Henry Attfield (1756 – c. 1829) was an English cricketer who is recorded in a total of 27 matches between 1773 and 1789, 20 of which have been given retrospective first-class status. He played mainly for Chertsey and Surrey sides.
Born at Bagshot, he lived for much of his life in Chertsey, where he was a sawyer by trade. Besides Chertsey and Surrey, Attfield played in three matches for England teams, and once for the Duke of Dorset's XI. In addition, he was twice a given man for Hampshire. His name was usually shortened to 'Field' and this was often used on match scorecards.
Attfield made his first known appearance on 26 August 1773 when, aged just 17, he travelled to Hambledon, Hampshire with the Surrey team for a match against Hambledon Town on Broadhalfpenny Down.He scored seven runs out of Surrey's total of 131 in their first innings and three in their second. Later in the year he played twice more for the side, this time against a Hampshire team.[1] [2]
Attfield is known to have played regularly as his name appears on more than 20 surviving scorecards. These show that he was usually a middle-order batsman and that he rarely bowled. It is not known if he was right- or left-handed; nor if he had any fielding specialism. His name appears only once in 1774 but then he is recorded five times in 1775. He was selected for England teams twice — against Hampshire at Laleham Burway in July 1777; and again at Broadhalfpenny Down in August 1779. In June 1780, he played for the Duke of Dorset's XI against Sir Horatio Mann's XI at Sevenoaks Vine.[3]
Attfield's last known match was for the Moulsey Club against Uxbridge on 8 June 1789. He scored 11 and 2 in his two innings and also took one wicket. According to Arthur Haygarth, Attfield continued to live in Chertsey until his death in about 1829 when he was 73 years old. No tombstone was erected in his memory and so Haygarth was uncertain about the date of Attfield's death.