Robert Clifford (8 March 1752 – 18 April 1811) was an English cricketer who played in 71 cricket matches between 1777 and 1792.Richard Clifford, CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 November 2019. Robert Clifford, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
Despite having a deformed right hand caused by a childhood accident, Clifford was an effective leg break bowler who bowled right-arm slow underarm deliveries. Arthur Haygarth, writing in the mid-19th century, noted his attention to detail when bowling.Amol Rajan (2011) Twirlymen: The Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers, pp. 36–37. London: Yellow Jersey Press. He was a left-handed batsman who was recognised as an all-rounder.Arthur Haygarth (1862) Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
Clifford mainly played for Kent (more than 30 appearances), as well as both East and West Kent, and other teams organised by Sir Horatio Mann and John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley, the leading Kent patrons of the day. He also played for England (i.e., the "rest" of England), Hampshire, White Conduit Club, and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). James Pycroft, writing in 1862, described him as one of Kent's three best players.James Pycroft (1862) The Cricket-field, Or The History and the Science of the Game of Cricket, p. 79. London: Longman. (Available online at Google Books. Retrieved 1 June 2022.)
Clifford was born at Bearsted in Kent in 1752 and died there in 1811 aged 59. Two of his grandsons, William Clifford and Francis Clifford, also played for Kent.
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