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James Aitchison (26 May 1920 – 13 February 1994) was a Scottish minister in the Church of Scotland and a first-class cricketer.

Career

Only two other players have appeared more times in first class cricket for Scotland, and Aitchison holds the team's record for most career runs and highest individual score. In the match against Ireland in 1959 he batted throughout the first day to make 190 not out. He scored centuries against two touring Test playing nations, 106 not out in a team score of 177 against the 1947 South Africans and nine years later struck 100 against the Australians. In club cricket for Kilmarnock he made 18,344 runs with 56 centuries.

Aitchison served as a minister in the Church of Scotland for 34 years until his retirement in 1986. During his career he took on a divinity student to help her learn whilst he was minister of Broomhill in Glasgow. The Reverend Euphemia Irvine was to be the first woman to lead a parish in Scotland. In 2011 he was one of the twelve initial inductees into the Scottish Cricket Hall of Fame.

References

1. Scotland first-class cricket statistics
2. Ireland v Scotland 1959
3. Davison, Jack (26 May 2020). "The Scottish reverend revered by Aussie cricket legend for 'truly great' century". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
4. Wisden 1995, p. 1378.
5. "Obituary - Effie Irvine, pioneering minister and the first woman to be ordained and inducted to a Church of Scotland parish". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
6. Scottish cricket launches Hall of Fame

External links

James Aitchison at ESPNcricinfo

• 1920 births
• 1994 deaths
• Scottish cricketers
• 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland
• 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers
• Sportspeople from Kilmarnock