| Dudley Pontifex | |
| Country: | England |
| Fullname: | Dudley David Pontifex |
| Birth Date: | 12 February 1855 |
| Birth Place: | Weston, Bath, Somerset, England |
| Death Place: | West Dulwich, London, England |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Role: | Batsman |
| Club1: | Surrey |
| Year1: | 1881 |
| Club2: | Somerset |
| Year2: | 1882 |
| Club3: | MCC |
| Type1: | FC |
| Debutdate1: | 3 June |
| Debutyear1: | 1878 |
| Debutfor1: | Gentlemen of England |
| Debutagainst1: | Oxford University |
| Lastdate1: | 19 May |
| Lastyear1: | 1896 |
| Lastfor1: | MCC |
| Lastagainst1: | Essex |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 17 |
| Runs1: | 357 |
| Bat Avg1: | 13.73 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/1 |
| Top Score1: | 89 |
| Deliveries1: | 13 |
| Wickets1: | 0 |
| Bowl Avg1: | – |
| Fivefor1: | – |
| Tenfor1: | – |
| Best Bowling1: | – |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 3/– |
| Date: | 11 July |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3761/3761.html CricketArchive |
Dudley David Pontifex (12 February 1855 - 27 September 1934) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey, Somerset and the Marylebone Cricket Club, plus other amateur sides, between 1878 and 1896.[1] He was born at Weston, Bath, Somerset, and died at West Dulwich, London.
Pontifex was a right-handed middle-order or opening batsman. Educated in Bath, he appeared in a freshmen's trial match at Cambridge University but failed to make the first team; he did, however, win a Blue for billiards.[2]
Appearing in minor cricket for amateur sides in Somerset and for Somerset County Cricket Club in non-first-class matches from 1877, Pontifex made his first-class cricket debut in 1878 against Oxford University for a Gentlemen of England side, and was successful neither in that nor in the South v North match that followed.[3] After university, Pontifex moved to London to qualify as a lawyer and in 1881 he appeared fairly regularly in first-class matches for Surrey. In the match against Nottinghamshire at The Oval, he opened the batting and scored 89; this was his only score of more than 50 in first-class cricket.[4] This was his only season of regular cricket. In 1882, he made a single first-class appearance in Somerset's debut season as a first-class team. He then played for MCC irregularly, and only very occasionally in first-class matches, over the next 14 seasons until his final first-class match in 1896.
His obituary in The Times in 1934 stated that after the age of 45 he took up golf and "became a scratch player"; he was also known as a real tennis and billiards player.[5]