100 Years Ago: 19 July 1924

by John Ward

Note to readers: The latest ACS auction of cricket books, with a focus on Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Shropshire, is open to members and non-members alike—an excellent way of supporting our work. Check it out here.

Day 1

Blackheath: Kent v Surrey (Jack Hubble’s Benefit)

Surrey Shine and Slump

SURREY 262 (J B Hobbs 65, A Sandham 110, D R Jardine 17; G C Collins 6/28, W S Cornwallis 3/22). KENT 112/3 (J Seymour 61*, F E Woolley 21, R T Bryan 12*).

After Surrey finally broke their hoodoo on this ground last year, a larger crowd than ever came to watch this match, estimated at about 12,000.  Surrey were happy to win the toss on a ground where the pitch sometimes grows difficult later in the match, and Jack Hobbs and Andy Sandham gave them the perfect start.  Hobbs was at his most brilliant, playing many dazzling strokes in an innings of 65 in 80 minutes, being especially severe on Tich Freeman, before being very well caught by Bill Ashdown at third slip off a cut.  Sandham, less spectacular but very sound, seems to be in the best batting form of his life after a poor start to the season following his serious illness, and he moved smoothly to another century after putting on 102 for the first wicket with Hobbs.  His innings lasted 3¼ hours, and he batted faultlessly until he was unexpectedly bowled for 110 by George Collins with the second new ball.  Every now and then Collins transforms himself from a steady lumbering county trundler into a lethal performer with the ball, and this was what happened now.  He ripped through the Kent middle order, swinging the ball sharply and late as the score went from 225 for three before Sandham was out, to 262 all out, with Collins taking six of those wickets in succession within six overs for 20 runs — four bowled out and two lbw.

Kent found themselves batting sooner than expected, but lost their openers, Wally Hardinge and Ashdown, for 5 and 7 respectively; two down for 18.  However James Seymour came good again with some fine strokes, overshadowing Frank Woolley (21) in their partnership of 54.  He and Kent were going very well at the close of play with 112 for three wickets.

Chesterfield: Derbyshire v Northamptonshire

Derbyshire Recovery

DERBYSHIRE 290 (G R Jackson 48, A Morton 37, J M Hutchinson 51, S T McMillan 24, A H M Jackson 56, H Elliott 25*; W Wells 4/55, V W C Jupp 3/63). NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 20/3 (W H Denton 11*; W Bestwick 2 wkts).

Derbyshire made a bad start, losing both Sam Cadman and Les Townsend without scoring, and then had Arthur Morton dropped first ball, but Guy Jackson, who had opened, led a recovery with an attractive 48.  There were some useful scores from the middle order, with Jim Hutchinson scored a cautious fifty and Anthony Jackson a sparkling one.  The final total of 290 was a good one for Derbyshire, and they finished the day on an even happier note when they took three Northamptonshire wickets for 20 runs before the close to the bowling of Bill Bestwick and Jim Horsley, including Claud Woolley for 6 and Wilfred Timms for 1.

Leyton: Essex v Hampshire

Freeman Superb Again

ESSEX 309 (C A G Russell 17, J R Freeman 117, J W H T Douglas 17, J V Richardson 82; A S Kennedy 4/80, G S Boyes 3/48). HAMPSHIRE 23/0 (A S Kennedy 12*, W R Shirley 9*).

The Essex innings was a tale of two batsmen and not much more.  Johnny Douglas had a difficult decision to make on winning the toss, as one end of the pitch was very soft and could be awkward as it dried until later in the day, but batting first proved to be the right option.  Jack Russell opened with a brisk 17, but John Freeman dug in and played very cautiously before lunch on the untrustworthy pitch, when he scored only 18 in an hour and a quarter.  Afterwards he began to open up more as his partners came and went, although he put on 52 with Johnny Douglas.  James Richardson was his best partner, a man with a powerful drive despite a short backlift.  They added 111 together for the sixth wicket.  After Freeman was out for his second successive century after batting for over 3½ hours, the innings did not last much longer, with Richardson the last man out after batting for almost two hours.

Alec Kennedy had been the best of the Hampshire bowlers, and now he went in, apparently from preference as it gives him more rest before bowling again, to open the Hampshire innings.  He and William Shirley survived until the close, although Shirley was dropped at the wicket off Douglas before he had scored.

Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan

Gloucestershire Pace Triumphant!

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 224 (A E Dipper 48, H Smith 44, D C Robinson 38, M A Green 25, E G Dennett 22*; J Mercer 5/44, H Spencer 2/55, F P Ryan 2/67) and 52/0 (A E Dipper 32*, B H Lyon 20*). GLAMORGAN 54 (W E Bates 14; W R Hammond 4/28, T W J Goddard 6/23).

On the whole Gloucestershire did not bat very well when they went in first against Glamorgan.  The best came early on, when Alf Dipper, in fine form, shared a second-wicket partnership of 99 with Harry Smith, who was solid but not very attractive.  The middle order failed, apart from the aggressive Colonel Douglas Robinson and Michael Green, who added 45 for the sixth wicket.  Joe Mercer bowled particularly well.

Glamorgan were quite shattered and bowled out for 54 when they replied, unfortunately not an unusual occurrence, but the remarkable fact was that this was done, not by the usual Gloucestershire attack of Charlie Parker and Percy Mills — neither bowled a ball — but by the pace of Tom Goddard and Wally Hammond.  As a rule, Gloucestershire just do not do pace bowling!  Only Eddie Bates with 14 faced them with confidence and most of the other top batsmen simply wilted.  Johnnie Clay fought hard but was left unbeaten with 9.  Goddard’s six wickets were his best in first-class cricket and he has made a fine improvement as a bowler; three times he sent stumps flying out of the ground.  Smith as wicket-keeper took four good catches.  But when was the last time that Parker in particular did not bowl a single delivery in a full innings by Gloucestershire’s opponents?

Gloucestershire led unexpectedly by 170 runs on the first innings and could have enforced the follow-on.  But the pitch was sound — it might not be if Gloucestershire had to play a fourth innings on it — and the fast bowlers needed a rest, so Robinson decided to bat again.  By the close they had extended their lead by another 52 in three-quarters of an hour, with the fluent Dipper outscoring the usually more aggressive Bev Lyon in their unbroken opening partnership.

Manchester: Lancashire v Worcestershire

Parkin and Dick Tyldesley Dominate Worcestershire

WORCESTERSHIRE 165 (M K Foster 16, C V Tarbox 60, C F Root 31; C H Parkin 4/70, R K Tyldesley 5/58). LANCASHIRE 153/5 (C Hallows 25, F B Watson 62*, J L Hopwood 22*; C F Root 3 wkts, C R Preece 2 wkts).

This match was transferred from Liverpool to Old Trafford.  Lancashire were captained by Leonard Green in the absence of Jack Sharp, but they still won the toss.  Worcestershire, who are without Dick Pearson (water on the knee), made a poor start, while Cecil Parkin and Dick Tyldesley did most of the bowling and took all the wickets except for a run-out.  Maurice Foster promoted himself to open the batting with Charles Tarbox in Pearson’s place, but scored only a brisk 16, which was more than the next four men in the order made among them.  At last Fred Root came in at 62 for five and started to lay about him, and this stirred the dogged Tarbox into more positive action as they added 62 together.  Tarbox was eventually out at 150.  Lancashire got Worcestershire out for 165 despite the fact that neither Parkin nor Tyldesley was as accurate and threatening as usual with the ball, which no doubt contributed to the recovery.

Lancashire also did not start too well, with Frank Watson alone of the top batsmen showing real form.  Leonard Green and Charlie Hallows did put on 38 for the first wicket, but five wickets were down for 95, mainly to the fine bowling of Root.  Len Hopwood provided a more stable partner for Watson in an impressive partnership by two promising young players, and by the close Lancashire were close to taking a lead on the first innings.

Lord’s: Middlesex v South Africans

Middlesex Score, then Collapse to Blanckenberg

MIDDLESEX 328 (H W Lee 47, H L Dales 51, J W Hearne 85, G T S Stevens 81; E P Nupen 2/57, S J Pegler 3/110, J M Blanckenberg 5/79). SOUTH AFRICANS to bat.

Playing the county championship leaders, the South Africans unfortunately seemed to be intent on fighting for a draw from the start and the top Middlesex batsmen seemed to accept this rather passively.  The tourists picked their full Test team and for most of the day their bowlers resorted to leg-theory bowling, on a line outside the leg stump with a packed leg-side field.  It had little direct success in taking wickets, but it did make run-scoring difficult even on a good, fast pitch.  The Middlesex openers, Harry Lee and Horace Dales, batted well to make 95 for the first wicket, with Lee showing particular skill in working the balls through the leg-side field for runs.  Both batsmen did have an early escape, Lee being almost bowled by Buster Nupen and Dales dropped off a difficult slip chance.

After they left Patsy Hendren made a brief and brisk 17, but then Jack Hearne and Greville Stevens settled into a patient partnership of 167 for the fourth wicket, with Hearne in particular content to wait for balls he could score off without risk.  Stevens, who has little backlift, still managed to hit powerfully at times until he was brilliantly caught and bowled by a diving Jimmy Blanckenberg at 286 for four.  Hearne finally missed a straight ball from Sid Pegler to be lbw, and the later batsmen showed no patience against the leg-theory, hitting out indiscriminately and getting out in quick succession, perhaps under instructions to attack.  The last six wickets fell for 18 runs, but Middlesex had a good total on the board.  The South Africans were handicapped when soon after lunch Buster Nupen had to leave the field with a badly strained back, leaving them a bowler short.

Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire

Macaulay Restricts Notts

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 216 (G Gunn 28, W W Whysall 41, J R Gunn 26, A W Carr 20, W Walker 23, F Barratt 25*, F C L Matthews 19; G G Macaulay 6/72, R Kilner 2/70). YORKSHIRE 86/3 (P Holmes 56*, W Rhodes 3*; T L Richmond 2 wkts).

Nottinghamshire made a good start to their innings against Yorkshire today, with a score of 120 for two at lunch.  George Gunn and Dodger Whysall had put on 62 for the first wicket, and John Gunn, on his 48th birthday, and Arthur Carr were adding well to this.  But then George Macaulay made the afternoon session all his own with some brilliant bowling that broke the back of the Nottinghamshire innings.  Seven wickets were down for 160 as he ran through the middle order, but the tail wagged a bit, with Fred Barratt restraining himself a bit to play a valuable innings; only his last-wicket partnership of 24 with Frank Matthews took the score past 100.  Six batsmen in the innings reached 20, but only Whysall made it past 30.

In an hour and a half the Yorkshire batsmen struggled — except for Percy Holmes.  He lost three partners for single figures, and Wilfred Rhodes was dropped before scoring, but this did not affect him at all as he played his strokes freely and confidently, reaching his unbeaten fifty before the close.  All the signs (except the weather forecast) indicate a tight struggle to come between the teams.

Dundee: Scotland v Ireland

Jackson Stars for Ireland

IRELAND 125/8 (F W Jackson 71, G N B Kelly 12*, D E D Kennedy 0*; C S Scobie 2 wkts, G L D Hole 5 wkts). SCOTLAND to bat.

The weakened Ireland team struggled against Scotland in rainy weather, although the Scots were also handicapped by a wet ball for most of the day.  The Irish innings would have been a disaster but for Findlay Jackson at No 3, who scored 71 in just under two hours out of 99 scored while he was at the wicket.  On the wet field he did not find it easy to score, or he might have reached the century he deserved.  He was out in the most unfortunate way, correctly backing up when his partner, Gus Kelly, straight-drove down the pitch, for the ball fortuitously to brush the bowler’s hand before hitting the stumps that end.  The pair had put on 29, the best stand of the day.  Only 2½ hours’ cricket was possible.

Weston-super-Mare: Somerset v Sussex

Sussex Crash

SUSSEX 58 (E H Bowley 12, J H Parks 13*; H S R Critchley-Salmonson 5/23, J C White 5/15). SOMERSET 321/7 (J C W MacBryan 118, A Young 45, G E Hunt 49, P R Johnson 38, J C White 15*, J Daniell 3*; H E Roberts 3/48, E H Bowley 2/45).

Arthur Gilligan, still struggling after his injury, is unable to play on doctor’s orders; Maurice Tate returned to the Sussex team today, but is clearly a tired man, with even his great body suffering from overwork this season.  The result was a continuation of Sussex’s championship woes.  They decided to bat first on a damp pitch and soon lost their openers, stand-in captain Harold Gilligan and Ted Bowley, together with Tich Cornford, to some fine bowling by Humphrey Critchley-Salmonson, the former Winchester schoolboy playing his first season for Somerset since 1912.  Jim Bridges for once was ineffective, but when he was replaced by Jack White the Sussex middle order quite broke down.  Had they played themselves in and kept their wickets intact until the conditions improved they might have saved their team, but they generally tried to attack too soon and paid the penalty.  The Somerset fielders took several brilliant catches.

Sussex were all out before lunch, and after the interval the pitch dried and rolled out well, adding to Somerset’s advantage.  Jack MacBryan played a brilliant innings, playing his strokes powerfully while Archie Young kept his end up, and reached his century in only an hour and a half.  The pair eventually put on 164 before they were out in quick succession, but George Hunt and Randall Johnson then made a good stand of 87.  Tate took as much punishment as anybody else, and went without a wicket.  By the close Somerset had built an imposing lead of 263 runs with three wickets still in hand.

Birmingham: Warwickshire v Leicestershire

Skelding Fights Back for Leicestershire

LEICESTERSHIRE 187 (S S Coulson 19, W E Astill 61, T E Sidwell 19, A W Shipman 29*; H Howell 3/40, Partridge 2/61, W G Quaife 2/12). WARWICKSHIRE 96/6 (F R Santall 24, W G Quaife 19, G W Stephens 8*; A Skelding 5 wkts).

There was a good pitch at Edgbaston today, a fact that apparently escaped the notice of both teams’ batsmen.  As so often, Ewart Astill held the early Leicestershire batting together against Warwickshire, showing up his colleagues with a fine attacking innings of 61 in an hour and a quarter.  Nobody else reached 20 until Alan Shipman came in at No 8 and galvanized the tail.  Eight wickets were down for 132, but Frank Bale (14) and Alec Skelding (16) both played useful innings, so the Leicestershire score was not quite as poor as had looked likely.  Freddie Calthorpe, the Warwickshire captain, handled his bowlers very astutely.

Warwickshire in turn struggled with the bat, and it was Skelding who did the most damage with some fine fast bowling.  The only batsman to reach 20 was Reg Santall, and even he made only 24, but he is the only batsman so far to avoid dismissal by Skelding, who in the last half-hour of the day took three wickets for 8 runs after the score had reached 87 for three.

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.