100 Years Ago: 13 August 1924

by John Ward

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Day 1

Swansea: Glamorgan v Lancashire

Schoolboy Debutant Rescues Glamorgan

GLAMORGAN 153 (M J L Turnbull 40, T Arnott 23, J C Clay 32; E A McDonald 3/55, C H Parkin 2/34, R K Tyldesley 5/36). LANCASHIRE 151 (J L Hopwood 28, W Farrimond 25*, R K Tyldesley 39; H Spencer 6/44, F P Ryan 4/69).

Lancashire had a bad all-night rail journey to Swansea and did not arrive until 8.30 a.m.  The pitch was still in reasonable condition in spite of much recent rain.  Ted McDonald and Cecil Parkin opened the bowling in fine form and Glamorgan lost their first four batsmen for only 24 runs on the board.  They were rescued by a 17-year-old Downside College schoolboy making his début, Maurice Turnbull, who batted with superb skill and confidence for over an hour and a half to make the top score of 40.  He batted with a remarkably mature technique and temperament for his age.  He put on 61 for the sixth wicket with Johnnie Clay, but then Dick Tyldesley finally came on to bowl, and he dismissed them both and bowled out the tail.

Lancashire in turn faltered against fine bowling, with their former player Helm Spencer working up a good pace and Frank Ryan getting some sharp spin.  Spencer actually got more life out of the pitch than McDonald had done.  Seven wickets were down for 80, but it was Dick Tyldesley’s day, and he hit up 39 by attacking batting, helped by Bill Farrimond in an eighth-wicket partnership of 56.  However, Lancashire fell two runs behind on the first innings when their innings closed.

Leyton: Essex v Derbyshire

Rain Interruptions

ESSEX 146/5 (J R Freeman 17, J O’Connor 34, C A G Russell 45, P A Perrin 26*, J W H T Douglas 16*; J Horsley 3 wkts). DERBYSHIRE to bat.

Only about three hours’ play was possible at Leyton today, as rain came on after 50 minutes and caused a long interruption.  Four wickets went down for 68, three to Jim Horsley, although Jack O’Connor batted well.  Then Jack Russell and Percy Perrin dug their team out of a hole and added 52.  The pitch was slow and lifeless, and scoring was not very easy, although apart from Horsley the bowling was bland.

Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire

Parker Torments Leicestershire

LEICESTERSHIRE 144 (G H S Fowke 26, A T Sharp 46, G H Salmon 23; C W L Parker 7/65, P T Mills 2/38). GLOUCESTERSHIRE 100/2 (F J Seabrook 58*, A E Dipper 32).

There was a pitch that, for whatever reason, suited the bowling of Charlie Parker far more than it did batsmen.  Leicestershire were always struggling and their first six wickets went down for 63.  They were saved from complete disaster by Aubrey Sharp, who stayed over two hours to score 46, concentrating so much on defence that he did not hit a single four.  George Salmon was his best partner and they put on 40 for the seventh wicket, Salmon being the only batsman to take on the bowling aggressively.  Alan Shipman also batted stubbornly for 14 not out, while Parker thrived to take seven wickets for 65.  Gloucestershire’s catching was not as good as usual, though, with George Dennett in particular suffering from missed chances.

Leicestershire have no spinner of similar quality, although George Geary and Ewart Astill both made sure the home batsmen did not find the going easy.  However, Fred Seabrook and the inevitable Alf Dipper settled in for a first-wicket partnership of 84, leaving Gloucestershire well placed at the close.

Bournemouth: Hampshire v Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire Struggle

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 141/8 (A W Carr 20, W R D Payton 36, S J Staples 26*, F Barratt 16*; A S Kennedy 3 wkts, W R D Shirley 3 wkts, G Brown 2 wkts). HAMPSHIRE to bat.

Perhaps Arthur Carr underestimated how much overnight rain had affected the soft pitch at Bournemouth when he decided to bat on winning the toss.  Hampshire’s opening bowlers, Alec Kennedy and William Shirley, found awkward lift from the pitch and both openers were bowled out by Shirley with 16 runs on the board — George Gunn for 4 and Dodger Whysall for 1.  John Gunn (12) and Arthur Carr (20) were both out with 48 scored (and this with two chances dropped), but Wilf Payton and the dogged Willis Walker took the score to 88 for four by lunch.  Then heavy rain fell and no more play was possible until after tea.  Four wickets then fell quickly, making eight wickets down for 105.  Payton was certainly the best of the visitors’ batsmen with his enterprising, positive 36.  It took the all-rounders Sam Staples and Fred Barratt to start a rescue operation, with the pitch now easing, and they had added another 36 without being parted by the close.  Less than 2¼ hours’ play was possible during the day.

Harlequins v South Africans

Bettington Mitigates Disaster

HARLEQUINS 73 (R H Twining 11, D J Knight 13, E Smith 11, R H B Bettington 15*; J M Blanckenberg 5/34, S J Pegler 5/34) and 13/1 (D R Jardine 6*, V R Price 5*). SOUTH AFRICANS 162 (J M M Commaille 45, A W Nourse 12, H W Taylor 67; R H B Bettington 7/52, V R Price 2/31).

The Harlequins, a club composed exclusively of past and present Oxford University players and captained by Ernest Smith, were awarded a match against the South Africans and turned out what on paper is a very respectable side.  However, heavy overnight rain had affected the pitch, and Smith took a gamble on his team surviving the worst of it — which they didn’t.  But the batsmen made the pitch look worse than it was with a very poor display, although Sid Pegler and Jimmy Blanckenberg did bowl very well.  Their best partnership was that of 21 between the opening pair, Richard Twining and Donald Knight.  But the score went from 28 for one to 35 for seven, and only some determined batting and sound technique from Smith and Reg Bettington took the eventual total to 73.  Bettington, the Australian, finished as top scorer on a wet English pitch.

Bettington continued to prove the most effective Harlequins player when the South Africans batted, taking the first three wickets to fall with only 38 runs on the board, including the bowling of Dave Nourse round his legs for 12.  But Mick Commaille was still there, and with Herby Taylor brought about a recovery.  They were well on top of the bowling when Commaille was foolishly run out, and Bettington returned for a second spell to trouble the batsmen.  Taylor was the exception, though; Bettington bowled with good variations of spin and pace, and great accuracy, but Taylor played him with time to spare, until Bettington pulled off a superb return catch from a powerful hit.  The last six South African batsmen scored only 13 runs, though, and their eventual lead was 89.  Without Bettington’s bowling the Harlequins would have probably been in a disastrous position.  There was time for Harlequins to bat again and lose the wicket of Knight, lbw to Blanckenberg without scoring, before the close.

Taunton: Somerset v Kent

Woolley Lights up Taunton

KENT 283 (H T W Hardinge 37, J L Bryan 61, F E Woolley 98, W H Ashdown 16; R C Robertson-Glasgow 2/75, J J Bridges 5/92, J C White 3/95). SOMERSET 156/8 (J Daniell 64, J C W MacBryan 47, J C White 7*, J J Bridges 3*; G C Collins 3 wkts, A C Wright 4 wkts).

There was a lot of brisk, bright batting at Taunton today, with Frank Woolley the most brilliant star in the constellation.  Night rain had not affected the pitch seriously.  Wally Hardinge and Kent’s acting captain Jack Bryan began with an opening partnership of 88, but then the first three wickets fell in quick succession.  This brought in Woolley immediately after lunch to launch his assault on the Somerset bowlers, and he hit the bowlers brilliantly, and especially the usually very economical Jack White, to score 98 in just over an hour before he was caught at the wicket trying to turn a ball to leg off Raymond Robertson-Glasgow.  White finished with three wickets for 95 runs, off only 20.5 overs; Woolley scored 24 off one of his overs, made up of three fours and two sixes into the churchyard.

There was enough time for Somerset to spend two hours at the crease, and they began poorly by losing Stanley Rippon and Archie Young for 23.  But Jack Daniell, who had promoted himself to open, played a fine innings and added 79 for the third wicket with Jack MacBryan in only half an hour.  He was out at 128 for four, and then the middle order collapsed, mainly to Charlie Wright, before the close.

Birmingham: Warwickshire v Middlesex

Stevens Takes Advantage

WARWICKSHIRE 131 (E J Smith 18, W G Quaife 18, R E S Wyatt 27, G A Jennings 19; N E Haig 2/28, F J Durston 37, G O B Allen 2/16, G T S Stevens 4/28). MIDDLESEX 41/0 (H W Lee 15*, H L Dales 18*).

Warwickshire’s foul luck with the weather continued; there was no actual rain in the morning, but the light was so bad that play could not start until after lunch.  The Warwickshire batsmen gave a very feeble display, one after another hitting soft catches to the fielders, and even Willie Quaife was a guilty party.  Greville Stevens was the main beneficiary as he cut his way through the middle order.  When seven were out for 75 a total of even 100 looked unlikely, but Bob Wyatt dug in and inspired Len Bates and George Jennings to support him until the score reached 131.

In 50 minutes’ batting before the close the Middlesex openers, Harry Lee and Horace Dales, rubbed salt into the Warwickshire wound with a good partnership of 41 unbroken, and Middlesex are apparently poised to take a big lead tomorrow.

Dewsbury: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire

Macaulay Again in Command

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 163 (W H Denton 22, V W C Jupp 40, F I Walden 26, J S Nicholson 32; G G Macaulay 4/48, R Kilner 3/40, W Rhodes 2/14). YORKSHIRE 114/3 (H Sutcliffe 54, E Oldroyd 39, M Leyland 10*, W Rhodes 2*).

Northamptonshire it could be said did well to reach 66 on a good fast pitch before they lost their second wicket against Yorkshire, after Claud Woolley had been bowled by Abe Waddington for 16.  Vallance Jupp played a dashing innings of 40 in 70 minutes but the middle order crumbled to 125 for eight, with George Macaulay as usual foremost among the wicket-takers.  Fanny Walden and John Nicholson put on 38 for the ninth wicket to bring something of a recovery before Wilfred Rhodes dismissed them both in quick succession.

Yorkshire lost Percy Holmes, caught in the slips off Woolley for 6, but as so often Edgar Oldroyd dug in with Herbert Sutcliffe and their partnership added 89 runs for the second wicket before both were out in quick succession just before the close. The good weather had deteriorated during the Yorkshire innings; there was a break for rain, and then play continued in poor light.  Northamptonshire are without Wilfrid Timms, who has an appointment in Switzerland and is not expected to be available again this season, and Albert Thomas with back strain.

John Ward is an ACS member and a long-serving Zimbabwean cricket statistician. If you would like to contribute to this newsletter, please either respond to the email in which you received it, or leave a comment below.