{{Short description|English cricketer (1885–1972)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Use British English|date=March 2012}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = George Louden | image = George Louden, 1920s.jpg | caption = | fullname = George Marshall Louden | birth_date = {{Birth date|1885|9|6|df=yes}} | birth_place = Forest Gate, Essex, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1972|12|28|1885|9|6|df=yes}} | death_place = Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right arm fast-medium | club1 = Essex | year1 = 1912–1927 | columns = 1 | column1 = First-class | matches1 = 94 | runs1 = 931 | bat avg1 = 9.21 | 100s/50s1 = 0/2 | top score1 = 74 | deliveries1 = 20,384 | wickets1 = 451 | bowl avg1 = 22.35 | fivefor1 = 36 | tenfor1 = 5 | best bowling1 = 8/36 | catches/stumpings1= 62/– | source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/4/4942/4942.html CricketArchive | date = 12 January | year = 2023 }}
'''George Marshall Louden''' (6 September 1885 – 28 December 1972) was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for Essex from 1912 to 1927. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, he was very tall at around {{convert|190|cm|ftin|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite book|author-link=R. C. Robertson-Glasgow|last=Robertson-Glasgow|first=Raymond Charles |title=Crusoe on Cricket: The Cricket Writings of R.C. Robertson-Glasgow|date=1985|publisher=Billings and Sons, Ltd.|location=Worcester|isbn=090751670X|page=56}}</ref> and although not strongly enough framed to be ideal for long spells on hard wickets,<ref>{{cite news|title=County Prospects — III|work=The Times|date=May 12, 1920 |location=London |page=7}}</ref> his beautiful bowling action compensated. Even on the exquisite Leyton pitches, he was able to pick up speed and lift the ball sharply,<ref>{{cite book|last=Lemmon|first=David|title=The Book of Essex Cricketers|year=1994 |publisher=Breedon|location=Derby|isbn=9781873626771|pages=104-105}}</ref> and it could be very challenging if there was a heavy dew or rain that softened the ground.
Owing to business commitments, Louden was usually able to play only seven or eight county matches per season, and most of his cricket was played for the Ilford club.<ref name="Famous">{{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Dean|title=Famous Cricketers of Essex|year=1991|publisher=Spellmount|isbn=9780946771851|pages=72-74}}</ref> Because the county matches he did play were usually against the strongest batting sides like Surrey, Yorkshire, Middlesex and Lancashire, Louden's career average of 22.35 does not look at all exceptional for an era of uncovered pitches. However, owing to the immense disparities in batting strength among the counties during the 1920s, Louden's average represents much better bowling than many bowlers with much lower averages against weak opposition. Business meant Louden never had the chance to go on a tour to Australia.
== Career == Louden first played for Essex in 1912 at a time when Essex bowling was very weak with Claude Buckenham's and Walter Mead's careers nearly over. Despite a couple of promising performances in 1913 and 1914,<ref>{{cite book|last=Lemmon|first=David|title=Essex County Cricket Club: the Official History|year=1987|publisher=Kingswood Press|location=London|isbn=9780434981113 |pages=142-143}}</ref> it was not until 1919 that Louden showed his true class with seven for 42 on an excellent pitch against Lancashire<ref>{{cite news|title=Essex v. Lancashire — Mr. Louden’s Fine Bowling|work=The Times |date=June 2, 1919|location=London|page=5}}</ref> and eight for 122 on a similarly good wicket against Sussex.<ref>{{cite news |title=Essex v Sussex — Heavy Scoring at Leyton |work=North Mail, Newcastle Daily Chronicle |date=9 August 1919 |location=Newcastle-upon-Tyne |page=4}}</ref> His 66 wickets for 25 each looked nothing out of the common, but on featherbed Leyton pitches such figures constituted first-rate bowling. Louden was picked for the Gentlemen at Lord's and The Oval but was overshadowed by his teammate Johnny Douglas, taking only one wicket in two games.
In 1920 Louden had an average of over 27, but in the following two seasons he performed well when available. Louden took thirteen wickets in two innings against the Australians in 1921, but was not chosen for any Test match. Australian batsman Warren Bardsley thought it ridiculous that, although the England selectors went through fourteen bowlers that series, they never once turned to the man the Australians regarded as the best in the country. "All we did was tell the truth," he said later. "We told everybody that Louden was England's best bowler. They thought we were leg-pulling and just didn't pick him!"<ref>Quoted in {{cite book|author-link=Jack Fingleton|last=Fingleton|first=Jack|title=Masters of Cricket|publisher=Heinemann|year=1958|page=58}}</ref> Bardsley and Herbie Collins were always at pains to give one another the strike when Louden was bowling. The following season his performance for the Gentlemen at Lord's in 1922 was the best bowling by an Englishman since Sydney Barnes was in his prime.<ref>{{cite news|author-link=Sydney Pardon|last=Pardon |first=Sydney H.|title=Cricket Notes — Yorkshire’s Triumph Analysed|work=The Times|date=September 11, 1922 |page=16}}</ref> Louden was equally good against Surrey at The Oval with an innings analyses of seven for 84 on a perfect pitch.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cricket — Surrey v. Essex|work=The Times|date=May 23, 1922|location=London |page=21}}</ref> Despite these performances, he failed to gain a ''Wisden Cricketer of the Year'' nomination.
Although Louden could play a little more often than previously, he declined somewhat in 1923 and 1924 despite replicating his 1922 performance at the Oval with 6 for 66 on another perfect wicket in 1923.<ref>{{cite book|editor-link=Sydney Pardon|editor-last=Pardon|editor-first=Sydney H.|title=John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack|year=1924 |publisher=Wisden and Co.|location=London|page=114|section=II|edition=61}}</ref> He remained a formidable opponent, as shown against the South Africans in 1924 when he took ten wickets, and with nine for 67 on a bad wicket at Lord’s in 1925. Health problems meant Louden played almost no cricket after 1925.<ref name="Famous"/>
== Personal life == George Louden was born on 6 September 1885 in Forest Gate, West Ham, the youngest of the four children of James Louden and Emily née Dilkes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 for George Marshall Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8912/images/ONS_B18854AZ-0490?pId=19595250}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1904/images/46452_b294004-00088?pId=20001951}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=George Louden Marshall |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/177434621/person/212307906403/facts}}</ref> He served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the early days of the First World War, and was then commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery, marrying Lucette Edith Shuter (known as Edie) in 1917.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Service Records Index, 1903-1922 |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7707722}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The London Gazette, 25 May 1917, Supplement:30092, Page:5149 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30092/supplement/5149}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938 |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/3867039:1623}}</ref> He worked as a stockbroker.<ref>{{Cite web |title=London, England, City Directories, 1941 for Geo. Marshall Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61265/images/47056_1831115184_0796-02206?pId=16469164}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965 for George Marshall L-Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1795/images/40020_214054-00443?pId=76878898}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=London, England, Electoral Registers, 1949 for George Marshall L-Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1795/images/40020_214054-00443?pId=76878898}}</ref> The couple lived in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and had no children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1939 England and Wales Register for George M Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/1432281:61596}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for George Marshall Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1904/images/46452_b294004-00088?pId=20001951}}</ref> He died on 28 December 1972.<ref>{{Cite web |title=England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for George Marshall Louden |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1904/images/46452_b294004-00088?pId=20001951}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{cricinfo|id=16345}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louden, George}} Category:1885 births Category:1972 deaths Category:People from Forest Gate Category:Cricketers from the London Borough of Newham Category:English cricketers Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Category:Essex cricketers Category:Gentlemen cricketers Category:North v South cricketers Category:English cricketers of 1919 to 1945