Edward McNiven

{{short description|English lawyer and cricketer}}

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{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}

Edward McNiven (21 June 1827 – 4 January 1858) was an English lawyer and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, Surrey and various amateur sides between 1846 and 1851.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/31/31388/31388.html| title = Edward McNiven | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 15 September 2014}} He was born at Offley, Hertfordshire and died near Godstone, Surrey.

McNiven was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Cambridge.{{acad|id=MNVN845E|name=Mcniven, Edward}} At Eton, he played in the Eton v Harrow cricket matches of 1843 and 1844 primarily as a bowler. Between 1846 and 1848, he appeared in several matches for Cambridge University, playing largely as a right-handed lower middle-order batsman; he played in the 1846 University Match against Oxford University but was not picked for the matches in 1847 or 1848.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/0/768.html| title = Scorecard: Oxford University v Cambridge University | date = 11 June 1846 | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 19 September 2014}} His best batting came in a match against a side calling itself "Cambridge Townsmen" in 1848, when he was unbeaten on 88 when the university innings ended.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/0/816.html| title = Scorecard: Cambridge University v Cambridge Townsmen | date = 22 May 1848 | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 19 September 2014}} McNiven did not play any first-class cricket in 1849 or in 1850, the year he graduated from Cambridge University, but in 1851 he played four games inside a month for four teams: the Marylebone Cricket Club, Surrey, the Gentlemen in the annual Lord's Gentlemen v Players fixture, and the Gentlemen of England team. Those were his final appearances in senior cricket.

McNiven became a lawyer and was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1849. He was killed "near Westerham" when his dog cart overturned in January 1858; the family home at the time was Perrysfield, near Godstone, and in some references this is given as the place of death.{{cite web | url = http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030568920;view=1up;seq=245 | title = The Gentleman's Magazine: Obituary | volume = Part 1: 1858| publisher = Hathi Trust digital library | page = 229 | accessdate = 19 September 2014}}