Albert Neilson Hornby (10 February 1847 – 17 December 1925), better known as Monkey Hornby, or to his players as The Boss was the England cricket captain who lost the test match at home in 1882 against the Australian cricket team that gave rise to the Ashes.
The test match in 1882 was a one-off game played at the Oval in London, England, and the English cricket team lost it to Australia. In response, the Sporting Times printed the following "obituary" to English cricket:
- In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST, 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P.
- N.B. - The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
Monkey Hornby later captained England in one more test, when he stood in for Lord Harris in the first test of 1884. In 1882 he also captained England at rugby, making him one of only two men to have captained England in both these sports, the other being Andrew Stoddart.
His lack of stature and excess of energy earned him the nickname "Monkey".
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