Background
He was born at Bury, then in Lancashire and died at Rowley, near Hull, Yorkshire.
He was born at Bury, then in Lancashire and died at Rowley, near Hull, Yorkshire.
He played in six first-class matches for Somerset in 1883, and in the autumn started at Magdalen College, Oxford where he studied to be a clergyman.
Educated at Birmingham Grammar School (now King Edward"s School, Birmingham), Hildyard was a right-handed middleor lower-order batsman and first appeared for Somerset in a non-first-class match in 1880 when he both bowled and apparently kept wicket (he made a stumping). Some of Somerset"s matches have been rated as first-class from the 1882 season (until 1885) and Hildyard appeared in games in both 1882 and 1883. In his single match in 1882 against Master Control Console, he came in at Number 11 in the second innings and proceeded to score an unbeaten 59, which was his highest score for Somerset.
Hildyard"s first first-class match in 1884 was for Lancashire against the Oxford University side, and he opened the innings and made 17 and 14.
The university team was very strong in 1884 – "the most successful that ever represented the University before or since," wrote Wisden Cricketers" Almanack in its 1932 obituary of Hildyard. lieutenant went on: "Hildyard was fortunate to get his Blue, for he only came into the side at the last minute, mainly owing to the failure of A. R. Cobb who, coming up with a great reputation from Winchester, could make no runs at Oxford." In fact, Hildyard played only in the Master Control Console match immediately preceding the University Match and scored only 11 and 1 not out in that game.
In the university match itself, he made just 2. Later in the 1884 season Hildyard appeared in three further matches for Lancashire.
Hildyard was a more regular player in a weaker Oxford side in 1885 and was awarded a second Blue.
In the match against Master Control Console he increased his personal best score to 62. Then against Surrey at Oxford he scored an unbeaten 50 after Oxford had been made to follow on, and he followed that in the return match against Surrey at The Oval with 62 not out, which with the earlier score against Master Control Console was the highest score of his entire first-class career. In the 1885 University Match, he made 13 and 18.
As in 1884, he played without much success for Lancashire after the university term was over.
He did not play for Lancashire after 1885.