Edward Drake was the third son of Thomas Tyrwhitt-Drake, Member of Parliament for the rotten borough of Amersham until the Reform Act 1832 and head of a long-standing Buckinghamshire family which effectively controlled both the parliamentary seat and many local affairs in the town, including the benefice of St Mary's Church, Amersham: a Mr Tyrwhitt-Drake is still in 2014 the "patron" of the church.
[4] He was curate at Chalfont St Peter from 1860 to 1863 when he was appointed as rector of Amersham, his family's church, where he remained until his death in 1904.
[1] The 19th century cricket writer Arthur Haygarth, writing in the fourth volume of his Scores and Biographies and quoted in Drake's obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1905, described Drake thus: "Is a very fine, energetic, and most active field anywhere, generally, however, taking long-leg and middle-wicket.
As a batsman (using a bat of great weight) he is one of the most slashing that has yet appeared, hitting at almost everything, and generally sending the ball all over the ground.
"[5] Wisden itself concluded that "his fame as a cricketer was chiefly due to his skill as a lob bowler, he being ranked as second only to V. E. Walker – longo intervallo, however.
[6] He played in the University match again in 1853, but his big success that year came when he turned out for "the Gentlemen of England" against "the Gentlemen of Kent" in a match at St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury: again, full figures have not been preserved, but it is known that Drake took six wickets in each innings of the game.