Arthur Osborne was a mainstay of the Glamorgan side during the 1900s.
Born and raised in north-east England, he moved with his father to South Wales during the late 1890s to continue their trade as master coppersmiths. After six successful seasons with Penarth CC, Arthur began a long and successful career with Barry Athletic Club, during which he also played county cricket for Glamorgan.
The talented all-rounder had the distinction of scoring two centuries for his adopted county during his debut season with Glamorgan. in 1901. Both came when Arthur was opening the batting with the first in July seeing him make 110 against Monmouthshire at the Arms Park during a stand of 250 for the first wicket with Herbie Morgan, his colleague from the Penarth club. The following month, Arthur scored 109 against Berkshire at Reading, but this time his good friend Herbie only made a single, and after the clatter wickets, it was during a stand with Sam Brian that Arthur reached three figures once again.
Remarkably, the left-handed batter never passed fifty in his other 67 innings for Glamorgan, with his next highest score being 41 against Surrey 2nd XI at The Oval in 1905. It was his left-arm cutters which led to his inclusion in the Welsh county’s ranks in subsequent seasons, with Arthur – also now batting lower in the order – taking 5/21 against Devon at Exeter in 1902, 6/40 against the Philadelphians at the Arms Park in 1903 and 5/9 against Monmouthshire at Swansea in 1904.
He continued to play regularly for Glamorgan until 1905 – a summer which had earlier seen him switch allegiance to Barry – but his work commitments only allowed a couple of appearance in 1906, and his final appearance for Glamorgan came five years later in the rain-affected contest with Carmarthenshire at Llanelli. He continued to meet with great success with his bowling, taking 8/13 against Whitchurch in 1907.
OSBORNE, Arthur James.
Born – Westoe, South Shields, 14 December 1876.
Died – Barry, 10 January 1961.
Batting and Fielding Record
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| MC Championship | 39 | 58 | 5 | 862 | 16.33 | 2 | – | 15 | – |
| MC Friendlies | 9 | 11 | 1 | 93 | 9.30 | – | – | 3 | – |
Bowling Record
| Balls | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| MC Championship | 1765 | 81 | 913 | 51 | 17.90 | 2 | – |
| MC Friendlies | 258 | 5 | 146 | 12 (+1) | 12.16 | 2 | – |
Career-best performances
Minor County Championship – 110 v Monmouthshire at Cardiff Arms Park, 1901 and 5/9 v Monmouthshire at St. Helen’s, Swansea, 1904.
Minor County Friendlies – 23 v Warwickshire at Edgbaston, 1902 and 6/40 v Philadelphians at Cardiff Arms Park, 1903.