100 Years Ago: 23 July 1924
by John Ward
Thanks to all who participated in the latest ACS auction. Watch this space for more.
Day 1
Derby: Derbyshire v Gloucestershire
Parker on Bowlers’ Day
GLOUCESTERSHIRE 92 (A E Dipper 11, B H Lyon 10, W R Hammond 40, P T Mills 16*; S W A Cadman 4/15, A Morton 3/42, J A Cresswell 3/29) and 4/0 (A E Dipper 2*, B H Lyon 2*). DERBYSHIRE 87 (G R Jackson 47, S W A Cadman 10, L F Townsend 11; C W L Parker 8/35, P T Mills 2/39).
Heavy overnight rain had badly affected the pitch today and the bowlers had tremendous fun, although each side produced one batsman good enough to overcome the conditions — which were not as bad for batting as most of the batsmen seemed to make them appear. 183 runs were scored and 20 wickets lost. In the light of events to come, Alf Dipper and Bev Lyon made a major stand when they put on 21 for the Gloucestershire first wicket, because seven wickets went down for 31. But Wally Hammond was still there, batting superbly in the difficult conditions, and with help from Charlie Parker and Percy Mills almost managed to treble the score, his innings lasting just under 1½ hours. Derbyshire are resting Bill Bestwick for this match.
Derbyshire also found a batting hero in their captain, Guy Jackson, who opened the innings and whose answer was to attack. There was an intriguing battle between Jackson and Parker, who was too good for all the other batsmen, and Jackson could be said to have won that battle, as it was Mills who eventually dismissed him for 47. Like Hammond, his innings lasted almost 1½ hours. This proved to be more than half his team’s total, as Derbyshire fell five runs behind on the first innings. Parker bowled unchanged throughout the innings, 22 overs, for his eight-wicket haul. Gloucestershire were extremely cautious when they began their second innings this evening, scoring just 4 runs without loss in 12 overs and hoping conditions will be easier tomorrow.
Bournemouth Week: Hampshire v Lancashire
Mead Resists McDonald
HAMPSHIRE 173 (A S Kennedy 31, C P Mead 69, H A W Bowell 33; E A McDonald 5/55, R K Tyldesley 3/28, F B Watson 2/43). LANCASHIRE 86/1 (J W H Makepeace 41*, G E Tyldesley 30*).
Jack Sharp won the toss yet again and today put Hampshire in on a damp pitch that proved to be a little uneven in pace and bounce, and unleashed Ted McDonald on them. McDonald, who had to travel all night after playing in a Lancashire League match yesterday, never worked up his full pace, but his skill was more than enough for most of the Hampshire batsmen. Alec Kennedy and Philip Mead played well to put on 49 for the third wicket, but five wickets were down for 87, all to the Australian, soon after lunch. Alec Bowell then made a good stand with Mead and they added 59 in under an hour. These were the only two good partnerships in the Hampshire innings. Mead was eighth out at 168 before he was caught at the wicket for 69 in just over 2½ hours off Dick Tyldesley, who quickly wrapped up the tail. Cecil Parkin’s bowling was ineffective and he did not take a wicket.
Harry Makepeace and Charlie Hallows batted with great care for 40 minutes to make 21 before Hallows was out for 5. Ernest Tyldesley also dug in deep, but gradually he and Makepeace became more fluent, although they never dominated the bowling, or even tried to — and both survived a chance at the wicket or in the slips. By the close they had given their team a solid start — or been allowed to. It was not attractive batting overall by Lancashire. As a curiosity, Hampshire’s opening batsmen, Alec Kennedy and William Shirley, also opened their bowling together. Can any reader find any other instances where this has happened in first-class cricket?
Leicester: Leicestershire v Kent
Ashdown Holds Kent Together
KENT 222 (W H Ashdown 64, J Seymour 46, G C Collins 40; A Skelding 3/57, A Shipman 3/27, G Geary 3/42). LEICESTERSHIRE 20/0 (E W Dawson 4*, S S Coulson 9*).
Both the pitch, after much rain, and the light were rather indifferent, but Kent bit the bullet and went in first on winning the toss. Wally Hardinge was caught at the wicket off George Geary for 8 in 45 minutes, but there followed the main partnership of the innings, 92 for the second wicket between Bill Ashdown and James Seymour. Ashdown went on to score 64 in 2½ hours, holding the early part of the innings together. After he left only George Collins really prospered, and the last five wickets fell for only 19 runs. Alec Skelding with the second new ball took the last three wickets in one over. But 222 was not too bad a total in the conditions. Leicestershire blocked out the last 50 minutes of the day without losing a wicket.
Weston-super-Mare: Somerset v Middlesex
Allen Shatters Somerset
SOMERSET 82 (A Young 19, J C White 15, J Daniell 12; N E Haig 3/37, G O B Allen 7/32). MIDDLESEX 173/3 (H W Lee 21, H L Dales 68, J W Hearne 51*, J L Guise 8*).
Somerset won the toss for only the second time in a home match this season, but must have regretted batting on a pitch still a little damp from rain, as Gubby Allen went on at first change and bowled superbly. Jack MacBryan missed him, as he was early on bowled by Nigel Haig for 7. The middle order was cut down by Allen, well backed up by Haig, and seven wickets were down for 54 runs before Jack White and John Daniell showed some resistance and added 23. But Allen returned after lunch and popped off the last three wickets.
Harry Lee and Horace Dales showed that the pitch was not badly at fault as they made a sound, confident start to the Middlesex innings. They almost beat the Somerset score of 82 of their own bats, as 77 were on the board when Jim Bridges bowled out Lee, and Middlesex went into the lead without further loss. Dales passed 50 and Jack Hearne also batted very well, showing more aggression than usual, although Patsy Hendren made only 12. Middlesex were well ahead by the close of play.
Hove: Sussex v Warwickshire
Sussex Fall to Pace
SUSSEX 199 (E H Bowley 27, M W Tate 26, A H H Gilligan 80*; H Howell 3/51, R E S Wyatt 4/35). WARWICKSHIRE 127/4 (F R Santall 31, F S G Calthorpe 30*, G W Stephens 23*; M W Tate 2 wkts).
For a while today it appeared as though the Sussex innings was to be another disastrous experience, as they batted first on a rather uneven pitch and their first six wickets went down for 87, mostly to the pace bowling of Harry Howell and Bob Wyatt. Then Harold Gilligan, dropped down the order after a run of low scores as an opener, came to the rescue. He played himself in carefully, which he doesn’t always do, and then attacked the bowling, mainly through powerful drives. He finished unbeaten with 80 in 1¾ hours, while no other batsmen in the team could reach 30.
Warwickshire also were rather uncertain at the start of their innings, with Maurice Tate good but not at his best, and four wickets were down for 79. Before the close, however, Freddie Calthorpe and George Stephens came together in a rallying partnership and were still unbeaten when stumps were drawn.
Bradford: Yorkshire v Glamorgan
Glamorgan Under the Pump
GLAMORGAN 116 (W E Bates 20, J C Clay 20, J Mercer 57*; E Robinson 3/24, G G Macaulay 4/40, R Kilner 3/14). YORKSHIRE 248/3 (P Holmes 118*, H Sutcliffe 55, E Oldroyd 30, M Leyland 24, W Rhodes 9*).
Glamorgan, put in to bat on a rain-affected pitch at Bradford, made a disastrous start. The first three batsmen out all failed to score and the fourth wicket fell for only 8. The slaughter went on until seven were out for 38, of which the Yorkshireman Eddie Bates scored 20, and then Johnnie Clay and Joe Mercer tried hitting out and found it worked far better. They put on 76 for the eighth wicket, and Mercer went on to score 57 not out, hitting Wilfred Rhodes for four sixes. However, the innings was all over in an hour and three-quarters, of which Mercer scored nearly half and was still not out. He was in for 35 minutes and hit 4 sixes and 4 fours.
When Yorkshire batted, Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe almost gave them the lead without losing a wicket. They put on 107 for the first wicket before Sutcliffe was out, and Holmes went on to reach a fine century before the close.
Sunderland: Durham v South Africans (two-day, not first-class)
Carter Takes Wickets
DURHAM 195 (L H Weight 43, H C Ferens 33, T Kinch 26, J Carr 28; C D Dixon 2/43, C P Carter 5/76, H G Deane 3/38). SOUTH AFRICANS 25/1 (J M M Commaille 20*).
Most of the top South African players rested from this match immediately before the Fourth Test match, and the team was captained by Mick Commaille. He put Durham in to bat after rain had prevented a start until two o’clock. The opening pair of Len Weight and Cecil Ferens put on 69 for the first wicket, but they were helped by dropped catches. Eight wickets were down for 149, but then Jack Carr (who batted like a relative of the Nottinghamshire captain, but he isn’t) hit 28 in 23 minutes to boost the total. Claude Carter’s underused spin took four top wickets. There was a good crowd of about 6000 spectators.
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.