Stephen Cox Newton (21 April 1853 – 16 August 1916) was an English cricketer who represented, and captained, Somerset County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.
Newton assisted Somerset from 1876 until 1890. The county cricket club had only been formally set-up the previous year, and was seeking first-class status. The majority of matches played by Newton for the county between 1876 and 1878 are recorded by CricketArchive as being for the ‘Gentlemen of Somerset’, and are not categorised as first-class cricket, and although those from 1879 onwards are recorded as being for ‘Somerset’, they are generally regarded as remaining a ‘second-class’ of cricket.
Somerset gained first-class status in 1882, and retained it for four seasons. Newton was the club captain for the first three of these seasons, becoming the county’s first official captain.
He did not, however, appear in Somerset’s first three matches: as a schoolmaster in London, he only played for the county in late-July and August. In his first match as a first-class cricket captain, he top-scored in both innings, with 57 and 67, as Somerset lost to MCC by one wicket.
In his three years of first-class cricket for Somerset, he scored no centuries, five half-centuries, and averaged 24.56 with the bat, higher than he finished with any other first-class cricket side.
Newton returned to play three further matches for Somerset in 1887 and 1890, when they did not hold first-class status. He opened the innings for the county twice in 1887, passing 20 on three out of four occasions. During Somerset’s successful 1890 season, when they remained unbeaten against other county opposition, Newton batted at number four, scoring 3 and 0, his final recorded appearance for Somerset.
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