Gilligan versus doctor's orders
100 Years Ago: 23-29 May 1925
Arthur Gilligan has been put under doctor’s orders not to play cricket again for a month, and not to bowl again this season, although he intends to play against Middlesex to support Jack Hearne’s benefit match at Lord’s starting on Saturday. The report states that he has been ordered by his doctor to take an immediate and complete rest.
The freshman Errol Holmes, of Malvern and Trinity, has been awarded his blue for Oxford University.
A memorial for Alfred Shaw has been erected by the Nottinghamshire committee in the Gedling churchyard, and will be unveiled by the present captain, Arthur Carr, on Sunday afternoon. It is expected that the Nottinghamshire and visiting Surrey players will be present for the ceremony.
In the second eleven match between Nottinghamshire Seconds and Staffordshire at Trent Bridge, the county’s reserve wicket-keeper Ben Lilley scored 200 not out against a bowling attack that included Sidney Barnes.
Day 1
Derby: Derbyshire v Somerset
Rain Interferes
Play could only start after lunch due to rain. Bill Bestwick is playing his first match of the season, now at the age of 50, and he soon made his presence felt. He bowled very well on a pitch that was fairly hard and dry after being covered, and took two wickets in quick succession, and then held a fine catch at midwicket to dismiss Algy Bligh. Jack White and Randall Johnson were making a steady recovery before a big thunderstorm broke just after four o’clock and ended play for the day, only about two hours’ play having been possible.
Leyton: Essex v Surrey
Hobbs Again
Jack Hobbs continues his brilliant form, scoring his fourth hundred in as many matches and his 117th in all. He and Andy Sandham recorded another century partnership together, and they made this one into 216 before Hobbs was first out again, having batted for 2¾ hours, with Sandham soon following. This is actually Hobbs’s one-hundredth century partnership in all first-class cricket. He made 40 of them with Tom Hayward, this is his 21st with Sandham, he has made 13 with Wilfred Rhodes, 7 with Herbert Sutcliffe, 6 with Donald Knight and 5 with Jack Russell.
After their dismissal the innings then stuttered a little, four wickets being down for 256 runs, but Alan Peach came in and played a brilliant attacking innings, reaching his 50 in only 22 minutes. These innings were all the more admirable, as George Louden is playing in this match, and he bowled very well most of the time, but his three wickets cost 134 runs, including five fours in an over by Peach as he was tiring. He bowled 36 overs during the day, not a bad effort for a 39-year-old fast bowler. The Essex fielding was patchy, but Joe Hipkin took two fine catches and Jack O’Connor did much brilliant work at cover. Surrey are without Douglas Jardine for this match, as he chose instead to play in the IPL the Harlequins match against Oxford University — always a man for getting his priorities right!
Portsmouth: Hampshire v Lancashire
Kennedy and Parkin Enjoy a Damaged Pitch
Lancashire last played Hampshire on this United Services ground at Portsmouth in 1901, and the only survivor of that match is Jack Sharp, now captain of Lancashire. He was perhaps not happy to be playing there again. The pitch at Portsmouth had not been covered and had been badly damaged by heavy rain, which left spots all over the turf. Sharp was no doubt very reluctant to bat first on it, but at the end of the day was no doubt glad they did. They are without Ernest Tyldesley, who has been taken ill. Only Harry Makepeace all day showed the ability to cope with the pitch, as 21 wickets went down for only 224 runs. Lancashire lost Charlie Hallows and Frank Watson to consecutive deliveries from Alec Kennedy without a run on the board, but Len Hopwood fought hard and admirably in a partnership of 82; no other partnership during the day even reached 20. Kennedy, making the ball turn and lift very awkwardly, and Jack Newman bowled superbly, and once Makepeace was out at 90 for four they ran through the rest of the Lancashire batting, except for a few bold hits from Cecil Parkin at No 11.
Parkin then had the pleasure of bowling on this pitch, and with Ted McDonald causing trouble with his pace from the pitch at the other end the pair tumbled Hampshire out for 62 in just over an hour. It should have been a slow pitch, but nobody told McDonald that, and many thought that he reached his 1921 pace today for the first time this season and had the ball cutting through at great pace. The most successful batsmen were those who took every opportunity to hit out, and Ronnie Aird and Lionel Tennyson both hit Parkin for a six and a four. Lancashire then began their second innings, and Hallows completed a bad day with scores of 0 and 4. Makepeace again held firm, though, and by the close Lancashire had a lead of 100 with nine wickets in hand. If the pitch dries and improves over the weekend, though, that may change the picture.
Lord’s: Middlesex v Warwickshire
Calthorpe Defies Middlesex
There was much rain overnight, but the new regulation that allows pitch covering before the start of matches meant that the start was not long delayed. Warwickshire lost the toss for the fifth successive match, but Middlesex did not find run-scoring too easy. The outfield was heavy, the Warwickshire bowling was good, the heavy atmosphere helped swing bowlers like Freddie Calthorpe and the fielding was good and keen. Six of their batsmen reached 20, but the highest individual score was only 40, by Patsy Hendren, who flicked at an off-side ball from Bob Wyatt and was out to the first of two very good slip catches by Arthur Croom. Six wickets were down for 122 before Frank Mann and Arthur Tanner added 63 together in aggressive style. Both were out to more good catches, with Calthorpe adding to his all-round performance today by running back to dismiss Mann. Only a rally by the last pair of Gerald Livock, standing in for Joe Murrell as wicket-keeper, and Jack Durston took the total beyond 30.
Warwickshire started their innings disastrously against the fine bowling of Nigel Haig and Jack Durston. The first five batsmen feebly scored only 16 cautious runs among them, as four were out for 18 on the board, and the fifth at 34. Then Calthorpe began a magnificent counterattack with determined and superbly executed hitting. His shot selection was excellent as he watched the ball very closely and hit three fours in an over off Haig. As in bowling, so now in batting Bob Wyatt supported him very well, and the pair saw out the day, having added 44 runs so far through their courageous batting.
Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire
No Play — Rain
The pitch had been covered, but the rain drained off the covers on to the surrounding area, leaving the ground there sodden. It had almost dried when at 4.40 another thunderstorm arrived and ended all hope of play today.
Oxford: Oxford University v Harlequins
Raikes Strikes Form
The Harlequins team consists of past and present first-class Oxford University players, and this one includes such well-known names as Henry Leveson Gower, the captain, Douglas Jardine, Clarence Bruce, Reg Bettington and Raymond Robertson-Glasgow — nine old blues altogether. They struggled, though, against some fine University bowling on an inconsistent pitch that helped the bowlers considerably. Tom Raikes, after illness and fitness issues, returned to the Oxford team and produced some superb bowling, playing the major part in the decline of the Harlequins innings from 54 for two to 93 for nine. Then Robertson-Glasgow produced the highest score of the innings, and followed it up with the best bowling. Oxford did reach 77 before the second wicket fell, but then Robertson-Glasgow and Bettington broke through the middle order and the eighth wicket fell at 133. John Guise certainly produced the best batting of the day in his confident, fluent innings of 48. At the end of the day Guise awarded James Richardson his blue.
Worcester: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire
Root and Rogers Rock Gloucestershire
The pitch was soft to start with and a downpour at lunch time washed out the afternoon session. Before then Gloucestershire had scored 75 for three, with Wally Hammond in and showing good form. When play restarted, the sun was shining warmly and the pitch began to turn difficult. Hammond was out for 36, and afterwards only Captain Michael Green, the last man out, was able to stay for long. The left-arm medium-pacer Harry Rogers did most of the damage; turning sharply from the pitch, he dismissed the opening pair and took six wickets altogether, with Fred Root being somewhat outshone for once.
Worcestershire had to bat for half an hour before the close, but their opening pair of Maurice Jewell and Dick Pearson survived. Worcestershire are introducing a new player to the team in Rev Reginald Moss, a former Lancashire and Oxford University player — between 1886 and 1890. He is primarily a medium-pace bowler, but so far he has had nothing to do but take a catch, so we cannot yet make an assessment of his future prospects at the age of 57.
Leeds: Yorkshire v Kent
No Play — Rain
Morning rain was so heavy that by lunch time there were large pools of water on the pitch and the outfield. It only took a brief inspection for it to be seen that no play would be possible today. Harry Taylor has been included in the Yorkshire team in place of George Macaulay, who has been ordered to rest his strained shoulder for a week.
Day 2
Derby: Derbyshire v Somerset
Earle a Big Hit
Despite much rain over the weekend, play started on time this morning. Bill Bestwick took two wickets, including that of Randall Johnson, with successive deliveries, both caught by Harry Elliott at the wicket. This brought in the powerfully built Guy Earle, who made a big hit with the crowd. In fact, he made numerous big hits, starting with a leg-side six out of the ground off Bestwick, and then plundered the bowling for 61 in 40 minutes; his 50 actually came in 20 minutes, mostly by powerful driving. But then three wickets fell quickly, and it needed the last three batsmen to make some useful runs for the last two wickets to take the score from 163 to 211 all out.
Play was shortened by more rain in the afternoon. Derbyshire began their first-innings and had lost their openers to Jack White by the close after 65 minutes.
Leyton: Essex v Surrey
Freeman Fights Back for Essex
Essex confirmed the improvement they are making this season by batting all day against Surrey, and are now in a position where they are likely to save the match, barring major disaster. Surrey declared at their overnight total, and Essex responded by playing a sound, patient batting game throughout the day. John Freeman was at the centre of the resistance, and he was helped in an opening partnership of 130 runs in just under two hours by his new partner Jimmy Cutmore. Jack O’Connor also played a useful innings and Essex did not lose their second wicket until 203. Then Jack Russell came in to be castled first ball by a beautiful spinning delivery from Alan Peach.
After Freeman left for 125 in about four hours, there was another valuable partnership of 66 for the fifth wicket between Percy Perrin, who still shows all his old batting skill, and Johnny Douglas, and they saved the follow-on. Essex are likely to fall behind on the first innings, but if they are to lose this match outright now they will have to do it themselves.
Portsmouth: Hampshire v Lancashire
Superb Makepeace Tames Pitch Again
There was so much rain in Portsmouth that it was not until almost five o’clock that play was possible, and the pitch was still in bad condition for batting. Play lasted 1¾ hours. Harry Makepeace again was a class above every other batsman, showing superb defence and yet taking only just over two hours to score 74, a masterly innings with superb footwork on a bad pitch, worth more than half his team’s total by the close. Next to him was John Barnes, who also adopted aggressive methods, but with nine wickets down at the close no other batsman has yet succeeded in reaching double figures. Towards the end Jack Sharp instructed his team to hit out regardless of consequences, and this they tried to do. Alec Kennedy, Jack Newman and Stuart Boyes all bowled very well in their helpful conditions, but — Jupiter Pluvius permitting — Hampshire look doomed to defeat tomorrow as Lancashire lead by 212 runs with one wicket left, and the pitch is too far gone to show much, if any, improvement.
Lord’s: Middlesex v Warwickshire
Middlesex Falter
It was another day of erratic batting at Lord’s, for which the pitch must be held partly responsible. After more rain on Sunday, most of the time it is quite lifeless, but every now and then a ball will shoot through low or rear up unexpectedly from a few bad spots on it. Freddie Calthorpe continued batting this morning as he left off last night, brilliant and confident, and thoroughly deserved a century, only to be bowled out on 84 by an almost unplayable ball from Jack Hearne that shot through fast and low. His stand with Bob Wyatt had added an invaluable 98 runs. Wyatt, more solid, scored 52 in 2½ hours, but was dropped twice. Arthur Croom batted well after a very shaky start, a very correct batsman who should have a good future, but more excellent bowling by Nigel Haig and Jack Durston with the second new ball finished off the innings with Warwickshire 17 runs in arrears. Durston worked up a very good pace on the slow pitch and fully deserved his six wickets.
When Middlesex went in again, Harry Howell soon seized the advantage for Warwickshire by taking three early wickets, while Calthorpe took another to have Middlesex reeling at 36 for four wickets. Then Graham Doggart, playing in his first match for Middlesex, with Frank Mann steadied the ship before Mann was curiously out for 15, a ball from Wyatt hitting his pad and bouncing off the bat for the bowler to reach a difficult catch. Willie Quaife took two catches in an over, an easy one as he deceived Doggart and then a remarkable thunderbolt from Arthur Tanner to make the score 103 for seven. Nigel Haig and Gerald Livock then put on the best stand of the innings, 55 for the eighth wicket, before Middlesex were dismissed just by the close. Warwickshire, who bowled steadily and fielded well, put up a fine performance in a determined uphill fight and have been set 194 to win.
Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire
Shipman Troubles Notts
After Saturday’s washout, play started on time today on a dry pitch which had been covered, but several showers interrupted play for brief periods and the Nottinghamshire batting was just as patchy. The first three batsmen out scored only 18 runs among them, but George Gunn batted confidently and found a worthy partner when Wilf Payton came in. After he was out, Payton and Willis Walker put on 83 for the sixth wicket, but once they were separated the trail packed in quickly. The pace bowler Alan Shipman was the best of the Leicestershire bowlers, causing a great deal of trouble with excellent bowling that brought him six wickets.
Leicestershire went in for the final hour and had an even more disastrous time, their first three batsmen out managing just 7 runs among them, and the total was 15 for three. Then Ewart Astill joined Gus Fowke and the pair by grim defence saw their team through to the close without further loss.
Oxford: Oxford University v Harlequins
Raikes Bowls Oxford to Victory
Heavy rain in the morning prevented play at the Parks until three o’clock, but the University still managed to win the match before the close, the pitch again giving much help to the bowlers. The University were soon bowled out with a first-innings lead of 45, with Raymond Robertson-Glasgow and Reg Bettington sharing the wickets. The Harlequins reached 59 with only two wickets down in their second innings, Douglas Jardine playing a very careful innings, but after he was third out at 59 only Lionel Hedges was able to contribute much, and Tom Raikes swept through the rest of the batting, well supported by John Greenstock. Raikes finished with match figures of ten wickets for 75 runs, and Oxford will rejoice at his rehabilitation. The University did not find it easy scoring the 49 needed for victory, but Errol Holmes completed the job as the only man to reach double figures.
Worcester: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire
Worcestershire Lead and Collapse to Parker
The top Worcestershire batsmen this morning set about building what should have been a big lead for their team, despite serious rain interruptions in the earlier part of the day that cost three hours of play. Dick Pearson scored a dashing 53 out of 78 for the first wicket, playing some excellent pulls, while Maurice Foster played attractively, though too impatiently, and Major Maurice Jewell settled in for 2½ hours. Worcestershire took the lead with only three wickets down, but then a mixture of feeble batting and fine bowling by Charlie Parker on a helpful pitch turned the innings around. The last seven wickets went down for only 25 runs, none of the last eight men reaching double figures, and Worcestershire let Gloucestershire back into the game. Gloucestershire were able to start their second innings unexpected only 31 runs behind, and Alf Dipper and the promoted Michael Green saw out the last half-hour of the day, which ended on almost even terms. Gloucestershire finished just 5 runs behind with all their second-innings wickets intact.
Leeds: Yorkshire v Kent
50 Minutes’ Play, No Wicket Down
Conditions were still very wet at Headingley and it seemed certain that the original pitch was so sodden that it could not be playable today. So a second pitch was prepared and it was finally decided that play could start at half-past two. Even then conditions were quite unsatisfactory for first-class cricket, and a great deal of sawdust was required so both batsmen and bowlers could get a firm foothold. In the uncertain conditions winning the toss and batting was an advantage, which was won by Arthur Lupton for the fifth time in six matches. Percy Holmes, with Herbert Sutcliffe his partner as usual, made a lively start, hitting some fine leg-side fours, while Sutcliffe was more sedate. But after only 50 minutes Jupiter Pluvius returned, and in the prevailing conditions it was immediately clear than no more cricket would be possible today. There were about 7000 spectators for 50 minutes’ cricket.
Day 3
Derby: Derbyshire v Somerset
Bestwick in Form but No Good Finish
An outright result in this match and a first victory of the season to one of the teams always looked difficult to achieve with so much time lost, but the bowlers on a helpful pitch did their best to bring one about. Derbyshire collapsed before lunch, although Les Townsend played well for 1¾ hours and was ninth out as his team-mates collapsed dismally, with only Jim Hutchinson (7 out of 31 in 55 minutes) giving him any support at all.
A poor total of 97 gave Somerset a first-innings lead of 119, but their batsmen played even more dismally than Derbyshire’s had done. Six wickets went down for 19 before the captain, John Daniell, became the only man to reach double figures with 15. Bill Bestwick bowled well throughout the innings, which lasted 65 minutes, and took five wickets. Their collapse gave Derbyshire a chance of victory if they could score 163 to win in 2½ hours. Garnet Lee gave them a chance early on, but after he went Joseph Bowden blocked up one end with 36 not out in that time, and Derbyshire did not think a possibility of a first victory since 1923 was worth taking any risks to obtain against good Somerset bowling.
Leyton: Essex v Surrey
Jeacocke Century in Tame Draw
As was almost inevitable, this game petered out in a tame draw. Essex began the day with three wickets in hand and 99 to make to take a first-innings lead, not very likely, and in 45 minutes they scored only 23 runs before they were all out. The start was delayed by 15 minutes due to the arrival of most of the Surrey team which had apparently been delayed in the traffic from London. The story of what proved to be a controversial incident can be read here. The root of the problem appears to have been a long-standing feud between the two captains, Percy Fender and Johnny Douglas, and the press were requested to cover up the incident.
Surrey were 75 ahead and with little hope of an outright victory. Jack Hobbs has damaged his heel, so Alfred Jeacocke opened their second innings with Andy Sandham. After a quiet start they took advantage of the bowling and put on 181 together before Sandham went for his second near-century of the match. Surrey therefore had two opening partnerships worth 216 and 181 in the match. Jeacocke drove powerfully, but was fortunate in being missed in the field twice before he reached his century. Fender decided to rest his bowlers and give the rest of his batsmen practice — none of them taking much advantage of it — and also perhaps further to annoy his opposing captain, so he didn’t declare, which rather annoyed some in the crowd as well. Surrey took the points for their first-innings lead, but lost their 100 per cent record in the Championship table.
Portsmouth: Hampshire v Lancashire
Lancashire Triumph
With a lead of 212 runs, Jack Sharp was confident that on this pitch the target was unassailable and declared at his overnight score with nine wickets down. Besides, had Lancashire continued their innings Hampshire would have been entitled to an extra rolling of the pitch, probably to their benefit, when they went in again. Hampshire did make an impressive start to their innings, though, and must have caused Lancashire some worry for a while. George Brown and the promoted Alec Kennedy put on 44 together for the first wicket by positive play. But after Kennedy was out at 67 for two, Hampshire went on a gradual slide, with all four Lancashire bowlers used benefiting. Philip Mead of course was the danger man, and McDonald unleashed his full pace at him, which the batsman did not relish, and was caught in the slips for 14. Three wickets went down at 94 and Hampshire were all out for 127. One statistic is very significant: Lancashire won by 85 runs, and Harry Makepeace scored 131 runs in the match for them.
Lord’s: Middlesex v Warwickshire
Haig and Hearne Bowl Middlesex to Victory
Middlesex played fine cricket to pull this match out of the fire today when Warwickshire had been set 194 to win. Much depended on the pitch, and after it had been rolled this morning it seemed to be much improved, as the bad spots that had caused the batsmen trouble yesterday had been ironed out. Warwickshire made a bad start, though, when Jack Parsons ran himself out without scoring and Reg Santall drove a catch to mid-off for 8. Len Bates survived a difficult high chance at slip to Patsy Hendren and settled in to a dogged partnership with Willie Quaife. They took the score to 92 after lunch with only two wickets down, taking no risks. Nigel Haig was the best bowler, very accurate and persistent, but Jack Hearne could not find his length.
At 92 Haig finally had Quaife out lbw, and then came some brilliant catches by the fielders, the first of which saw Bates caught by Graham Doggart at second slip for 65. This began a fatal middle-order collapse, as Frank Mann wisely brought on Hearne again. Hearne now found his length and Mann himself took two brilliant catches to remove Freddie Calthorpe for 0 and Tiger Smith for 9, Bates having gone for 65. When Wyatt miscued a hit from a poor ball the score was 122 for seven and Warwickshire were sunk. Arthur Croom played slowly but soundly for 10 not out, while the last man Harry Howell showed surprisingly correct cricket to score 15, but Haig came back and ended the innings. Gerald Livock took a good catch at the wicket to remove Howell, and over all made a very impressive début for Middlesex as stand-in for Joe Murrell, both with bat and gloves.
Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire
Richmond’s Harvest
Leicestershire put up such an appalling batting display on a pitch that was not particularly difficult at Trent Bridge today that it took Nottinghamshire less than three hours to take 17 wickets and win the match by an innings. Apart from occasional deliveries that rose unexpectedly, the pitch could not be blamed; it was simply a case of dreadfully feeble batting. In the first innings the captain, Gus Fowke, put up the best fight, staying over an hour and a half to grind out 21 runs, which proved to be his team’s best score of the match.
Leicestershire resumed their first innings at 35 for three and were bowled out in an hour for 78. As rain had reduced the match to two days, the follow-on rule was 100 or more runs behind, so the visitors had to go in again and did even worse, being bowled out in less than two hours. In the innings the pace of Frank Matthews did most of the damage, although Len Richmond took three cheap wickets from the tail in three overs. In the second innings Richmond ran rampant, his six wickets costing only 10 runs, as he bowled with great accuracy and variety of spin; his figures for the day were nine wickets for only 14 runs. In both innings the most resistance came from the seventh-wicket pair of Alan Shipman and a debutant, pace bowler Haydon Smith, who added 19 and 22 in their partnerships respectively.
Worcester: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire
Parker Bowls Gloucestershire to Victory
This match continued to an exciting finish in the extra half-hour of play. Gloucestershire, after being 31 runs in arrears on the first innings, benefited from a solid opening partnership of 70 between Alf Dipper and Michael Green, but the middle order struggled. Still, the score reached 175 with only five wickets down, until Fred Root came back with a superb spell of bowling and the last five wickets tumbled for only four runs. The balance of the match had swung again, and Worcestershire needed 149 to win.
As in the first innings, though, the Worcestershire batsmen went at the bowling too recklessly and lost wickets to ill-judged strokes. It seems that Maurice Foster has decided on a policy of Bazball aggression, but it was followed to the point of recklessness and proved fatal. The two main batsmen, Dick Pearson and Foster himself, both fell to wild hits and four wickets were down for 61. At this point common sense seemed to reassert itself, and Luke Greenwood and Root batsmen more sensibly and added 41 for the fifth wicket. Charlie Parker was bowling superbly, though, and Wally Hammond backed him up well, as between them they did almost all the bowling. When Greenwood went at 113 the tail collapsed, with only Harry Rogers showing any resistance until he was left stranded with 11 not out, and Gloucestershire won their first victory of the season in an exciting finish. Parker finished the match with 13 wickets for 123 runs.
For Worcestershire, Rev Reginald Moss at the age of 57 made only two runs in the match, and was given only three overs to bowl, despite taking the wicket of Green today. It remains to be seen whether Worcestershire consider him a prospect for the future, if he is available regularly due to his job. Apart from that, Foster will have to consider that his batting policy for his team cost them the match.
Leeds: Yorkshire v Kent
No Play — Match Abandoned
Play was never likely at Headingley today after so much rain yesterday, which left the pitch so muddy as to leave no reasonable hope. The teams and umpires did wait around until one o’clock, when an abandonment was unanimously agreed. This ‘no result’ match will not count in the championship table, so both teams keep their 100 per cent record at the top.
County Championship Leaders: Kent and Yorkshire 100.00, Surrey 92.00, Lancashire 90.00, Nottinghamshire 80.00, Middlesex 75.00, Northamptonshire 66.66, Essex 64.00.
Surrey dropped two points by their failure to beat Essex in this latest round, but Yorkshire and Kent both kept their 100 per cent records thanks to the domination of Jupiter Pluvius at Headingley. Yorkshire will keep theirs another round at least, as they play Cambridge University, while Kent will expect to be able to beat Northamptonshire. There are no Big Six matches this round, but remember the coming weekend is the Bank Holiday weekend.
Our crystal ball tells us that 100 years from now, the County Championship will be half over by this time of the season! So it has a sense of humour after all, quite ridiculous ...
WEATHER FORECAST: Quite a lot of rain around.
Day 1
Cambridge: Cambridge University v Yorkshire
Duleep and Robinson
To get to Cambridge, Yorkshire had to take an early-morning train from Leeds to Peterborough, and then a two-hour journey on a motorbus, arriving at about 12.30, which had been expected. As arranged, the teams took lunch and then started the match; the lost time will be made up on the last two days. Two champion ‘tossers’ were in opposition here, as Cecil Bennett has won all his tosses so far this season, while Major Arthur Lupton has lost only one. Home ground advantage prevailed, though; Bennett kept his record and so Cambridge went in first.
The Cambridge top order made a good confident start against the Yorkshire bowling, the star being K S Duleepsinhji, who scored a superb 53, notable most for his powerful driving and strongest on the leg side, in 70 minutes. The score was 124 for two wickets immediately before he was out, and then the innings began to slide. Emmott Robinson, best known for his skill with the new ball, went on for a second spell with the old one, and wickets began to tumble, three of them falling at 167. Cambridge were all out for 192, and Yorkshire had to bat for what proved to be a disastrous quarter of an hour. Percy Holmes hooked a four and then holed out near the leg boundary, while Edgar Oldroyd unluckily played on without scoring.
Gravesend: Kent v Northamptonshire
No Play — Rain
A steady drizzle set in at about nine o’clock and persisted for most of the day. It took until 4.35 before the captains were able to make a decision to abandon play for the day.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Lancashire
Good Start by Lancashire
There was plenty of night rain at Leicester, but the pitch was covered. However, the covers again caused another problem, as the pitch indeed was kept almost dry, but the water drained on to the surrounds, which were too sodden for play to be possible until four o’clock. The pitch was quite lifeless except that Alan Shipman made it lift unexpectedly, but all the luck was with Lancashire, as Harry Makepeace struggled badly at first, played and missed several times and survived two lbw appeals. Alec Skelding also worked up a great pace despite the pitch. Hallows batted much more confidently after the first hour — between them they scored 34 runs in 22 overs — and he did most of the scoring as the pair put on their first century partnership of the season and were still there at the close, although Hallows was badly dropped on 67.
Lancashire are without their captain, Jack Sharp, who strained his right arm badly playing squash racquets on Monday, so John Barnes is captaining the side. Ernest Tyldesley is also missing, and he has been diagnosed with mild appendicitis. Doctors believe he may be able to get through the season without it developing further, and he hopes to be back for the Roses match. Leicestershire are also seriously handicapped by the continued absence of George Geary due to influenza.
Lord’s: Middlesex v Gloucestershire
No Play — Rain
Rain began early in the morning and went on for most of the day, making play impossible. Middlesex have Greville Stevens and Gubby Allen available for this match, while Harry Smith returns as Gloucestershire’s wicketkeeper-batsman after illness.
The Oval: Surrey v Sussex
No Play — Rain
There was heavy rain during the night, and although the weather began to clear up at about lunch time, Jupiter Pluvius returned, and by half-past two it was decided that play today was impossible. Jack Hobbs is doubtful for Surrey because of his heel injury, but Douglas Jardine returns after his unmissable match for Harlequins. Arthur Gilligan stands down from the Sussex team under doctor’s orders, while his brother Harold takes over as captain, but he insists he will support Jack Hearne by playing in his benefit match starting on Saturday.
Worcester: Worcestershire v Somerset
No Play — Rain
So much rain has fallen at Worcester that even bright sunshine for most of the day could not get it fit and dry enough for any play today.
Day 2
Cambridge: Cambridge University v Yorkshire
Bad Day for Yorkshire
Yorkshire may perhaps be guilty of having taken this ‘friendly’ match too lightly, as the second day’s play ended with Cambridge University in an advantageous position. Yorkshire are without Edgar Oldroyd, who has travelled to Hull after he received news of the sudden death of his mother, and their overnight batsmen Herbert Sutcliffe and Maurice Leyland were both dismissed by Sam Jagger, two good catches at the wicket by Benjamin Sherwell, for 14 and 17, to reduce them to 42 for four. Wilfred Rhodes and Roy Kilner improved the position by adding 84, only for a bad run-out to remove Kilner for 56 after a very attractive innings of only an hour. After that there was little value in the tail and the innings closed 31 behind the Cambridge score.
Yorkshire fought back briefly by removing the Cambridge openers for 3 runs on the board in the second innings, but then K S Duleepsinhji and Cecil Bennett fought back with a very determined partnership. Bennett was unusually aggressive, but Duleep put his attacking instincts away and played a careful game, refusing the temptations offered him by Kilner and Rhodes to hit out. He scored 70 in 2¼ hours; he and Tom Enthoven were both dismissed just before the close, or Cambridge would have been in a very strong position. As it was, they finished the day with a lead of 182 and five wickets still in hand.
Gravesend: Kent v Northamptonshire
Good Day for Woolley
Northamptonshire’s hopes of a better season after a good start received a severe setback at Gravesend today as they appeared to be quite outclassed by Kent. The home side did rather struggle with the bat on a soft pitch against some fine bowling from the left-arm Nobby Clark, with both openers out for 12. Then Frank Woolley took over, after an uncertain start making light of the pitch with a fine 65, although it did take him two hours, not his usual rate of scoring. The excellent bowling of Philip Wright kept him quieter than usual. Six wickets were down for 121, but then came an aggressive partnership of 65 between Horace Taylor and Charlie Wright, while Philip Wright finished off the innings quickly, the last four wickets going down for 7 runs.
The Northamptonshire first innings was a dismal performance. They managed to score 37 runs off 11 overs from the pacemen with only Vallance Jupp (1) out, but when rather belatedly Stanley Cornwallis brought on the spin of Woolley and Tich Freeman Northamptonshire collapsed. Six successive batsmen scored just 3 runs among them, although Fanny Walden held his end up. The ninth wicket fell at 65, but Clark then scored 10 valuable runs to help Walden add another 18 before the innings closed. Woolley’s five wickets cost him only 25 runs, making a good all-round day for him.
Under the new two-day match regulations, Northamptonshire followed on 130 runs behind, and again lost Jupp early, for 8. Hamer Bagnall then again showed good batting form, and thanks to him the second-innings score was a more reasonable 43 for one wicket when play ended.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Lancashire
Hallows and McDonald
There was much very inconsistent batting at Leicester today, with few batsmen able to make runs on a pitch that was not unduly difficult, although scoring was not easy. Charlie Hallows played magnificently to score 158 not out and carry his bat through the Lancashire innings. Harry Makepeace with dogged defence helped him to put on 157 for the first wicket in two hours and 50 minutes, while Peter Eckersley helped in a second-wicket stand of 52, the only other batsman to reach double figures being Ted McDonald. Hallows batted for over five hours altogether, and survived two chances. Otherwise he mastered the bowling and played one of his finest innings. The first-wicket partnership with Makepeace scored more than half the runs and occupied more than half the time of the whole innings. The later batsmen were trying to score runs quickly for a possible declaration, but failed.
When Leicestershire batted they were overwhelmed by the bowling of McDonald, being quite unable to play him at all. The first four wickets fell for 13 before the only resistance came from Haydon Smith, in only his third match for the county. He scored 14 out of an appalling total of only 33 in 70 minutes, one wicket after another falling to feeble strokes. Leicestershire batted one short as Albert Lord was too unwell to bat. Naturally they had to follow on, and at least they put up a better fight this time, although it can be said that Lancashire did not push their advantage home as they should have done. The fast bowler Alan Shipman, promoted to open the innings in this match, showed aptitude for the job with a fine aggressive 50 in an hour and a quarter, with support from Les Berry. But Leicestershire appear to be doomed to an almost certain heavy defeat.
Lord’s: Middlesex v Gloucestershire
Parker and Allen Successful Bowling
The pitch yesterday was covered from the rain and played truly at a comfortable pace for the batsmen today, so that does not account for the fact that scores were generally low. In the Middlesex innings the vital factor was the brilliant Gloucestershire fielding and catching; when the visitors batted they had some superb bowling to face. Middlesex lost their openers to fine catches before their score reached double figures, and Jack Hearne and Patsy Hendren had to knuckle down and rescue the innings. Their stand was ended at 62 by a fine return from Wally Hammond at extra cover to run out Hearne. Hendren batted almost two hours for 52, not one of his best innings, but he, as all the batsmen, could not score easily against the superbly accurate bowling of Charlie Parker. He bowled 42 overs for 42 runs from the nursery end, and took six wickets. The tail collapsed, the last five wickets falling for 7 runs.
When Gloucestershire batted, Nigel Haig bowled superbly, while Jack Durston and Gubby Allen bowled at great pace. Alf Dipper was bowled backing away from a half-volley from Durston, but the one man able to handle the bowling was the wicket-keeper, Harry Smith, who came in at No 3. Hammond was bowled by Allen for 8, and five wickets were down for 36. The only other batsman to reach double figures was Captain Adrian Becher, on leave from India, who made 14 and put on 35 with Smith. The latter was still at the crease at the close, with 48 to his credit, looking better all the time, and the last man George Dennett to come in with him tomorrow; Gloucestershire are still 55 runs behind.
The Oval: Surrey v Sussex
Tate Evens the Balance
A wet outfield delayed the start, and then the sun shone strongly all afternoon and made the pitch sticky after lunch, with the ball popping up quickly and unexpectedly, and causing the dismissal of quite a number of batsmen during the day. Gardening was a favourite activity of all the batsmen today. Percy Fender and Alan Peach were Surrey’s most effective bowlers in these conditions, while Ted Bowley as expected was the only Sussex batsman able to cope with them. Bowley played superbly for an hour and a half and was fourth out at 90. Tate hit out and made the second-highest score of 23, but the inexperienced Jim Parks batted very well for 20 before being last out. Percy Fender took five wickets and two brilliant catches.
Sussex are a side built around one class batsman and one class bowler, with Arthur Gilligan absent — as is Jack Hobbs for Surrey. Alfred Jeacocke opened with Andy Sandham in Hobbs’s absence, and they began fairly comfortably until the effects of the heavy roller wore off and Tate changed to the pavilion end and began to cause huge problems. Moving the ball at pace off the pitch, with lift, he frequently hit the batsmen on the body, especially Jeacocke, and wickets began to fall. Tom Shepherd handled him best in scoring 35 in an hour, but the seventh wicket went down at 112 with Surrey still 39 behind. Percy Fender is still there, though, supported by Bill Hitch in an unaccustomed defensive rôle, and they start tomorrow needing 15 runs for a first-innings lead. On paper Surrey are much the stronger team, but the all-round skill of Tate has completely evened the balance of the game.
Worcester: Worcestershire v Somerset
Jack White’s Day
There was still water standing on the pitch early this morning, but this time the sun did a good drying job and play started only an hour late. Worcestershire no doubt regretted winning the toss and regretted batting first on a pitch that began as merely soft, but by lunch they were doing well enough at 44 for one wicket. After the interval the pitch started to get more difficult and Jack White was in his element. Worcestershire have rather a fear of White, who has a fine bowling record against them over the years. Within an hour Worcestershire had collapsed to 77 all out, with only the opening pair of Dick Pearson and Charles Tarbox reached double figures — and Tarbox played quite a dreadful innings, bring missed in the field four times before George Hunt gave up on his fielders and bowled him out instead.
Somerset also began badly, losing their experimental openers to Fred Root for 7 and four wickets for 43. But this was not going to spoil White’s day, and he found a good partner in Edward Northway. They added 104 for the fifth wicket to take Somerset right ahead before White was out for 70 in 2½ hours. After he left, Guy Earle came in and smashed the ball with tremendous power until the close, when Somerset left the field with high hopes of completing their first victory of the season tomorrow.
Day 3
Cambridge: Cambridge University v Yorkshire
Good Finish Denied
The arrangement for an early finish due to Yorkshire’s need to take a convenient train to Manchester prevented an interesting finish to this match, which ended with Yorkshire needing another 53 runs to win with four effective wickets left, and Wilfred Rhodes still batting. When Cambridge continued their second innings this morning they found Abe Waddington in fine form, bowling against a strong wind but able to make the ball swing dangerously. He took four wickets quickly, and six altogether, with only Richard Lowe able to survive long. The last four wickets fell for only 12 runs, and Yorkshire were set to score 246 for victory in 2¾ hours.
This was not an easy task, but Yorkshire were prepared to make a go of it if things went right for them. Percy Holmes soon went for 8, but Cambridge missed a great opportunity when Herbert Sutcliffe was dropped by Leonard Crawley at fine leg, a straightforward chance, before he had scored. Emmott Robinson came in next in place of Edgar Oldroyd (whose absence meant Yorkshire had only nine wickets to play with), and he with Sutcliffe added 78 for the second wicket, running brilliantly between the wickets. Yorkshire looked poised to make a victory bid when both were out in quick succession. Then came more good batting from Maurice Leyland and Roy Kilner, but again they were both dismissed just when the situation was looking good for Yorkshire. In the end the teams had to settle for an even draw. Rhodes was left batting at the close with an unpredictable tail, and much would have depended on whether Cambridge were able to remove him had the match been able to continue. Overall, though, it was a fine performance by Cambridge, and one rather below standard for Yorkshire.
Gravesend: Kent v Northamptonshire
Claud Woolley Saves Northants
The 1925 Northamptonshire revival continues after all! Yesterday was a dismal day for them with the bat, after a good show with the ball, with such a collapse that they had to follow on and looked doomed for a two-day defeat. But the overnight pair of Hamer Bagnall and Claud Woolley came out fighting this morning and did their team proud. Bagnall had begun the fightback with his stable batting yesterday evening, and he continued his positive play this morning until he was out for 64, made in an hour and a half. Woolley continued to bat safely and Fanny Walden and Albert Thomas supported him in partnerships of 63 and 75 for the fourth and fifth wickets. By now Woolley was opening up more, and by the time he was out at 286 for eight the match was virtually safe. In the end Kent were set 192 to win in 1¾ hours, which they would probably have achieved had there been more time available, but they had to settle for a draw.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Lancashire
McDonald Takes Ten
There was much overnight rain at Leicester, a worry to Lancashire, but play began only half an hour late, on a damaged pitch, and it took an hour for Lancashire to complete their easy victory, four wickets being necessary for them with Albert Lord unwell. Most of the runs this morning came from the bat of Tommy Sidwell, who alone showed any spirit. Leicestershire were all out for 132, which was exactly half the runs they had needed to make Lancashire bat again. Ted McDonald and Dick Tyldesley took the wickets, with McDonald returning match figures of ten for 68 on a pitch scarcely suitable for pace bowling.
Lord’s: Middlesex v Gloucestershire
Robinson Defies Middlesex
Gloucestershire completed their first innings this morning with some quick runs by Harry Smith before he lost his last partner and finished with exactly half the Gloucestershire total. Middlesex went in again with a lead of 38, and obvious orders to push on with the runs quickly, as Greville Stevens opened with Horace Dales instead of Harry Lee and ran quickly to 21 before his partner ran him out by refusing a reasonable run. Dales made up for it by hitting furiously, and in fact all five Middlesex batsmen who went in played good attacking innings. Jack Hearne in particular showed what a brilliant batsman he can be when he casts off caution and formality and attacks the bowling — 80 not out in 85 minutes. They were helped by the absence of Charlie Parker with a serious attack of muscular rheumatism in the neck.
The declaration came at 219 for three after just over two hours, setting Gloucestershire 258 to win in about three hours. It was a cautious declaration, giving Gloucestershire almost no real chance of victory, but Middlesex did have enough time to bowl them out if they batted particularly badly. But cautious declarations can only be expected under the present points-scoring system as if Middlesex gambled in order to win five points and lost, they would also lose their three points for a first-innings lead. Colonel Douglas Robinson, one of the most powerfully built of players, knew he had nothing to lose by going for victory and hit a blazing innings of 61, opening with Wally Hammond, but the latter was out for 3 and after Robinson went the match died quietly.
The Oval: Surrey v Sussex
Wensley and Cox Rescue Sussex
Percy Fender hit powerfully to ensure that Surrey took first-innings points in the morning before being the last man out for 61, having reached his fifty in only 40 minutes. Surrey led by 35 in the end, and realistically all Sussex had to play for was a draw. They started their second innings badly when Bill Hitch bowled out Ted Bowley without a run on the board, but Harold Gilligan played a beautiful cameo of an innings for 22. The other top-order batsmen played useful and attractive knocks, but none of them followed through to a major innings, so at 139 for eight against bowling that was not particularly impressive apart from Fender, Sussex appeared to be heading for defeat with two and a half hours still to play. But then the veteran George Cox joined the promising young all-rounder Bert Wensley and the pair saved the day.
Cox let Wensley have his head, and the youngster went on to record his highest first-class score. They added 100 for the ninth wicket in an hour, and Wensley might have gone on to a century, but Gilligan decided to declare, though setting Surrey a target of 205 to win in an hour and a half gave neither side a realistic chance of victory. The only memorable aspect of the last hour was the excellent Sussex fielding, led by the superb wicket-keeping of Tich Cornford. Fender took ten wickets for 112 in the match, but most of the other Surrey bowling was bland.
Worcester: Worcestershire v Somerset
Worcestershire’s White-Out
Somerset no doubt hoped to build a big lead over Worcestershire this morning, but it did not work out that way. Guy Earle hammered his way to 47, which took him less than half an hour, and then the tail collapsed, mainly to Fred Root. Edward Northway only added 4 runs to his overnight score while four wickets fell, and Somerset had a first-innings lead of 147. They were a batsman short, as Archie Young has lumbago.
Worcestershire failed to save the innings defeat, although they did almost twice as well as they had done in their first innings. Maurice Foster decided to open the innings, as he does at times, and played a good innings of 46, but as so often he had little support. Root batted solidly, but Jack White again was too good for the rest of the batsmen and he finished with match figures of 11 for 61. His length was superb and he varied his flight and spin bewilderingly so far as the Worcestershire batsmen were concerned. Incidentally he also scored most runs of any batsman in the match. At 120 for four Worcestershire should have avoided the innings defeat, but again the feebleness of the tail ensured they did not have that consolation. So Somerset celebrated their first victory of the season just before four o’clock.
***
Yorkshire are now the only team to retain their 100 per cent record, by virtue of playing Cambridge University (and falling behind on the first innings), while Kent were unable to defeat Northamptonshire after having a day washed out. There are still five unbeaten counties, though — four of whom will be playing each other this weekend — and three, Hampshire, Derbyshire and Glamorgan, yet to win a match.
Tomorrow the Bank Holiday weekend starts, and so all the counties are playing, mainly against traditional rivals, except for Glamorgan, who as the last-comers to the championship have no available partner for the most lucrative weekends of the year, unless a touring team is in the country. There are of course two Big Six matches, the Roses match at Old Trafford and the old Nottinghamshire-Surrey match at Trent Bridge. They are always hard-fought, and with all four counties doing well this season the winners (if they achieve results) cannot be confidently predicted. Of the eight county matches, our crystal ball predicts one shock result.