Fuller Pilch (17 March 1804 – 1 May 1870) was an English cricketer active from 1820 to 1854. He was a right-handed batsman who bowled at a slow pace with a roundarm action. Pilch played in a total of 229 important matches for a large number of teams, although he appeared most frequently for the Kent County cricket team. He is remembered as a pioneer of forward play in batting and for a shot named after him, called "Pilch's poke".
Early life
Pilch was born in Horningtoft, Norfolk, England as the third son of a cobbler named Nathaniel Pilch and his wife Frances (née Fuller). They had been married at Brisley and returned to live there when Pilch was young.
Pilch worked as a tailor before he followed in the footsteps of his two elder brothers, Nathaniel and William, and became a professional cricketer.
Cricket career
Pilch's first appearance at Lord's was a three-day match in July 1820, playing for Norfolk.
By the late 1820s, he was seen as the finest batsman in England and acquired the nickname, "the non pareil [unrivalled] hitter".
He appeared 23 times in Gentlemen v Players matches.
Demand for his services as a cricketer led him to move to Town Malling, Kent in 1835 and receive a salary of 100 pounds a year.
Pilch moved to Canterbury in 1842 where he kept the Saracen's Head. He served as the first groundsman of the St Lawrence Ground from 1847 to 1868. An early pioneer of batting, Pilch's method of playing the ball forward is seen as an early manifestation of modern batting practices.
Legacy
thumb|right|Pilch is remembered on the village sign at [[Horningtoft]]
Along with his two brothers, Pilch's nephew William Pilch also played cricket. Soon afterwards, the grave was located through the use of an old photograph and the memories of local people.
In the novel Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser, Pilch is caught and bowled by Harry Flashman in a fictional game at Lord's between Rugby Old Boys and Kent in 1842.