Charlie Townsend

Charlie Townsend
Townsend in 1898
Personal information
Born7 November 1876
Bristol, England
Died17 October 1958 (aged 81)
Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeg Break
International information
National side
Test debut15 June 1899 v Australia
Last Test16 August 1899 v Australia
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 2 199
Runs scored 51 9,512
Batting average 17.00 30.29
100s/50s 0/0 21/40
Top score 38 224*
Balls bowled 140 29,791
Wickets 3 725
Bowling average 25.00 23.11
5 wickets in innings 0 68
10 wickets in match 0 18
Best bowling 3/50 9/48
Catches/stumpings 0/– 193/–
Source: CricInfo, 30 December 2021

Charles Lucas Townsend (7 November 1876 – 17 October 1958) was a Gloucestershire cricketer. An all-round cricketer, Townsend was classically stylish, left-handed batsman, who was able to hit well despite his slender build. His off-side strokes were particularly effective, and his driving allowed him to score at a consistent pace throughout his major innings. In his younger days Townsend was also a spin bowler, who relied chiefly on a big break from leg but could also turn the ball the other way. He was often extremely difficult on sticky wickets but very rarely effective on good ones.