Lives in Cricket No 7 - Richard Daft

Chapter Eighteen Many Preoccupations Towards the end of his career, Richard’s portrait was painted by Frank Miles, one of the sons of the Rector of Bingham. A brother was R.Fenton Miles, who had played for Gloucestershire as a slow left-arm bowler in the 1870s, under the captaincy of W.G. In Kings of Cricket, Richard remembered: ‘The hours I spent in Miles’ studio were amongst the pleasantest of my life. To him I related many of the stories which appear in these reminiscences and he, in his turn, related some most amusing anecdotes. I sat to him, I think, on about forty occasions, but I am bound to state that the sittings were not of long duration, for we always finished off with several games of tennis.’ Miles had studied on the continent, exhibited at the Royal Academy, and became well-known as a genre, portrait and marine painter. His best-known portrait was of Mrs Lillie Langtry. However, all was not sweetness and light. He shared a house for a time with Oscar Wilde until his father heard of rumours about Oscar and insisted that they part. Following this enforced separation, by 1891 Miles had ‘lost his wits’ and he ended his days in Brislington Asylum, Bristol. 106 Frank Miles’ portrait of Richard Daft now oversees proceedings in the Trent Bridge pavilion.