county. Having regained their first-class status in 1894, which had been lost in 1885, he made his debut for Hampshire in first-class cricket against Somerset in the 1895 County Championship. Hill performed well on the tour, gaining him selection for the matches against South Africa, for which the touring team was designated as England. Hill played in all three matches against South Africa, which were later retrospectively granted Test status. In the first Test at Port Elizabeth, he made scores of 25 and 37. In England's innings victory in the second Test at Johannesburg, he made a half century (65 runs), whilst in the third Test, which was also an innings victory for England, he made a century (124 runs) opening the batting. He concluded his brief Test career with 251 runs at an average of 62.75, whilst with the ball he took 4 wickets at an average of exactly 2. A banker by profession, following the conclusion of the tour Hill remained in South Africa on business, resulting in him not partaking in the 1896 English season. Hill returned for the 1897 season, opening his season by playing for Charles Thornton's personal eleven against Cambridge University. He featured for Hampshire on fourteen occasions throughout the season, in addition to playing for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture. His good all-round form continued across into the following season, with Hill again taking 40 wickets at an average of 21.50, However, his bowling returns declined significantly in 1899 with 17 wickets at an average of 49.58, but improved in 1900 when he took 30 wickets at an average of 31.06. His good form continued into 1904, when he scored 698 runs at average of 41.05 from eleven matches. Ledger remained consistent over the following three seasons, scoring over 500 runs and averaging in the thirties with the bat. with him being appointed a temporary lieutenant in December 1917. He returned to play for Hampshire following the end of the war in November 1918. He played three times for Hampshire in 1919, making two County Championship appearances, in addition to playing against the Australian Imperial Forces. As a bowler, he took 199 wickets for Hampshire at a bowling average of 31.22, taking three five wicket hauls. ==Other sports==

Hill played rugby union for the Trojans Rugby Club and Hampshire, succeeding former Hampshire captain Charles Robson as captain of the Trojans Rugby Club in 1910. Alongside playing rugby union, he also represented Hampshire in field hockey. He continued to play racquets into adulthood, and was noted to be a good boxer. ==Death==

Hill died in Romsey in September 1950. His nephew, Richard Page, was also a first-class cricketer. ==References==