{{short description|English cricketer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use British English|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Tom Caplen | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1879|11|23}} | birth_place = Rusthall, Kent | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1945|04|17|1879|11|23}} | death_place = Hove, Sussex | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right-arm fast | role = Bowler | club1 = Kent | year1 = 1897 | club2 = Cornwall | year2 = {{nowrap|1898–1901}} | type1 = FC | onetype1 = true | debutdate1 = 20 May | debutyear1 = 1897 | debutfor1 = Kent | debutagainst1 = Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) | source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/28/28413/28413.html CricketArchive | date = 17 March | year = 2025 }} '''Tom Caplen'''{{efn|Caplen's surname is sometimes spelled Caplin in mining records.<ref name=nm/>}} (23 November 1879 – 17 April 1945) was an English mining engineer and mine manager who worked extensively in British India and Egypt during the early 20th century. He was also a cricketer who played for Kent and Cornwall County Cricket Clubs as a right-arm fast bowler in the 1890s.
==Early life== Caplen was born at Rusthall near Tunbridge Wells in Kent in 1879, the son of Walter and Sarah (''née'' Tribe) Caplen. His father was a school teacher, and Caplen was educated privately at Scotsford House school.<ref name=carlaw>Carlaw, pp. 101–102. (Retrieved 2020-12-21.)</ref><ref name=moore>Moore D (1988) ''The History of Kent County Cricket Club'', p. 242. London: Christopher Helm. {{ISBN|0-7470-2209-7}}</ref><ref name=grace>Sears JE ed (1922) ''Who's Who in Engineering, 1921–22'', p. 78. Compendium: London. ([https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1922_Who's_Who_In_Engineering:_Name_C Available online] at Grace's Guide. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> From 1895 he played cricket for Kent's Second XI, making his debut aged 15 against Middlesex Second XI at Tonbridge. The following season, aged 16, he took 13 wickets in the same fixture, eight for 39 in Middlesex's first innings and five for 67 in their second.<ref name=carlaw/><ref name=ca>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/28/28413/28413.html Tom Caplen], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-15. {{subscription}}</ref>
After leaving school in 1896, Caplen was apprenticed with the mining engineering company, Holman Brothers at Camborne in Cornwall.<ref name=obit>Tom Caplen, Obituaries, ''Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy'', 1945–46, vol. 54, pp. 562–563. ([https://nmrs.org.uk/resources/obituaries-of-members/c/tom-caplen/ Available online] at the Northern Mine Research Society. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> He played his only first-class cricket match the following summer, appearing for Kent against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's in May 1897. Playing as an amateur,<ref>This day's cricket, ''Pall Mall Gazette'', 22 May 1897, p. 9. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/Y3200474817/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=4ccf8d4b Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> and described as "a right-handed medium paced bowler of Tunbridge Wells",<ref name=dn21may97>Cricket, ''The Daily News'', 21 May 1897, p. 9, ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BA3203362667/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=749224c3 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> he took two wickets and, batting last in both of Kent's innings, made scores of five not out and one.<ref name=ca/> The ''Daily News'' reported that he "did not meet with much success" but that he had "a good, easy delivery" and was "given a fair trial" bowling.<ref name=dn21may97/>
In Cornwall, Caplen, who was described some years later as "very well-known on the cricket field",<ref name=cm5apr06>Well-known student's wedding, ''The Cornishman'', 5 April 1906, p. 7. ([https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cornishman-well-known-students-wedd/168251471/ Available online] at Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2025-03-18.)</ref> played club cricket for Camborne. He was regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the county,<ref>Penzance and District Cricket, ''The Cornishman'', 2 August 1900, p. 5. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IG3223466112/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=85fd7a1f Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-19.)</ref><ref name=cm2aug1900>Cricket, ''The Cornishman'', 2 August 1900, p. 3. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IG3223466063/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=1b5ed6f0 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-19.)</ref> and made one Minor Counties Championship appearance for Cornwall in 1898, taking three wickets against Glamorgan at Swansea.{{efn|Cornwall did not play in the Minor Counties Championship until 1904. In both 1897 and 1898 the county team played two matches against Glamorgan, all four of which were counted in Glamorgan's Championship points tally.<ref>Weeks M (2015) ''Cricket in Cornwall''. pp. 195–213.</ref><ref>Glamorgan v Cornwall, scorecard, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-03-17. {{subscription}}</ref>}}<ref name=carlaw/><ref name=ca/> Following his three-year apprenticeship, he enrolled at the Camborne School of Mines.<ref name=obit/> He played other cricket matches for Cornwall during his time in the county, and made one further appearance for Kent Second XI, taking five wickets against Sussex Second XI in an 1899 match at Tunbridge Wells.<ref name=ca/> During the same summer he took ten wickets in an innings for Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club in a club match,<ref name=carlaw/> and in 1900 was Cornwall's leading wicket-taker, with 44 wickets.<ref>Cornwall County Cricket Averages, Season 1900, ''Royal Cornwall Gazette'', 6 September 1900, p. 5. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/R3213763396/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=ba034f7e Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> His club performances in 1900 included six wickets for four runs against St Ives, including four wickets taken in successive balls,<ref>Cricket, ''Royal Cornwall Gazette'', 10 May 1900, p. 7. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/R3213445487/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=78a6f714 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> ten wickets across two innings for a total of four runs, including another hat trick, against Leedstown District,<ref>Cricket, ''Royal Cornwall Gazette'', 5 July 1900, p. 3. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/R3213446302/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=9ededbd2 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> seven wickets against Falmouth, including a hat trick in the first over of the innings,<ref>Cricket, ''The Cornishman'', 12 July 1900, p. 3. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IG3223465660/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=69777106 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-19.)</ref> and five wickets for 14 runs against Truro College.<ref>Cricket, ''Royal Cornwall Gazette'', 26 July 1900, p. 3. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/R3213817142/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=5558abd0 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref>
After he graduated in 1900, Caplen left the county,<ref>Presentation at Camborne, ''The Cornishman'', 22 November 1900, p. 5. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IG3223468334/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=8761d9e0 Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-19.)</ref> ''The Cornishman'' considering that he would be "greatly missed", having done "yeoman service" for Camborne.<ref name=cm2aug1900/> He spent some time as an assayer in London and played some cricket for Tunbridge Wells, taking 12 wickets in a match against Hastings in 1901, before taking up a position as an assistant manager at the Vizianagram Mining Company in India.<ref name=obit/><ref>Cricket, ''Hastings and St. Leonards Observer'', 6 July 1901, p. 5. ([https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/GW3225410135/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=4c727aea Available online] at British Library Newspapers via Gale Primary Sources. Retrieved 2025-03-19.)</ref>
==Professional life== In India Caplen was initially responsible for assaying manganese ore, working in the Vizagapatam district of the Madras Presidency.<ref name=obit/> Later in 1902 he played a cricket match for the Madras Presidency team against the touring Oxford University Authentics team,{{efn|The Oxford University Authentics team toured India in 1902–03. They played a series of matches across India, three of which are considered to be first-class. The match Caplen played in is not one of these.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Oxford_University_Authentics_in_India_1902-03.html Oxford University Authentics in India in 1902/03], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-03-17. {{subscription}}</ref>}}<ref name=carlaw/><ref name=ca/> although the demand of his job soon led to him being unable to continue to play much cricket in India.<ref name=cm5apr06/>
Caplen was soon promoted to acting manager of the company, and in 1904 became its general manager, a post he held until 1915. He was elected as an Associate of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 1906, managing a series of three mines.<ref name=nm>[https://nmrs.org.uk/resources/camborne-school-of-mines-graduates-1898-1840/csm-graduates-c/ Camborne School of Mines Graduates – C], Northern Mine Research Society. Retrieved 2025-03-17.</ref><ref name=grace/><ref name=obit/> He returned to the United Kingdom in 1915, and during World War I worked at the Air Ministry as an inspector. He resigned from the ministry in 1920, and later the same year was employed as Director of Work by the British government in Egypt, involved in oil exploration in the country based at the Department of Mines at Port Tewfik.<ref name=grace/><ref name=obit/> Following the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence in February 1922, Caplen left Egypt. In 1923 he toured India, working as a consultant for Holman Brothers, before spending time working in Turkey and West Africa in 1926 and 1927.<ref name=obit/>
In 1927, Caplen rejoined the Vizianagram Mining Company. He worked as the company's general manager for another ten years before returning to England. He remained a director of the company.<ref name=obit/>
==Personal life== Caplen married Irene O'Donoghue at Vizianagram in 1906,<ref name=cm5apr06/> and in 1910 the couple had a son. The family lived at Coonoor.<ref name=carlaw/><ref>Births ''The Times of India'', 27 June 1910. ([https://search.fibis.org/bin/aps_detail.php?id=1171746 Available online] at Families in British India Society. Retrieved 2025-03-17.)</ref> Caplen died suddenly at Hove in Sussex in 1945 aged 65.<ref name=obit/><ref name=ci>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/11004.html Tom Caplen], CricInfo. Retrieved 2017-04-15.</ref><ref>Obituaries, ''History of Kent County Cricket – Appendix G, 1924–1945''. Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club.</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book |last=Carlaw |first=Derek |title=Kent County Cricketers, A to Z: Part One (1806–1914) |publisher=ACS |location=Cardiff |year=2020 |url=https://archive.acscricket.com/books/Kent_Cricketers_A_to_Z_Part_One_Revised_Expanded.pdf}}
==External links== * {{cricinfo|id=11004}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caplen, Tom}} Category:1879 births Category:1945 deaths Category:English cricketers Category:Kent cricketers Category:Cornwall cricketers