Robert Pearson Carpenter (18 November 1830 – 14 July 1901) was an English first-class cricketer who played between 1855 and 1876, generally acknowledged to be one of the outstanding batsmen of the 1850s and 1860s. He was a right-handed batsman, usually opening the innings, and an occasional wicketkeeper. He played mostly for the Cambridge and Cambridgeshire sides, the North and the United All-England Eleven. In 1859, Carpenter went to North America as a member of the first-ever overseas tour undertaken by the England team and, in 1862–63, was in the England team to Australia and New Zealand. When travelling to Australia, the team travelled from Liverpool to Melbourne on the SS Great Britain. He umpired in two Test matches between England and Australia in the 1880s. His son Herbert played f