David Fursdon
Edward David Fursdon is an English former cricketer. He is the current Lord Lieutenant of Devon.Early life, military service and cricket
The son of Major General Francis William Edward Fursdon and his wife, Jean Rosemary Worrsam, David Fursdon was born in December 1952 at Bitchet Green, Kent. He was educated at Sherborne School. After leaving Sherborne, Fursdon was commissioned into the 6th Gurkha Rifles in as a second lieutenant in February 1972, where he served in Brunei and British Hong Kong. The following year he won a scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he studied at St John's College.
While studying at Oxford, he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University against Gloucestershire at Oxford in 1973. He played first-class cricket for Oxford until 1975, making sixteen appearances. Playing as an all-rounder, he scored 479 runs for Oxford at an average of 22.80 and a high score of 112 not out, which was his only first-class century and came against Cambridge University in The University Match of 1975. With his right-arm medium-fast bowling, he took 37 wickets at a bowling average of 35.94, with best figures of 4 for 13. He also made a single first-class appearance for a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricket team against the touring Indians in 1974, taking his career best bowling figures of 6 for 60 during the match. In addition to playing first-class cricket while at Oxford, he also made four List A one-day appearances for the Combined Universities cricket team in the 1975 Benson & Hedges Cup. He gained two cricket blues while at Oxford.After graduating from Oxford, Fursdon joined the Civil Service, working at the Ministry of Defence and part of a British delegation at a United Nations conference in Geneva. Fursdon left the civil service and transferred to Devon, where he became a teacher at Blundell's School, serving subsequently on the school's board of governors for ten years. He played minor counties cricket for Devon in 1981, making four appearances in the Minor Counties Championship.
After attending the Royal Agricultural University, he trained to become a rural surveyor and later became a fellow of the RAU. He has also worked for the Country Land and Business Association and was a member on the board of both the Crown Estate and English Heritage. He was appointed to be the Lord Lieutenant of Devon in April 2015. With his wife, Catriona, he has three sons.
