Last-minute victory in record-breaking match
100 Years Ago: 8-12 July 1925
Day 1
The Oval: Gentlemen v Players
Players Bat All Day
PLAYERS 403/8 (A Sandham 50, J W Hearne 103, E H Hendren 59, J H Parsons 72, A S Kennedy 50*; G O B Allen 2/81, P G H Fender 3/85). GENTLEMEN still to bat.
There was disappointment for all the spectators who attended in the hope of seeing Jack Hobbs score another century on a good batting pitch, but he was bowled out for 5 in the second over, unwisely trying to pull a rather short ball from Freddie Calthorpe. But there is plenty more good batting in the Players’ team, and Andy Sandham and Jack Hearne proceeded to take the score to 101 before Sandham was out for 50. The Gentlemen have some very good bowlers too, so these are by no means untalented teams, and Nigel Haig in particular bowled superbly, testing both Sandham and Hearne severely, and also later batsmen, although he only took the wicket of Patsy Hendren, another top-order batsman to score a fifty.
Hearne and Hendren put on 115 for the third wicket before Haig bowled out Hendren, just before Hearne (above) reached his century in about three hours, his usual steady innings. Jack Parsons played the most attractive innings of the day, batting very correctly, tall and commanding, and hitting the ball hard and often for 72 in just over an hour and a half. Alec Kennedy also batted positively and became the fifth man of the day to reach 50. Apart from Haig, Gubby Allen bowled with great pace and Calthorpe swerved the ball skilfully, but the spinners Reg Bettington and Percy Fender found it difficult to keep a good length, although Fender improved after tea and finished with the best figures. Hobbs and Fender, two Surrey men, captain the respective teams. There was a crowd of over 5000.
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan
Sinfield Finds Form
GLOUCESTERSHIRE 254 (R A Sinfield 83, B S Bloodworth 53, R G W Melsome 19; T Arnott 2/57, J Mercer 2/49, W E Bates 2/51, J C Clay 2/12). GLAMORGAN 10/0 (T R Morgan 3*, C F Walters 6*).
The weather was very dull at Bristol in the morning, but it improved later. So did the Gloucestershire batting. The main culprit was Reginald Holloway, who was promoted to open instead of Reg Sinfield, and scored three singles in almost an hour and a half before lunch. Altogether he ground out 17 runs in two hours and 20 minutes, perhaps inhibited by the early losses of Alf Dipper and Harry Smith, both for 11 against very accurate Glamorgan bowling. The innings was saved firstly by Sinfield at No 4 now, who made up for his début pair when opening the batting; he scored a good positive 83 in just over two hours — less time at the crease than Holloway needed. He was helped by Bernie Bloodworth with 53 in an hour and a half; they added 65 for the fifth wicket together.
Only Robert Melsome, a 19-year-old debutant out of Lancing College and prominently a medium-pace bowler, of the other batsmen impressed at all and the team total of 254 took over 113 overs. Trevor Arnott was the best of the bowlers, but he had five chances dropped off him. Still, Glamorgan did quite well to bowl their opponents out for only 254 on quite a good field pitch. The Glamorgan openers survived the last quarter of an hour of play.
Tunbridge Wells Week: Kent v Nottinghamshire
Gunn and Whysall’s Great Start
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 302 (G Gunn 75, W W Whysall 88, A W Carr 45, W R D Payton 22, S J Staples 21*; A P Freeman 2/60, F E Woolley 2/91, G C Collins 5/43). KENT 6/1 (C P Johnstone 1*, W S Cornwallis 5*).
The big news for Kent is that Percy Chapman is playing in this match, his first since his wedding in New Zealand after the M.C.C. tour of Australia and his long stay there before returning to England. He is finally qualified to play for Kent in the County Championship and, remarkably, this is his 101st first-class match and yet only his first in the Championship.
The Nottinghamshire first innings was a rather strange affair. The pitch was soft and slow after rain yesterday, and it was not too easy to score quickly. George Gunn and Dodger Whysall began with some enterprise against the pace bowlers, but then slowed down against spin, in particular Gunn. They ground out 153 runs for the first wicket, their first century partnership of the season, before Whysall was out for 88. Gunn was prised out for 75 at 183 for two — he did bat with a badly bruised right thumb — when tea was taken. Afterwards Arthur Carr came in and played a blazing innings of 45 out of 52 in 20 minutes, with three sixes and four fours. Then the middle order scored some runs, taking the score to 298 for six before the innings ended abruptly. The last four wickets fell in only six balls: three wickets fell in an over from George Collins, including a run-out, followed by four byes, and then Tich Freeman removed the last man Len Richmond with the first ball of the next over.
The total was 302, and with only a few minutes left to play Kent changed their batting order, sending in Con Johnstone and Jack Hubble. The latter was bowled by Harold Larwood without a run on the board, so the captain, Stanley Cornwallis, came in himself as night-watchman.
Manchester: Lancashire v Northamptonshire
Steady Northamptonshire
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 217 (C N Woolley 26, V W C Jupp 41, R L Wright 50, F I Walden 31, B W Bellamy 32*; F B Watson 3/57, E A McDonald 3/74, J Iddon 3/36). LANCASHIRE 122/2 (J W H Makepeace 48*, J L Hopwood 22, F B Watson 42*).
Northamptonshire relied on steady batting against Lancashire, but they lacked the big innings necessary and only the last pair took the score beyond 200. Claud Woolley and Wilfrid Timms opened their batting with a very cautious partnership of 38, but Vallance Jupp, with a very polished innings, and Dick Wright were more enterprising, and when the score reached 112 for two wickets, and then 145 before the fourth wicket fell, Northamptonshire looked capable of making a good score. But then two of the less prominent bowlers, Frank Watson and Jack Iddon, started a middle-order slump, and only the aggressive wicket-keeper Ben Bellamy did much after that. Maurice Fitzroy in his innings of 10 hit a ball from Iddon for six into Warwick Road. Cecil Parkin is again being rested from the Lancashire team. Dick Tyldesley had a rare bad day with the ball, taking only one for 48 off 14 overs. Ted McDonald again bowled mainly at medium pace, and his three wickets cost 74 runs. Eight of the ten Northamptonshire batsmen dismissed were out bowled.
When Lancashire batted for just over two hours, John Murdin quickly bowled Charlie Hallows for 2. Ernest Tyldesley is absent indisposed, so Len Hopwood has been promoted to No 3, and batting usefully. Harry Makepeace played one of his rock-like innings, while Watson seemed to be back to his old form after a lean spell when he joined Makepeace. The weather today has been dull and cold.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Essex
Fowke to the Rescue Again
LEICESTERSHIRE 212 (G L Berry 49, A W Shipman 26, J C Bradshaw 35, G H S Fowke 51, G Geary 22; M S Nichols 3/48, J W H T Douglas 4/41, A B Hipkin 2/22). ESSEX 59/2 (J O’Connor 26*, C A G Russell 31*).
On an average pitch Leicestershire compiled a rather laborious innings of 212. George Louden is not available for Essex, but Stan Nichols is developing into a very promising pace bowler, and he and Johnny Douglas both picked up a wicket in their opening overs, Ewart Astill being lbw to Douglas first ball. This put Leicestershire into some trouble that they never really escaped from, although they batted doggedly for most of their innings. Les Berry batted confidently for two hours before he ran himself out trying to reach his fifty, at which stage the score was 92 for four. This brought in Captain Gus Fowke to play his familiar rescue innings, and in partnership with James Bradshaw and George Geary the score reached 191 before the sixth wicket fell. Fowke batted two hours for his 51. The tail then collapsed to the second new ball.
Essex also had a disastrous start to their innings. Alec Skelding bowled the first over, and in it they lost the wickets of both Laurie Eastman and Jimmy Cutmore with just a single on the board. But then Jack O’Connor and Jack Russell safely saw out the day for the last hour.
Harrogate Week: Yorkshire v Worcestershire
Late Rally for Worcestershire
WORCESTERSHIRE 215 (C V Tarbox 53, W H N Shakespeare 36, W E Adshead 21, C F Root 44*, H O Rogers 29; E Robinson 2/36, G G Macaulay 5/71, A Waddington 2/47). YORKSHIRE 177/3 (P Holmes 32, E Oldroyd 51, M Leyland 56*, W Rhodes 29*).
Another Yorkshire home match against a weaker team appeared to be going all one way when Worcestershire lost their first five wickets for only 34 runs in 50 minutes to the bowling of Emmott Robinson and George Macaulay. However Charles Tarbox survived the early carnage and he alone seemed able to handle the powerful bowling attack. He scored 53 in only an hour, a remarkable achievement for a player known in the past as a stonewaller. William Shakespeare finally gave him some support, and then Dr William Adshead played up well. Even so eight wickets were down for 135, but Fred Root, batting particularly well, and Harry Rogers fought back and the last pair took the score past 200, quite an achievement for a weaker county against the full Yorkshire bowling attack.
When Yorkshire batted Herbert Sutcliffe was out second ball without scoring, to an excellent catch at deep fine leg by Richard Williams off the bowling of Fred Root. Percy Holmes and Edgar Oldroyd pushed the score along enterprisingly, until Holmes edged a ball from an attempted pull off Root very painfully on to his nose and was caught at square leg off the rebound. By the close Maurice Leyland and Wilfred Rhodes had settled into a good partnership for the fourth wicket, with Yorkshire poised to lead on the first innings.
Day 2
The Oval: Gentlemen v Players
Brilliant Ninth-Wicket Partnership
PLAYERS 403/8 dec. GENTLEMEN 412/9 (F S G Calthorpe 63, C H Titchmarsh 21, L H Tennyson 69, P G H Fender 21, G O B Allen 93*, N E Haig 98, M L Hill 1*; M W Tate 7 wkts). Overnight score was: Players (1) 403/8 dec.
The Players appeared to have this match in their grasp until a magnificent ninth-wicket partnership of 193 between Gubby Allen and Nigel Haig turned the whole match around. Jack Hobbs had declared at the overnight score, and the Gentlemen at least made a good start to their innings. Freddie Calthorpe played some brilliant and a few lucky strokes opening the innings with Charles Titchmarsh, while Maurice Tate bowled a tired-looking opening spell from the pavilion end. Calthorpe did most of the scoring as the first wicket put on 81. But Tate returned as Superman from the Vauxhall end and shattered the top order, taking the first five wickets as the score went from 81 without loss to 113 for five.
As Tate tired, Lionel Tennyson began an aggressive counterattack, helped by Percy Fender. Although still affected by his finger injury, Tennyson ignored it and hit out boldly until on 69 he skyed a catch to Bert Strudwick off Tate. Soon eight were gone for 217 and the Gentlemen looked like having to follow on. But then came the third surge in the batting, as Allen and Haig came together. Haig scored slightly the faster of the two, but was more restrained than usual given the situation, and batted for almost three hours before he fell — to Tate — just two runs short of his century, having overtaken the Players’ score. A couple of chances had gone down in the slips. The last man, the wicket-keeper Mervyn Hill, held firm with Allen, and both were still there at the close, with Allen in sight of a maiden century. Apart from Tate, only the Buckinghamshire left-arm spinner Frank Edwards tested the batsmen, although he took only the wicket of Fender.
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan
Dipper Makes Glamorgan Pay
GLOUCESTERSHIRE 254 and 244/9 dec (A E Dipper 112, D C Robinson 46, R A Sinfield 36, W R Hammond 23; T Arnott 5/27). GLAMORGAN 109 (C F Walters 10, H Spencer 28, J C Clay 23, J Mercer 12*; C W L Parker 3/34, W R Hammond 4/67) and 13/1 (T R Morgan 13*, D Sullivan 0*). Overnight score was: Glamorgan (1) 10/0 (Morgan 3*, Walters 6*).
Glamorgan brought disaster on themselves right from the start. Ultra-defensive batting and poor running between wickets sent them crashing to 39 for six wickets before some aggressive hitting from Helm Spencer and Johnnie Clay showed what should have been done. It was too late to make a good score possible, but at least the total did pass 100 and the last pair managed to save the follow-on before the innings was ended by its third foolish run-out. Charlie Parker and Wally Hammond did almost all the bowling and Gloucestershire took a first-innings lead of 145 runs.
The Gloucestershire captain Douglas Robinson went in first with Alf Dipper this time, with success, as they put on 98 for the first wicket. Dipper made Glamorgan pay for dropping him on 12 and 39, and went on to reach a century, batting altogether for 3¾ hours. Useful innings from Reg Sinfield and Hammond took the score to 197 before the third wicket fell, and with the second new ball Trevor Arnott took three good wickets in one over — Hammond, Bernie Bloodworth and Dipper — though it was rather devalued by the fact that they were all hitting out for quick runs. Robinson declared before the close and Glamorgan again had 15 minutes to bat at the end of the day. In that time Charlie Parker bowled out Cyril Walters without scoring. Glamorgan’s target of 390 is as near impossible for them as almost anything can be in cricket.
Tunbridge Wells Week: Kent v Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire Bowling Gains Advantage
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 302 and 261/7 (G Gunn 28, W W Whysall 59, W Walker 35, A W Carr 33, B Lilley 32*, S J Staples 21; F E Woolley 5/70). KENT 179 (C P Johnstone 15, W S Cornwallis 14, F E Woolley 41, A P F Chapman 18, W H Ashdown 29*, G C Collins 37; F Barratt 2/37, S J Staples 2/34, W A Flint 2/33, T L Richmond 3/16). Overnight score was: Kent (1) 6/1 (Johnstone 1*, Cornwallis 5*).
Kent got themselves into some trouble early on, perhaps as a penalty for rejigging their batting order last night. At 17 the night-watchman Captain Stanley Cornwallis was out to Fred Barratt, followed by the usual opening batsman Wally Hardinge, lbw first ball padding up. Wickets continued to fall to excellent Nottinghamshire bowling, despite Frank Woolley and Percy Chapman adding 26 for the sixth wicket. Chapman did not time the ball very well, though, in his first innings of the season. After they were out the score was 96 for seven and Kent were in serious danger of having to follow on. George Collins then came in to play a fine innings of 37 in 45 minutes, and with some dogged assistance from Bill Ashdown saved his team this indignity. Len Richmond then skittled out the last three wickets with some excellent leg-spin bowling.
Leading by 123, Nottinghamshire batted much more positively in their second innings. George Gunn and Dodger Whysall had another good opening stand, this time of 69 at a much better rate than in the first innings, with Whysall looking to have regained his confidence. Arthur Carr hit a blistering 33 in 40 minutes, and useful runs in the middle order gave the visitors a strong lead of 384 by the close. The situation looks bad for Kent, as the pitch is beginning to play up, taking spin and with some awkward lift.
Manchester: Lancashire v Northamptonshire
Eckersley Builds Lancashire Lead
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 217 and 88/3 (W W Timms 36*, R L Wright 22, V W C Jupp 18*; R K Tyldesley 2 wkts). LANCASHIRE 371 (J W H Makepeace 72, F B Watson 80, P T Eckersley 82*, J Sharp 50, R K Tyldesley 21; E W Clark 2/69, P A Wright 3/93, J V Murdin 4/72). Overnight score was: Lancashire (1) 122/2 (Makepeace 48*, Watson 42*).
Lancashire worked diligently to build up a good lead over their opponents, with four batsmen scoring fifties. The first to do so were the overnight pair of Harry Makepeace and Frank Watson, with Watson, coming in an hour after Makepeace, getting his first. They were out in quick succession after adding 132 together, but there followed another century partnership, exactly 100 runs, between Jack Sharp, who made exactly 50, and the young Peter Eckersley, who attended Cambridge University but was never selected for their first team. Sharp was given out to a belated appeal for lbw for 49, but after the innings it was agreed that a leg-bye that had been given should have been credited to his account, which was done posthumously. Eckersley, very uncertain at first, followed with a maiden fifty, growing in confidence, although he became bogged down for a while in the sixties, which may have cost him a century, as the tail did not last long enough and he was left unbeaten on 82. Lancashire gained a first-innings lead of 154. Philip Wright was the best of the bowlers, despite injuring his knee when batting yesterday.
Northamptonshire, batting again, made a cautious start to their second innings, with Wilfrid Timms at the centre of the action — or inaction. Three wickets went down for 56, but Timms stood firm and at the close was building a useful partnership with Vallance Jupp. They finished the day with seven wickets in hand, but were still 66 runs in arrears. The weather was again dull and cold, and rain interrupted play for a while around lunch time. It was learned today that Ernest Tyldesley, too unwell to play in this match, is suffering from a recurrence of appendicitis, and needs an operation that will keep him out of cricket for the rest of the season.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Essex
Two Centuries Put Essex in Command
LEICESTERSHIRE 212 and 31/2 (G L Berry 13*; J W H T Douglas 2 wkts). ESSEX 367 (J O’Connor 142, C A G Russell 104, P A Perrin 43, J W H T Douglas 25; A Skelding 5/103, A W Shipman 2/54). Overnight score was: Essex (1) 59/2 (O’Connor 26*, Russell 31*)
Two contrasting centuries from Jack Russell and Jack O’Connor gave Essex a big advantage in this match. O’Connor played the higher innings, but Russell’s was certainly the better of the two. Russell was free and confident almost from the start today, playing his strokes well and scoring 104 in less than three hours in a third-wicket partnership of 166 with O’Connor. The latter was grimly defensive until he reached his fifty in 2½ hours, and then he began to bat rather more freely. When he was eventually out he had batted for almost five hours. After he left Percy Perrin and Johnny Douglas put on 60 together for the sixth wicket to take the score to 327, and eventually Essex earned a first-innings lead of 155. Alec Skelding bowled very well for his five wickets, getting through an exhausting 38.4 overs for a fast bowler.
Leicestershire batted again at the end of the day and had another bad start, losing two wickets to Douglas for 31, including the vital one of Ewart Astill for 11 with the last ball of the day. Given dry weather, Essex will expect a comfortable victory tomorrow.
Harrogate Week: Yorkshire v Worcestershire
Leyland and Macaulay
WORCESTERSHIRE 215 and 186/8 (A W Robinson 37, M K Foster 49, C F Root 30*, H O Rogers 8*; G G Macaulay 5 wkts). YORKSHIRE 438 (M Leyland 138, W Rhodes 65, R Kilner 23, E Robinson 22, G G Macaulay 46*; C F Root 3/115, G C Wilson 2/50, H O Rogers 4/114). Worcestershire need 223 to avoid an innings defeat. Overnight score was: Yorkshire (1) 177/3 (Leyland 56*, Rhodes 29*).
It was quite an achievement for lowly Worcestershire to avoid becoming the fourth team in succession to go down to Yorkshire in two days. Having said that, they look certain (barring much rain) to lose before lunch tomorrow, probably by an innings. This morning Maurice Leyland and Wilfred Rhodes carried their fourth-wicket partnership to 132 before Rhodes left for a fluent 65 in 90 minutes. Leyland went from strength to strength, recording his highest score in first-class cricket and one of his very best innings in his home town of Harrogate. He batted 3½ hours for 138, hitting 22 fours, with the straight drive particularly prominent among his strokes.
George Macaulay also played an impressive innings, and he was also prominent when Worcestershire batted a second time, 223 runs behind. Again he was too good for the Worcestershire top order, with the exception of Albert Robinson, who is himself a Yorkshireman from Holmfirth who has played much Bradford League cricket and is now qualified for Worcestershire by his residence at Stourbridge. He held the early batting together with a good 37 in 1¼ hours before Macaulay finally removed him, taking five of the first six wickets to fall. Worcestershire lost those six wickets for 85, but their captain Maurice Foster came in belatedly at No 7 and played one of his usual aggressive innings in adversity, 49 in an hour. Yorkshire were keen to finish the match off today, but Fred Root and Harry Rogers defended resolutely for the last half-hour to require everybody to return tomorrow morning.
Day 3
The Oval: Gentlemen v Players
Great Finish after Sporting Declaration
PLAYERS 403/8 dec and 252/7 dec (J B Hobbs 51, E H Bowley 39, J W Hearne 65*, E H Hendren 31; F S G Calthorpe 3/59, L H Tennyson 2/22). GENTLEMEN 458 (G O B Allen 130, M L Hill 6*; M W Tate 7/148) and 200/6 (L H Tennyson 28, C N Bruce 36, N E Haig 51*, R Aird 31*; M W Tate 3/80, A S Kennedy 2/59). Gentlemen won by four wickets. Overnight score was: Gentlemen (1) 412/9 (Allen 93*, Hill 1*).
This match at the Oval, often criticized for its unrepresentative teams, produced such entertaining cricket today that should ensure its survival for a few years yet. By the start the Gentlemen’s first innings was still unfinished, and it seemed Maurice Tate gave Gubby Allen a deliberate full toss to give him his maiden first-class century. Afterwards Allen hit out boldly before he was eventually out for 130, giving the Gentlemen a lead of 55 on the first innings. It was a well judged innings of great maturity.
The Players pushed along quickly in their second innings, with Hobbs this time taking in Ted Bowley to open the innings with him. They put on 90 together before Hobbs made an uncharacteristic error of judgment in calling for a quick single and was run out for 51 by Allen. Jack Hearne played his usual steady game of accumulation, while his partners pushed the score along quickly and got out. Then at five o’clock Hobbs surprised everybody with a sporting declaration, which left the Gentlemen with 198 to win in 1¾ hours. They would require a run rate of almost two a minute.
Percy Fender is not a man to turn down such a challenge. The Gentlemen did not begin too well, losing their openers for 30, but Lionel Tennyson came in at No 3 and did some powerful hitting in 28, while Clarence Bruce played a good attacking innings. But again the man who played the key rôle was Nigel Haig, with help from Ronnie Aird at the end. Aird came in when Fender was out at 141 for six, and 57 were needed in 24 minutes. The two batsmen kept up with the clock and finally Aird struck a four off Alec Kennedy to win the match with one minute to spare. Haig took only 33 minutes to score his 51 not out. Tait took three wickets for ten in the match again, but this time he was the most expensive bowler, tending to pitch too short and going for almost seven runs an over. It was a wonderful and thrilling finish, played in good spirit, and at no time did the Players ever bowl or field negatively or try any time-wasting — a wonderful advertisement for the game. This match produced 1313 runs for the loss of 31 wickets, the highest run aggregate ever achieved in any match between Gentlemen and Players.
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan
Easy Gloucestershire Victory
GLOUCESTERSHIRE 254 and 244/9 dec. GLAMORGAN 109 and 93 (T R Morgan 20, W E Bates 24*, T Arnott 13, H Spencer 13; C W L Parker 4/25, E G Dennett 2/23, W R Hammond 2/19, P T Mills 2/12). Gloucestershire won by 296 runs. Overnight score was: Glamorgan (2) 13/1 (Morgan 13*, Sullivan 0*).
Jupiter Pluvius indulged in one of his favourite pastimes, kicking a man when he is down, as heavy rain in the early morning was followed by bright sunshine, making a difficult pitch for Glamorgan to bat on as they faced their hopeless task of scoring 390 to win. Again, though, the Glamorgan top order made the worst of their situation with more feeble batting that saw six wickets go down for 32. Charlie Parker took the first four wickets to fall, taking one yesterday and three more in his first three overs today. Douglas Robinson gave his other bowlers some part in the victory, so of the last six wickets to go down three of them took two wickets each. Again the later batsmen played more aggressively with more success, and Eddie Bates found brief support from Trevor Arnott and Helm Spencer before the inevitable conclusion of the match before lunch. It is unclear why Bates went in at five and six in the order in this match, demoted from opening, but now he batted well, though dourly, for almost an hour and a half without giving a chance. So Glamorgan have to return to the very familiar drawing-board again.
Tunbridge Wells Week: Kent v Nottinghamshire
Kent Fight in Vain
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 302 and 261/7 dec. KENT 179 and 338 (G C Collins 46, W H Ashdown 64, A P F Chapman 49, F E Woolley 65, A P Freeman 41*; S J Staples 3/153, H Larwood 3/37, W A Flint 2/53). Nottinghamshire won by 46 runs. Overnight score was: Nottinghamshire (2) 261/7 dec.
Bearing in mind that last month Middlesex scored over 500 in the final innings to beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, Arthur Carr took rather a gamble when he declared at his team’s overnight score, leaving Kent 385 to win and a full day for it, and for his bowlers to get them out. Probably he expected the pitch to give his bowlers more help than it did, though after lunch it started to help the spinners — and rain was also a possibility. Kent reverted to a more normal batting order, but lost Wally Hardinge for 7 before George Collins and Bill Ashdown put on a laborious 83 for the second wicket. Then Percy Chapman came in and batted more like his usual self, scoring 49 in 40 minutes, including two sixes.
Frank Woolley followed Chapman to the wicket and, knowing much depended on him, batted with care. The middle order came and went, and Kent seemed to be sliding slowly towards defeat when Tich Freeman joined Woolley at 277 for eight. Woolley now decided this was the time to go on the attack, while Freeman responded confidently. A good stand seemed to be developing, and Kent’s hopes of victory were just beginning to revive when Woolley was run out, as Freeman refused his call for a quick single. Perhaps in despair, Freeman hit out furiously and the last wicket added 44 in a quarter of an hour before Carr called back Harold Larwood, who ended the match by bowling out Stanley Cornwallis. Freeman’s 41 not out took only 35 minutes.
Manchester: Lancashire v Northamptonshire
Northants Collapse to McDonald and Tyldesley
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 217 and 160 (W W Timms 54, V W C Jupp 44; E A McDonald 5/64, R K Tyldesley 4/41). LANCASHIRE 371 and 10/1 (J Sharp 8*). Lancashire won by nine wickets. Overnight score was: Northamptonshire (2) 88/3 (W W Timms 36*, Jupp 18*).
A collapse by Northamptonshire gave Lancashire an easy victory by nine wickets in just over two hours of play today. Lancashire’s main enemy was the threatening weather rather than the visiting batsmen. The overnight pair of Wilfrid Timms and Vallance Jupp continued to fight for their team, and took the score to 133, a partnership of 77. A good fight then seemed possible, but at this point disaster struck. Both were out to Ted McDonald at this score, and five wickets went down for only 9 runs, all to the Australian in four overs, a very destructive spell of top pace in indifferent light. Jack Timms and John Murdin, scoring 15 and 9 not out respectively, saved the innings defeat but the final total was only 160. Dick Tyldesley took the last two wickets in three balls, completing 100 for the season, and in this innings bowled much better than he had done on the first day.
Lancashire needed only 7 runs to win, which was done with three stand-in batsmen facing two non-bowlers for the loss of Leonard Green’s wicket, as he managed to get himself caught without scoring off Maurice Fitzroy’s bowling.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Essex
Berry Fights but Leicestershire Go Down
LEICESTERSHIRE 212 and 190 (G L Berry 74, A W Shipman 28, J C Bradshaw 22; M S Nichols 2/37, J W H T Douglas 2/23, J O’Connor 2/55, A B Hipkin 3/33). ESSEX 367 and 38/0 (L C Eastman 23*, J A Cutmore 11*). Essex won by ten wickets. Overnight score was: Essex (1) 59/2 (O’Connor 26*, Russell 31*)
Essex won their third successive victory without much trouble today. Leicestershire showed a bit of fight early on, reaching 100 before the third wicket fell, and the fourth at 146. This was Les Berry, who played another strong, confident innings for 2½ hours and is developing into a good, reliable batsman for his team. His 74 equalled his career best to date. Leicestershire were 164 for five at lunch, but after that the spinners Joe Hipkin and Jack O’Connor whipped out the five remaining wickets and Essex were left with only 36 runs to win. They did not lose a wicket, but Laurie Eastman and Jimmy Cutmore made quite a meal of it, taking 17 overs and 40 minutes to complete the job.
Harrogate Week: Yorkshire v Worcestershire
Yorkshire Win Eleven in a Row
WORCESTERSHIRE 215 and 235 (C F Root 53*, H O Rogers 22; G G Macaulay 5/96, A Waddington 3/56). YORKSHIRE 438 and 14/0. Yorkshire won by ten wickets. Overnight score was: Yorkshire (1) 177/3 (Leyland 56*, Rhodes 29*).
Worcestershire’s match against Yorkshire was rather like a low-rated boxer fighting Jack Dempsey, taking quite a beating but staying on his feet until being inevitably knocked out in the final round. The stubborn partnership of Fred Root and Harry Rogers put on another 20 runs to make their partnership worth 56 before Abe Waddington finally bowled out Rogers. Another 17 were needed to save the innings defeat, and the last man Cliff Wilson blocked stubbornly while Root got the runs. They added another 29 runs to the total before Root reached a fine fifty and Waddington bowled out Wilson. Root scored 97 runs in the match without being dismissed, a remarkable achievement for a man played mainly for his bowling against the Yorkshire attack.
Yorkshire needed a token 13 runs to win and the match was completed in unsatisfactory fashion, Yorkshire sending in their later batsmen Waddington and Arthur Dolphin to face two non-bowlers in Maurice Foster and William Hampton, and taking over four overs to get the runs — eight of which came from byes. This completed Yorkshire’s 15th victory of the season and their 11th in succession. But for Root and his assistants, this would have been their tenth innings victory. Macaulay took ten wickets in the match, all of leading batsmen, but they cost him 167 runs.
County Championship Leaders: Yorkshire 95.00, Lancashire 84.70, Surrey 77.14, Middlesex 73.38, Nottinghamshire 66.15, Kent 58.46, Essex 54.66, Northamptonshire 4769, Gloucestershire 46.25, Hampshire 41.42.
TOMORROW’S MATCHES (first-class)
There are two Big Six clashes this weekend, and they are always interesting. Surrey went crashing down to Yorkshire; how will they fare against Lancashire now? They do have home advantage. Yorkshire will have their first major test since the Surrey match when they visit inconsistent Kent at Maidstone. Middlesex continue their midseason furlough, while Nottinghamshire should be able to beat Sussex, down on their luck — though nobody can be quite sure of beating Sussex with a player like Maurice Tate in the team.
WEATHER FORECAST: Hot, sunny, mostly dry weather is back!