Charles Henry Mills (26 November 1867 in Peckham, England – 26 July 1948 in Southwark, England) was a cricketer who played in one Test for South Africa in 1892.[1]

Charles Mills

Personal information
Full name	Charles Henry Mills
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
International information
National side	South Africa
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 1 8 Runs scored 25 160 Batting average 12.50 12.30 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 Top score 21 31 Balls bowled 140 1178 Wickets 2 29 Bowling average 41.50 15.55 5 wickets in innings 0 3 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 2/83 5/36 Catches/stumpings 2/- 11/-
Source: CricketArchive

Life and career

Born in London, Charles Mills was educated at Dulwich College in London. After leaving school he briefly studied art before deciding to become a professional cricketer.[2] A medium-pace bowler and a steady batsman, he played for Surrey from 1885 to 1896, mostly for the club's secondary teams, but including two first-class matches in 1888.[3]

With his Surrey colleague Bill Brockwell he went to South Africa for the 1889–90 season in the hope of finding a coaching position, which they both did in Kimberley.[2] In Mills's first match for the Kimberley Club he scored 297, which was at the time a record score in South Africa.[2] He played a first-class match for Kimberley later that season, when Brockwell took 10 wickets in an innings victory over Natal.[4]

In 1890-91 Mills took up a coaching position in Cape Town, where he stayed for four years, playing in the Western Province team that won the Currie Cup in 1893–94.[5] In March 1892 he played for South Africa in the Test against England, scoring 4 and 21 in a match in which the highest score by a South African batsman was 24.[6] He toured England with the South African team in 1894, in which no first-class matches were played, scoring 452 runs at an average of 14.58, and taking 28 wickets at 23.71.[7]

He later coached in Philadelphia and Scotland and at the English public schools Haileybury, Bradfield and Mill Hill.[2] He umpired Minor Counties matches, mostly involving Norfolk, from 1904 to 1906.[8]

References

External links

• Charles Mills at ESPNcricinfo
• Charles Mills at CricketArchive