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Part 10 of the Series:
Pick up any cricket encyclopaedia and flick through it; you will soon find the entry for C. T. Studd. This is what Cricinfo says about him:1
‘A great batsman, a fine field and a high-class bowler, CT Studd developed his powers so rapidly that, while still at Cambridge, he was in the best Eleven of England. He possessed a fine upright style in batting and was particularly strong on the off-side. He bowled righthand rather above medium pace and, tall of build, brought the ball over from a good height. In 1882 he made 118 for Cambridge University and 114 for the M.C.C. against probably the strongest bowling Australia ever sent to this country’.
Studd was the Ian Botham or Freddie Flintoff of his day -a world-class all-round cricketer. In two seasons, he ‘did the double’, scoring 1000 runs and taking 100 wickets. He played in the first Ashes match between England and Australia. Studd’s name is contained within a poem written on the original Ashes urn.
He had a privileged upbringing; as the son of a wealthy Victorian landowner, he was educated at Eton College and Cambridge University, two of the most prestigious education institutions in the UK. When Studd was a teenager, his father was saved during a gospel meeting where D. L. Moody was preaching. Immediately, Studd senior started inviting travelling preachers to visit: his country manor, Tedworth House. Within a year, C. T. Studd and his two brothers were saved, along with other people in the neighbourhood.
During his time at Cambridge, Studd was convicted about serving the Lord as a missionary. The famous Hudson Taylor was visiting Cambridge, and his message provoked Studd, along with six other young men, to volunteer to serve with the China Inland Mission. The Cambridge Seven2 caught the attention of the country, leading to a nationwide tour of speaking engagements. Many others were saved and later devoted their lives to missionary work.
While in China, Studd married Priscilla Stewart who was a fellow missionary.3 He also received a vast inheritance from his father, but Studd renounced this fortune, choosing to donate it to charitable causes including George Muller’s orphanage in Bristol.
C. T. Studd and Priscilla were sent home from China due to poor health. However, they later became missionaries in India for several years. Finally, Studd elected to travel to Africa. He had been attracted to a meeting about African mission work by a notice which read, ‘Cannibals want missionaries’.4 He died in what was then the Belgian Congo in 1931. Studd was the founder of the World Evangelisation Crusade (WEC), a missionary organization that remains in operation today.
I think the most striking image of C. T. Studd is found in a pair of photographs from Studd’s biography by his son-in-law, Norman Grubb.5 The first photo shows the magnificent Tedworth House, set in the beautiful English countryside. The second photo shows Studd outside a ramshackle wooden hut in Africa. The pictures are accompanied by a verse caption, ‘Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt’, Heb. 11. 26.
Studd was renowned for forceful words and challenging poetry. He often offended people with his uncompromising and challenging tone. Some of his most famous quotations are listed below.
Studd leaves a tremendous legacy as an inspirational missionary pioneer. His Cricinfo biography goes on to say, ‘Unhappily for English cricket, C. T Studd was not seen in the field after 1884’. Happily for the gospel, Studd exchanged the cricki^t field for the mission field, renouncing sporting glory for his Master’s service. ‘And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life’, Matt. 19. 29.
The books listed in the footnotes are all excellent reading -swashbuckling missionary stories about C. T. Studd and his service for the Lord.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/charles-studd-20398.
JOHN Pollock, The Cambridge Seven, Christian Focus, 2006 (revised edition).
Eileen Vincent, CT Studd and Priscilla, STL Books, 1988.
GORDON Pettie, No Sacrifice Too Great, Sovereign World, 2021.
NORMAN Grubb, CT Studd: Cricketer and Pioneer, Lutterworth Press, 1933.
Ibid, pg. 145.
Ibid, pg. 170.
Gordon Pettie, op. cit., pg. 219.
