Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham

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Charles Lyttelton England (Eng)
Batting style	Right-handed batsman
Bowling type	Right arm medium
First-class record
Matches	104
Runs scored	3,181
Batting average	20.26
100s/50s	1/14
Top score	162
Balls bowled	2,195
Wickets	32
Bowling average	41.18
5 wickets in innings	0
10 wickets in match	0
Best Bowling	4-83
Catches/Stumpings	52/0
First class debut: 25 June 1932 Last first class game: 27 February 1961 Source: CricInfo

Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham KG GCMG GCVO TD PC (8 August 1909 – 20 March 1977) was a New Zealand political figure and English cricketer. He was born in Kensington, London, and educated at Eton College. He died in Marylebone, also London.

[edit] Politics

He served as the Governor-General of New Zealand between 1957 and 1962.

[edit] Cricket

Lyttelton enjoyed a fairly substantial career in first-class cricket, playing more than 90 times for Worcestershire in the 1930s and captaining the club between 1936 and 1939.

He made his first-class debut against Gloucestershire in June 1932, but made a duck in his only innings and did not reappear for two years. He played five times in 1934, but it was only the following season that he became established in the side, playing about twenty matches a year from then until the Second World War, with the exception of 1937 when he appeared only twice.

Lyttelton's highest score (and only first-class century) was the 162 he made against Leicestershire in 1938, but he made many other useful if lesser contributions with the bat, reaching fifty on 14 further occasions. His most productive year was 1938, when he scored 741 runs at an average of 21.17.

With the ball, his first victim (in July 1934) was Charlie Barnett, while in 1935 he produced his best innings' bowling, claiming 4-83 against the South Africans. However, after 1935 his bowling became a largely occasional part of his game, and with the exception of nine wickets in 1938 he never again took more than three in a season.

Lyttelton's cricketing career proper ended with the outbreak of war, but (now listed on the scorecard as Lord Cobham, having succeeded to the title in 1949) he played for an "MCC New Zealand Touring Team" against a strong "London New Zealand Club" side in 1954, taking two wickets including that of Bill Merritt. Remarkably, however, he made a one-off return to first-class action aged 51 in February 1961, more than two decades after his previous appearance at that level, when as New Zealand Governor-General he captained an eponymous side against MCC at Auckland; he showed he still had ability with a handy first-innings 44 from number ten in the order.

As well as the matches mentioned above, Lyttelton also played ten games for MCC: one against Oxford University in 1935, and nine on MCC's tour of Australia and New Zealand during the winter that followed.

A number of his relatives played first-class cricket. His great-grandfather George played for Cambridge University in the 1830s, his grandfather (also Charles) turned out for a selection of teams including Cambridge and MCC in the 1860s, his brother John made a handful of appearances for Worcestershire in the 1920s, and his uncle - another Charles - played for Worcestershire, Cambridge and MCC before the First World War.

[edit] External links

• Official biography (Government House, Wellington)
• Player Profile: Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham from Cricinfo
• Statistical summary from CricketArchive

Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Norrie	Governor-General of New Zealand 1957–1962	Succeeded by Sir Bernard Fergusson
Preceded by The Duke of Westminster	Lord Steward 1967–1972	Succeeded by The Duke of Northumberland
Honorary Titles
Preceded by Sir William Tennant	Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire 1963–1974	Succeeded by office abolished
Preceded by The Marquess of Salisbury	Chancellor of the Order of the Garter 1972–1977	Succeeded by The Marquess of Abergavenny
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by John Lyttelton	Viscount Cobham 1949–1977	Succeeded by John Lyttelton

Persondata
NAME	Cobham, Charles John Lyttelton, Viscount
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Viceroy, military leader, athlete, cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	1909
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH	1977
PLACE OF DEATH