Middlesex's innings victory
100 Years Ago: 16-22 May 1925
We had hoped to include multiple rounds of matches in the newsletter that went out yesterday, but the length was too much for Substack to handle. As such, we’ve had split it into instalments. Apologies should this cause any confusion.
Leyton: Essex v Middlesex
Day 1
Stevens Dominant
If Middlesex are looking for vengeance after their shock defeat to Essex at Lord’s, they were certainly well on their way to achieving it after one day’s play at Leyton. The pitch had been covered overnight due to the uncertain weather, and it sweated this morning, giving life to the pace bowlers early on. Jack Durston, getting more side-on and using more body swing than usual, bowled superbly and played the major part in the destruction of the Essex innings — 16 overs for five wickets and only 12 runs. Four wickets were down for 40, all for single-figure scores, before Johnny Douglas joined Jack O’Connor and they stabilized the innings, with Douglas batting more positively than usual. He put on 28 with O’Connor for the fifth wicket and 41 for the eighth with Jimmy Cutmore, batting for 1½ hours altogether for 33, but only three batsmen reached double figures. Greville Stevens also bowled very well, but without luck.
Middlesex soon lost Harry Lee, but then Greville Stevens and Jack Hearne put their heads down and settled in for the rest of the day, scoring more quickly towards the close. They struggled for a while against some fine bowling by Johnny Douglas with the new ball (George Louden is not available for this match), but survived and flourished. By the close their unbroken stand was worth 215 runs and they had Essex at their mercy.
Day 2
Essex Going Down
Middlesex did not begin the day well, losing both their overnight batsmen quickly. However, the rest of the team made runs down the order, nine of the players reaching double figures, with the best partnership being one of 56 for the sixth wicket between Clarence Bruce and Nigel Haig, who both played free, positive cricket. Arthur Childs-Clarke looked a useful batsman despite scoring only 12, and he is also a brilliant fielder — but an amateur who is rarely available for county cricket. Eventually Middlesex established a first-innings lead of 254, which would probably have been considerably more without a superb marathon bowling performance from Johnny Douglas, who kept up a fine spell of pace and swing for almost an hour and a quarter; figures of five for 82 scarcely do him justice.
The pitch was excellent for batting when Essex went in again after using the heavy roller, but they did not make good use of it. Their only real objective at the time was to avoid an innings defeat, but only John Freeman and Jack Russell at the top played with much confidence and skill. Russell was controversially given run out as he was looking very good, a close decision that aroused the wrath of the crowd, some of whom hurled abuse at the umpire. Johnny Douglas is still there, having batted for nearly two hours so far, and the youngster Jimmy Cutmore played some fine strokes, looking a good prospect for the future with the bat. But Essex are still 64 runs behind with three wickets left, and defeat seems almost inevitable, the main question being whether they can make Middlesex bat again.
Day 3
Quick Victory for Middlesex
ESSEX 118 and 225 (J W H T Douglas 38, J A Cutmore 37; F J Durston 3/55, G T S Stevens 3/66). MIDDLESEX 372. Middlesex won by an innings and 25 runs. Overnight score was: Essex (1) 190/7 (Douglas 25*, Cutmore 32*).
Essex could add only another 35 runs to their overnight score, but held Middlesex up for more than an hour. Jimmy Cutmore soon went for an impressive 37, although he forgot his strokes this morning, and then Johnny Douglas was finally prised out for 38, scored in over 2½ hours. The last pair added a few before Essex had to concede an innings defeat — but at least their second innings was a great improvement on their first.
Southampton: Hampshire v Gloucestershire
Day 1
Mead Comes Good and Goes Big
Wally Hammond opened the bowling for Gloucestershire and removed both opening batsmen by the time the score was 16, George Brown for 8 and William Shirley 1. After that it was Hampshire all the way — and Hammond was only given eight overs to bowl during the day. Ronnie Aird played well for 37, but the hero of today was Philip Mead, who had made another slow start to the season, but now made up for lost time. He batted fluently, too, taking only 4¼ hours for his 162 and scoring more than half the runs of every partnership he was involved in, even with Lionel Tennyson who made 16. His best partner was Alexander Hosie, with whom he put on 148 for the fourth wicket. It is his 81st century in first-class cricket. He gave just one difficult chance, in the slips at 93 to Charlie Parker, who was ineffective today on a good batting pitch. In the last 70 minutes of the day Jack Newman hit out boldly in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 121 with Alex Bowell.
Day 2
Dipper Holds Firm in Interrupted Day
Play was only possible for half an hour before lunch at Southampton yesterday, and the rain returned after an hour of the afternoon session. Hampshire declared at their overnight score. Gloucestershire struggled on a sodden pitch against the bowling of Alec Kennedy in particular, but Alf Dipper stood firm and was still there when play ended, having learned from his partners that any attempted at aggression soon met with disaster. Wally Hammond at No 4 was caught by Philip Mead off Kennedy for 3.
Day 3
Kennedy and Newman Secure Lead for Hampshire
HAMPSHIRE 433/6 dec. GLOUCESTERSHIRE 170 (A E Dipper 66, P T Mills 26; A S Kennedy 5/82, J A Newman 4/34). Match drawn. Overnight score was: Gloucestershire (1) 91/4 (Dipper 40*).
More rain at Southampton restricted play to an hour and 40 minutes after lunch, which proved just enough time for Hampshire to bowl out their opponents and gain first-innings points. Alf Dipper and Percy Mills were the only batsmen to resist for long, although Charlie Parker was left not out with 13. The old firm of Alec Kennedy and Jack Newman were the men who did the job for Hampshire, with Kennedy taking most of the early wickets while Newman finished off the tail quickly. They just did it in time, as before they had the chance to make Gloucestershire follow on, the rain returned and no more play was possible. Dipper batted for two hours and 40 minutes, a class above all his team-mates, and was seventh out at 155, managing to get himself stumped off Kennedy in the end.
Leicester: Leicestershire v Kent
Day 1
Geary in Great Last-Wicket Partnership
Leicestershire must have regretted winning the toss and feeling obliged to bat after a heavy dew that made the pitch difficult, with George Collins in particular troubling the batsmen with his swing and movement off the pitch. The first three batsmen were out for 27 before John King and Ewart Astill put on 56 together, and then came another collapse to 117 for eight. Most of the batsmen made the mistake of trying to play back to the moving ball, but George Geary showed the way to do it by playing right forward aggressively to counter the movement. He hit Tich Freeman out of the attack, but his problem was in finding a partner to stay with him. Alan Shipman scored 2 doggedly in a 30-run partnership for the ninth wicket, but this was one of the occasional days when Alec Skelding surprises with the bat. He proved the ideal partner as Geary ran to his first career century in even time and was eventually out for a magnificent 122 in 2¼ hours. The last pair had added 96 to take the score from 147 for nine to 243 all out. Jack Hubble kept wicket very well and claimed five victims in the innings.
The Kent openers, Wally Hardinge and Bill Ashdown, played a very steady game for 95 minutes when they went in and safely batted out the day for 51 runs.
Day 2
Kent Struggle to Lead
The cricket today was very slow, but it was an intense struggle for the lead. The overnight pair of Wally Hardinge and Bill Ashdown did not take full advantage of their very solid starts. Ashdown was first out after batting for two hours to score 28, but he faced excellent bowling. Frank Woolley played some strokes before George Geary bowled him for 17, but James Seymour showed very sound defence and not too much attack in making the top score of 48 in over two hours. Kent crawled into the lead with three wickets in hand before the only really quick action of the day took place, Geary finishing off the innings with three wickets in an over. As the innings ended, a severe thunderstorm broke, flooding the pitch and ending play for the day.
Day 3
Freeman and Woolley Account for Leicestershire
LEICESTERSHIRE 243 and 100 (G L Berry 16, W E Astill 49; A P Freeman 5/29, F E Woolley 3/36). KENT 269 and 75/5 (H T W Hardinge 28, W H Ashdown 14, F E Woolley 15; G Geary 4/26). Kent won by five wickets. Overnight score was: Kent (1) 269 all out.
After so much rain it was fortunate that cricket today at Leicester was possible at all. Conditions were poor and Leicestershire found themselves condemned to take their second innings on a sticky pitch, and the spinners Tich Freeman and Frank Woolley were soon in their element, making the ball do all manner of strange things off the pitch. All the Leicestershire batsmen struggled, but Ewart Astill was the only one who fought his way through to a good score with 49, more than half his team’s runs from the bat, in two hours. His fifth-wicket partnership of 29 with Les Berry was the highest of the innings.
Kent were set on 75 to win, but another storm was obviously on its way, so their batsmen were forced to hit out in an effort to get there in time. Wally Hardinge and Bill Ashdown put on 38 for the first wicket in a fraction of the time they had laboured in the first innings, while George Geary put in a superb bowling performance, taking all four wickets to fall and bowling unchanged. Kent just succeeded in beating Jupiter Pluvius in time.
Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire
Day 1
Gunn Gives Nottinghamshire Lead
The weather was mostly sunny and the pitch appeared to be in good condition, but few were the batsmen who made good use of it. Derbyshire have their captain, Guy Jackson, back for his first match of the season after illness. Derbyshire did well to reach 80 before their second wicket fell, with Garnet Lee, playing against his former county, and Les Townsend batting well. But once that stand was broken there was a steady fall of wickets until they were all out for 136.
Nottinghamshire in reply lost Dodger Whysall (1) and John Gunn (2) with only 17 runs on the board, but George Gunn played well and enjoyed useful partnerships with Arthur Carr and Wilf Payton. They passed the Derbyshire score with only five wickets down, but Gunn was caught at the wicket off the last ball of the day after batting for 2½ hours.
Day 2
Lee in Form for His New County
A useful last-wicket partnership of 27 between Sam Staples with 35 and Len Richmond (11 not out) gave Nottinghamshire a first-innings lead of 46 over Derbyshire. Batting again, Derbyshire owed much to the former Nottinghamshire player Garnet Lee, who played an excellent innings of 61 in 2½ hours, notable for sound defence and superb off-drives and cuts. No other batsman passed 25, but Les Townsend and Sam Cadman shared useful partnerships with him. Nottinghamshire were set 139 to win and made a good start, but then a storm came on and ended play for the day.
Day 3
George Gunn and Whysall in Victory Stand
DERBYSHIRE 136 and 184. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 182 and 139/0 (G Gunn 67*, W W Whysall 68*). Nottinghamshire won by ten wickets. Overnight score was: Nottinghamshire (2) 38/0 (G Gunn 12*, Whysall 26*).
After the heavy rain yesterday evening the start of play was delayed by an hour, and the pitch was lifeless on resumption. George Gunn and Dodger Whysall had no difficulty in scoring the remaining 101 runs needed for victory at a good pace, and the match was over in less than an hour and a half today.
The Oval: Surrey v Glamorgan
Day 1
Poor Day for Surrey
Perhaps Surrey were taken by surprise by the resilience of Glamorgan, who put up an unexpectedly fine performance today while Surrey were not at the top of their form. For the first half-hour it seemed that Surrey were heading for a large score on a fine batting pitch and Jack Hobbs and Andy Sandham put on 59 for the first wicket, but both were out with Alfred Jeacocke in quick succession to make it 76 for three. The Glamorgan bowling was accurate and persistent, especially that of Jack Mercer, and the fielding very good. Tom Shepherd was brilliantly caught at slip by Helm Spencer off Mercer for 22, and when Percy Fender came in to try and hit the bowlers off their length, Mercer yorked him for 15. Douglas Jardine and Harry Baldwin steadied the innings, adding 64 for the sixth wicket, but then came another slump. Surrey were very grateful for an aggressive last-wicket partnership of 43 in 20 minutes between Bill Sadler and Stanley Fenley.
Sadler bowled a very good opening spell when Glamorgan batted, but was let down by his fielders, three chances going down, two to Jeacocke. Norman Riches and Eddie Bates played positive cricket after their shaky start and put on 86 for the first wicket in 65 minutes. Then Riches went and both Trevor Arnott and Cyril Walters left without scoring, Fender dismissing the first two, and Glamorgan were 89 for three. But then Bates and George Harrison batted well to see out the day, with Bates looking in very good form.
Day 2
Three Centuries at The Oval
This was a wonderful day’s cricket for the Oval crowd, who saw their team recover its position, and 501 runs were scored by positive batting from both teams, including the completion of three centuries, for the loss of 13 wickets. Glamorgan began the day quite well, as Eddie Bates and George Harrison took the score to 185 before Harrison went. Bates completed his century and batted altogether for almost four hours to score 120, but after he was out the Glamorgan innings slid away, with only Dai Davies hanging in for long, and Glamorgan fell 12 runs short of a first-innings lead. Stanley Fenley, who had not bowled well in Surrey’s first two matches, took four of the last five wickets, and six altogether.
Surrey seemed determined to take full control of this match and ensure victory as quickly as possible, and adopted a Bazball very aggressive approach, despite losing Andy Sandham without scoring in the first over, caught at the wicket off Trevor Arnott. Jack Hobbs and Alfred Jeacocke put the bowling to the sword in superb fashion, with Jeacocke actually outscoring his illustrious partner. The bowling was not particularly good and it lacked variety, but the bowlers never went to pieces and the fielding remained very keen. Jeacocke reached his century in less than two hours, while Hobbs took just over before being out for 109 after a partnership of 216. Jeacocke and Percy Fender carried on the onslaught until Jeacocke was eventually out for 140 in two hours and 40 minutes. Fender eventually declared with a lead of 347, but the Glamorgan openers survived the last 25 minutes of play. Mercer managed to take four more wickets to finish with ten for 179 in the match.
Day 3
Glamorgan Go Down on Difficult Pitch
SURREY 287 and 335/6 dec. GLAMORGAN 275 and 174 (W E Bates 42, D Davies 27*, J Mercer 25; W C H Sadler 5/66, H A Peach 2/17). Surrey won by 173 runs. Overnight score was: Glamorgan (2) 34/0 (Riches 10*, Bates 16*).
That bully Jupiter Pluvius played a dirty trick on Glamorgan last night, producing enough rain to make the pitch difficult in the sunshine today, and Glamorgan had to bat on a pitch that was quite unpredictable in bounce and pace off the pitch. Not that they had much chance of achieving a victory target of 348, but they would certainly have been able to come much closer than they did. It was a good effort to score 174 on such a pitch, but on the other hand Surrey do not have the bowlers to take full advantage of such conditions.
Stanley Fenley is the nearest Surrey have to a genuine finger-spinner, and he opened the bowling, to dismiss Norman Riches with his first ball, which pitched well outside the leg stump but cut in so sharply as to bowl him. When Bill Sadler came on, he immediately had Eddie Bates dropped in the slips, which caused Surrey some inconvenience, as he again went on to make the top score, this time 42. Fenley caused the batsmen most trouble as he often caused the ball to rise sharply, but it was not his lucky day, as Riches was his only wicket. Dai Davies again played a determined unbeaten innings, while Jack Mercer had a good swipe for a while, but the innings ended just before three o’clock, Sadler cleaning up most of the later batsmen. Despite their defeat, Glamorgan gave a very encouraging display, showing fight with the bat, bowling steadily and fielding very well.
Birmingham: Warwickshire v Somerset
Day 1
Parsons on Fire
Somerset had several leading players unavailable, and turned in a rather colourless batting performance on a good pitch. Their innings was remarkable for its consistency. Early on Stanley Rippon was bowled by Norman Partridge without scoring, but the other ten batsmen all scored at least 12 runs with only one batsman passing 25; in fact, Rippon was the only batsman all day to be out for single figures. The most impressive (a comparative term) of the Somerset batting came from three occasional amateur players, with Algy Bligh scoring a dogged 46. The brightest batting came from Monty Hambling at No 10, assisted by a debutant with the interesting name of Cecil Charles Coles Case. The eighth wicket fell at 162, but the last two wickets added 62.
When Warwickshire went in, Jack Parsons, always at his best on a fast true pitch, played by far the best innings of the day, scoring 80 out of 112 in 1¼ hours before being out just before the close and giving Warwickshire the edge over the day’s play.
Day 2
Partridge Maiden Century
A rain-interrupted day at Edgbaston was ended by more rain immediately after Warwickshire closed their first innings with a lead of 127 runs. The highlight was the brilliant maiden century of Norman Partridge, who scored his runs in only an hour and 40 minutes — five minutes longer than it took Willie Quaife to score 14. Although scoring so quickly, the former Cambridge University player showed excellent judgment in his strokeplay, giving no chances. He shared a stand of 138 for the seventh wicket with Bob Wyatt in an hour and a half, and was quite severe on Jack White, who bowled for most of the day, finishing with 50.2 overs for four wickets and 120 runs. It is about time Partridge is finally scoring runs in county cricket, where most of his success before now has been with the ball, but he was an outstanding batsman when he was at Malvern. George Hunt supported him well and had more luck with the wickets.
Day 3
Warwickshire Scramble Home
SOMERSET 224 and 162 (A E S Rippon 48, A S Bligh 22, G F Earle 27; N E Partridge 4/46, R E S Wyatt 3/33). WARWICKSHIRE 351 and 36/5 (L T A Bates 10, W G Quaife 9*, F S G Calthorpe 9; G E Hunt 2/18, J C White 3/16). Warwickshire won by five wickets. Overnight score was: Warwickshire (1) 351 all out.
The pitch was soft after rain when Somerset went in for their second innings, and they did not handle it well. They always struggled for runs, their best partnership being 46 for the third wicket between the aggressive Stanley Rippon and the dour Algy Bligh. Rippon scored 48 in less than an hour, remarkable scoring for one once known as a stonewaller, while Guy Earle slammed 27 in 25 minutes.
They could set Warwickshire only 36 to win, but George Hunt and Jack White bowled superbly and made them fight all the way. Three wickets were down for 12 runs, four for 16, and the crowd grew very excited, although an eventual Warwickshire victory was almost in the event. The steady Willie Quaife and the more aggressive Freddie Calthorpe took the score to 34 before the latter was out. Bob Wyatt scored the final two runs to take his team home, but not before he and Quaife had a mix-up, only for the bowler Hunt to fumble the chance of an easy run-out.
Sheffield: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire
Day 1
Yorkshire Grind Out the Runs
Both teams entered this match with a 100 per cent record in the championship table. The veteran Bumper Wells and Philip Wright opened the Northamptonshire attack with some very steady, accurate bowling and Yorkshire made a poor start. Percy Holmes hit three fours before being lbw to Wright for 15, and Herbert Sutcliffe, who spent half an hour scoring a single, was bowled by a ball from Wells that kept rather low. Soon after this Wells limped off the field with a thigh strain after slipping on a wet foothold, handicapping the Northamptonshire bowling and requiring the use of members of the Yorkshire team to take turns as substitutes, as they had brought no twelfth man. Coming together at 17 for two, Edgar Oldroyd and Maurice Leyland battened down the hatches and added 143 runs in just over 2½ hours. Oldroyd was eventually out for 96, as he skyed a simple catch to cover after attempting to reach his century with a four. He had batted for about four hours and 20 minutes. Wilfred Rhodes and Roy Kilner were both run out, both more due to their own bad judgment than to Oldroyd.
Later in the day Emmott Robinson and George Macaulay pushed the score along more quickly with a seventh-wicket partnership of 50, but 276 runs in a full day was rather heavy going. However, the fine Northamptonshire bowling and fielding meant that batting was never easy. The weather was beautiful and there was a good crowd of about 19,000.
Day 2
Century by Emmott Robinson
Yorkshire continued to pile on the runs this morning, with Emmott Robinson at the centre of the action as he scored his first century for Yorkshire since 1921. The last two batsmen gave him excellent support, with A Waddington staying to add 47 for the ninth wicket, and finally Arthur Dolphin saw him to his century in a last-wicket partnership worth 91 runs. Robinson batted for three hours and ten minutes and was unbeaten at the end of the innings. His superb cutting was the outstanding feature of his innings. There was much criticism of the Yorkshire tail last season for its failures, but today they did their team proud.
Then the Yorkshire bowlers got to work, and although Claud Woolley made 28 the other specialist batsmen failed and seven wickets were down for 75. Well though the Northamptonshire players had bowled and fielded, their batting is not as strong at all. The later batsmen put up a bit of a struggle, and although nine wickets were down for 95, Northamptonshire too enjoyed a fruitful last-wicket partnership. The hard-hitting Albert Thomas joined Ben Bellamy and they added 53 together; in fact, the only two partnerships of the day to pass 50 were for the last wicket, and Thomas finished the highest scorer for Northamptonshire. He drove three big sixes off Wilfred Rhodes. Following on, they lost Vallance Jupp for 14 before bad light ended play.
Day 3
Robinson Five Wickets as Yorkshire Win
YORKSHIRE 412. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 148 and (following on) 127 (J E Timms 17, W Wells 22, S H G Humfrey 19; E Robinson 5/44, G G Macaulay 3/26). Overnight score was: Northamptonshire (2) 30/1 (Woolley 13*, R L Wright 2*).
It took two hours today for Yorkshire to finish off the Northamptonshire second innings and earn themselves an innings victory. The visiting team’s wickets went down steadily, with Emmott Robinson after scoring his century taking five wickets, and helped particularly by George Macaulay. The highest score today was 22 by the injured Bumper Wells, who will probably be unable to play again for a while. His stand of 25 for the sixth wicket with Jack Timms, a promising 18-year-old batsman, was the highest partnership of the day. Northamptonshire had bowled and fielded with great spirit on the first day, but unfortunately their batting showed little fight, the only batsman to reach a score of 30 being their last man Albert Thomas (35) in the first innings.
County Championship Leaders: Kent, Yorkshire and Surrey all 100.00 per cent, Lancashire 80.00, Nottinghamshire 73.33, Essex, Middlesex and Northamptonshire all 66.66.
Cambridge: Cambridge University v Leicestershire
Day 1
Shipman Troubles Cambridge
K S Duleepsinhji is unable to play for Cambridge owing to a strained leg. Drizzle delayed the start, and the pitch was soft when play began, although it soon hardened well. Eddie Dawson was keen to make runs before the effect of the roller wore off, hitting Alec Skelding for two fours in the first over, but he was second out at 21 and Cambridge then decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Five men were out for 67, but there were two saving partnerships: Tom Enthoven and Richard Lowe, on his début, added 57 for the sixth wicket, and then Jack Meyer and another debutant in Alan Payne added 75 for the ninth wicket after eight had been out for 125. Most of the batting was dogged rather than aggressive, the innings lasting 87.5 overs; Meyer played the most enterprising innings. The pace of Alan Shipman caused the batsmen most difficulty, and in 20 overs he took six wickets for 33 runs, as well as breaking both the troublesome partnerships. Leicestershire are resting John King and George Geary for this match.
Day 2
Leicestershire Fall to Meyer as Cambridge Take Charge
Cambridge University played fine, positive cricket today that may be rewarded with a victory tomorrow. They bowled superbly at the Leicestershire batsmen this morning on a typically fine Fenner’s pitch, and although Jack Meyer took most of the wickets with his swinging deliveries, he was backed up admirably by Tom Enthoven and the other bowlers, and also by the brilliant wicket-keeping of Benjamin Sherwell, who caught two and stumped two — he is having an excellent season with the gloves. So overcome were Leicestershire that in the first eight overs of their innings the only run scored was a leg-bye, and three wickets went down for 10 runs. They were only matched by a superb innings from Ewart Astill, who picked off the runs with excellent shot selection before being bowled by an absolute pearler from Richard Lowe. The only other batsman to reach double figures was Albert Lord, who played a very steady innings of 39, but unlike Astill tended to waste scoring opportunities. The last five wickets fell for 9 runs and Leicestershire were 79 behind on the first innings.
In the University second innings Cecil Bennett sent in Wilfrid Timms to open with Eddie Dawson, and it proved an excellent choice. Weak fielding alone has kept Timms out of the regular University side before now, but today he played a very impressive innings, quietly but with great certainty. Cambridge pushed on with the runs, and at the close Bennett made a challenging declaration, setting Leicestershire 247 to win tomorrow. The agreed time for close of play tomorrow is four o’clock due to travel arrangements, which means the maximum time available for play will be 3¾ hours.
Day 3
Brilliant Match-Winner Meyer
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY 200 and 167/3 dec. LEICESTERSHIRE 121 and 140 (G L Berry 48, W E Astill 21, A Lord 15; R J O Meyer 7/24, R G H Lowe 3/42). Cambridge University won by 106 runs. Overnight score was: Cambridge University (2) 177/3 dec.
Jack Meyer had another brilliant day with the ball as Leicestershire tumbled to defeat. He caused the greatest trouble swinging the ball in to the batsmen, and had a particularly deceptive straight ball that came very quickly off the pitch and they could not read. After the match they rated Meyer as the best bowler to come out of Cambridge for many years. Their batting effort, though, was very weak, although as usual Ewart Astill played well for a while, and Les Berry, having taken 40 minutes to get off the mark, showed great promise and sound defence for almost two hours in scoring 48, his highest first-class score to date. At the start of the innings Meyer bowled ten consecutive maiden overs, mainly to Berry, and took three wickets. He finished with the remarkable match figures of 13 wickets for 65 runs, and was again backed up well by Tom Enthoven.
Chesterfield: Derbyshire v Yorkshire
Day 1
Holmes in Form Again
There was heavy overnight rain and play was only possible for the last two hours and 50 minutes of the scheduled playing time as until then the outfield was too sodden. Percy Holmes continued his good early-season form, but Herbert Sutcliffe was out for 15 of an opening partnership of 43, not having found his usual form yet. Three wickets were down for 70, but Holmes continued to bat superbly, especially in his pulling of anything short, though he did give a return chance at 44. Wilfred Rhodes came in and settled there with Holmes for the last hour of the day’s play.
Day 2
Macaulay Shatters Derbyshire
The pitch was soft and lifeless when play continued this morning. Percy Holmes and Wilfred Rhodes continued their partnership until they had added 138 for the fourth wicket, Holmes batting about 3¾ hours for his 125, a fine innings. Wilfred Rhodes and Roy Kilner both scored fifties, Kilner’s 62 lasting only 70 minutes, and Yorkshire declared the innings closed at lunch time. Sam Cadman had been the best of Derbyshire’s bowlers, bowling 30 overs and taking three wickets for only 40 runs.
The sun came out strongly during the lunch interval, giving the bowlers some assistance. Derbyshire were immediately in trouble, losing Garnet Lee in the first over, bowled by George Macaulay, without scoring. Wilfrid Hill-Wood and Les Townsend were the only batsmen to reach double figures and show any competence with the bowling, and especially with Macaulay, whose accuracy, spin and variations of pace overwhelmed most of the batsmen. He bowled throughout the innings, 24 overs, and conceded only 13 runs to take his seven wickets, equalling his career-best bowling figures. It seemed that many of the Derbyshire batsmen decided that the situation against such bowlers on a helpful pitch was hopeless and gave in without a fight.
In their second innings Derbyshire this time lost Hill-Wood and Townsend with only 6 runs on the board, but Lee stood firm, and Guy Jackson looked like making a good stand with him until he ran himself out. They were helped by Macaulay suffering from a back strain and being forced to leave the field. At the close Derbyshire were still 198 runs behind with only six wickets left, and look doomed to an innings defeat as long as Jupiter Pluvius keeps away.
Day 3
Waddington Finishes off Derbyshire
YORKSHIRE 330/7 dec. DERBYSHIRE 61 and (following on) 109 (G M Lee 33, J Bowden 12, J Horsley 12; E Robinson 2/25, A Waddington 4/25, R Kilner 2/36). Yorkshire won by an innings and 160 runs. Overnight score was: Derbyshire (2) 68/4 (Lee 23*, Bowden 10*).
It took just over an hour this morning for Yorkshire to bowl out Derbyshire a second time and win their fourth victory of the season. The only batsman on the Derbyshire side to cope with the situation was the former Nottinghamshire opening batsman Garnet Lee, who fought a fine defensive game for 2¾ hours before he was finally beaten and bowled by Roy Kilner, eighth out at 90. With George Macaulay still suffering from back strain and unlikely for tomorrow’s match against Kent, Abe Waddington had more bowling to do than he usually has these days, and he made a point by picking up four wickets cheaply. The pitch was too lifeless to suit Roy Kilner, who took only two wickets in the match.
Leyton: Essex v Gloucestershire
Day 1
Essex Looking Good
Gloucestershire wasted their opportunity of batting first with some mediocre batting, although the acting captain, Philip Williams, opened with a very good fluent 40 in less than an hour. Wally Hammond looked set for a big score as he began attacking the bowling in fine style, but when he had 45 in 50 minutes he impulsively slashed a catch to cover point. None of the other top batsmen reached double figures, and the innings total of 177 was disappointing, especially against a threadbare Essex attack, which soon lost Laurie Eastman with a strained shoulder; Johnny Douglas bowled unchanged for most of the innings. Captain Robert Sharp, making his first-class début, had Albert Waters caught at slip off the first delivery he bowled.
Essex began with a fine partnership of 61 between John Freeman and the promoted Jimmy Cutmore, until Freeman paid a painful penalty for deliberate pad-play against a fast ball from Waters and received such a blow on the knee that he had to be carried off the field. Cutmore fought hard, although cautiously, for 35, and at the end of the day a sound partnership between Jack Russell, who looked in impressive form, and Percy Perrin, in his first match of the season, put Essex in position to build a big lead tomorrow.
Day 2
Bloodworth Puts Essex Under Pressure
If Essex had the better of the first day’s play at Leyton, Gloucestershire took the honours on the second. Essex overtook the Gloucestershire first-innings score this morning with only three wickets down, but then Charlie Parker and George Dennett caused a middle-order collapse, the score slumping from 181 for three to 187 for eight, and Laurie Eastman unable to bat due to injury. The last available pair of Joe Hipkin and Rainy Brown put on 35, but the Essex lead was restricted to 45.
Gloucestershire then did much better in their second innings, thanks largely to Bernie Bloodworth, who is also their stand-in wicket-keeper while Harry Smith is absent. He was dropped before he had scored, which may prove to be a fatal blow to Essex, but then went on to hit his first century in first-class cricket, a fine 115 in three hours. The rest of the top order was rather feeble and six wickets were down at 148, but Parker applied himself with the bat and scored a fifty, putting on 121 for the seventh wicket with Bloodworth. Essex were struggling at the close, set 247 to win and losing John Freeman, bowled middle stump by Wally Hammond, first ball of the innings.
Day 3
Great Russell Innings Brings Essex Victory
GLOUCESTERSHIRE 177 and 291. ESSEX 222 and 250/5 (A B Hipkin 36, C A G Russell 135*, P A Perrin 17, J W H T Douglas 29*; W R Hammond 2/75, C W L Parker 2/80). Essex won by five wickets. Overnight score was: Essex (2) 10/1 (Cutmore 6*, Hipkin 4*).
The Essex revival this season continued today, thanks mainly to a magnificent century from their former England batsman Jack Russell. The trend of the match suggested Gloucestershire were favourites to win at the start of play, as Essex had a target of 247 to win and had lost the wicket of John Freeman overnight. Gloucestershire soon tightened their grip by removing Jimmy Cutmore for his overnight 6 and Jack O’Connor, also for 6, reducing Essex to 25 for three. However the night-watchman Joe Hipkin was still there and he was to play an invaluable rôle by scoring a dogged 36 in an hour and three-quarters.
Russell survived a chance when 3, and this almost certainly cost Gloucestershire the match; they would have been 28 for four. After that he played a masterly innings, always careful with respect to the situation, but steadily piling on the necessary runs. Hipkin stayed with him for a vital partnership of 57, and then Percy Perrin helped to add 47 for the fifth wicket. Finally Johnny Douglas came in and was immovable, scoring 7 runs in his first hour as he helped to wear down the attack while Russell kept scoring at the other end. This was the winning partnership, lasting 2¼ hours unbroken until Essex had completed their fine victory at ten minutes past five with Russell’s 16th boundary in his four-hour innings. The Gloucestershire bowlers never gave up, Charlie Parker bowling 51.3 overs to take two for 80, and their fielding was good throughout, but the dropped chance proved to be fatal and after that Russell was too good.
Manchester: Lancashire v Somerset
Day 1
No Play — Rain
This is the first meeting between Lancashire and Somerset since 1911, and at Old Trafford since 1910, when only Jack White of the present Somerset team was also in that match, so Jupiter Pluvius decided to let them know immediately that this ground is well known as his stronghold. There were thunderstorms yesterday and during the night, and three hours’ more rain during this morning. The pitch had been protected, but the outfield was totally sodden, but the inevitable abandonment for the day was not made until more rain began after lunch. Harry Makepeace is back in the Lancashire team, having recovered from his illness.
Day 2
All Over in a Day!
SOMERSET 74 (A S Bligh 20, G F Earle 43; C H Parkin 2/34, E A McDonald 5/24, R K Tyldesley 3/13) and 73 (A E S Rippon 15, J Daniell 20, M L Hambling 10; C H Parkin 6/44, R K Tyldesley 3/13). LANCASHIRE 130 (J W H Makepeace 11, C Hallows 12, J R Barnes 26, R K Tyldesley 27, E A McDonald 35*; G E Hunt 4/63, J C White 5/67) and 20/1 (G E Tyldesley 11*). Lancashire won by nine wickets. Overnight score was: No play yesterday.
Since this is only the 47th time these two counties have met in first-class cricket, it is remarkable that three of these matches now should have been completed in a single day (the others were in 1892 and 1894), and each time Lancashire have been victors, and each time the match has been played at Old Trafford. The main reason today seems to have been extremely bad batting, as the pitch was helping the bowlers after all the rain, but the ball rarely popped about or shot through low as on a real ‘sticky.’ Only six scores of 20 or more were recorded, only two of them by top-order batsmen who played a steady game, and the other four by tail-enders who chanced their arms.
The third-highest score in Somerset’s first innings was 3. Most of the runs were hit by the newcomer Algy Bligh, who survived for an hour by sound batting after Cecil Parkin and Ted McDonald had taken the first four wickets for 3 runs, and Guy Earle, whose mighty blows (one high over the ladies’ pavilion) hit Parkin out of the attack, with 2 sixes and 5 fours in his 43. The innings of 74 lasted 95 minutes. McDonald took his first five-wicket haul for Lancashire by adapting himself well to the slow pitch and especially a medium-paced breakback.
Harry Makepeace and Charlie Hallows made 11 and 12 respectively, and John Barnes a very steady and admirable 26, but Lancashire were still behind the Somerset total when the eighth wicket fell at 74. Then Tyldesley and McDonald, in what proved to be ultimately a match-winning partnership, added 55 for the ninth wicket in 25 minutes, leaping out to hit the hitherto deadly Jack White, who bowled superbly. So Lancashire just after tea finished with a lead of 56.
Somerset did even worse the second time round, against Parkin bowling at his best, and at 43 for eight were in danger of losing by an innings. Earle this time was caught in the deep first ball. John Daniell at No 8 boldly hit Parkin for three sixes, and so Somerset were able to set Lancashire 18 to win. They lost Makepeace for five, but then safely completed the job with ten minutes of extra time — sportingly agreed to by Daniell — to spare on the first day.
Oxford: Oxford University v Worcestershire
Day 1
Legge Turns Disaster into Triumph
The University made quite a disastrous start against the bowling of Fred Root (who had two men caught in his leg-trap) and Dick Pearson, who bowled out John Guise second ball. The score was 33 when the fourth wicket went down, but they were saved by a fine partnership of 106 between the steady opener John Stephenson and the aggressive Geoffrey Legge, playing his first match for the University. Both batsmen survived chances that cost Worcestershire dearly. Legge is an aggressive batsman with a much better attack than defence, and he reached his century in two hours. The score was also boosted by an invaluable last-wicket partnership of 85 between Louis Serrurier and the wicket-keeper Ivor Gilliat. Apart from Root and Pearson, who did most of the bowling, Worcestershire have a very thin attack. In 70 minutes before the close, Maurice Foster decided to open the batting today and showed some excellent form in passing his fifty.
Day 2
Hopkins Takes Worcestershire to Lead
Edward Hewetson bowled a good opening spell for Oxford, and removed Maurice Foster and Dick Pearson with successive deliveries. But Leslie Wright, on his début, batted very solidly and Herbert Higgins showed excellent form, batting almost 2½ hours to score a fine century. He had help from Charles Fawcus and George Abell, a University player keen to make a point with the bat against his usual team-mates. At one stage Worcestershire were 270 for three wickets, but they were helped by poor Oxford catching, at least six chances going down in the innings. The tail batted rather weakly, but the county were able to lead by 15 runs on the first innings.
Although the stand-in opener Ivor Gilliat went for 6, the University began their second innings well, with Claude Taylor in sound form. They were 107 for two wickets before Errol Holmes was bowled by Fred Root from the last ball of the day.
Day 3
Abell Denies His University Victory
OXFORD UNIVERSITY 364 and 272 (C H Taylor 105*, G B Legge 40, J V Richardson 21, E P Hewetson 21; C F Root 6/83, W H Taylor 2/79). WORCESTERSHIRE 379 and 194/9 (M K Foster 23, F A Pearson 39, H O Hopkins 33, C F Root 19, G E B Abell 41*; L R Serrurier 2/51, J W Greenstock 3/31, J V Richardson 2/40). Match drawn. Overnight score was: Oxford University (2) 107/3 (Taylor 44*).
This was a good final day’s cricket for this match, with the last pair of Worcestershire batsmen holding out for about ten minutes to deny Oxford University victory. The main achievement of the day was that of Claude Taylor, who scored a century and carried his bat through the Oxford innings; no time can be found for his innings, but it probably lasted almost four hours. He gave just one chance, on 55, and although slow at times he did not retreat into the stonewalling defence that blighted his cricket last season. His best partnership was one of 71 with Geoffrey Legge, who again batted well. Fred Root did sterling work with the ball to take six wickets; he bowled 75 overs in the match to take eleven for 203.
Worcestershire needed 258 to win, but this never looked likely. They lost their first four wickets for 50 and seven were down for 146, as Oxford bowled and fielded much better this time. The man who did most to deny the University victory was George Abell, who ironically was the University wicket-keeper (usually sent in at No 10 or 11) until displaced by Ivor Gilliat. He no doubt showed great delight in showing his University what he can do with the bat, with a forty in each innings. He and Bill Taylor stayed over an hour to add 42 for the eighth wicket, and the last man, debutant Henry Foley, survived with Abell to deny the University another victory.
The Oval: Surrey v Warwickshire
Day 1
Hobbs and Sandham 232 Partnership
Morning rain rendered the pitch soft and lifeless, giving the bowlers no help at all, especially the two leading Warwickshire bowlers, their pacemen Harry Howell and Freddie Calthorpe. Still, the batsmen had to work hard for their runs at first, especially as Warwickshire fielded very well. Jack Hobbs took an hour and a half to reach his fifty, outscored by Andy Sandham at this stage, but then he opened out and batted brilliantly, taking only another 40 minutes to reach his third century of the season. Sandham reached his first century of the season just before Hobbs miscued a ball from Calthorpe and was caught at square leg; the score was 232 and Hobbs had scored 120 in just over an hour and a half. There were 50 well-placed singles in his innings, most of them early on, but he took toll of the bad balls. He had given just one difficult chance at 61.
With help from Alfred Jeacocke and Tom Shepherd, Sandham went on to reach a chanceless 181 in four and a half hours. The score at this point was 388 for four, and the later batsmen went for quick runs, hitting out boldly. Howell and Calthorpe now had reward for their labours, helped by good catching, and the last six wickets fell for only 11 runs. Howell is back in the team after illness, but is still not fully fit, although he ripped through the Surrey tail with the third new ball. The Warwickshire openers survived for 15 minutes until the close. For once Bert Strudwick is not playing for Surrey, having sustained a hand injury, and Surrey gave a début to their promising young wicket-keeper, Ted Brooks.
Day 2
Fender Makes Warwickshire Follow On
Warwickshire continued their first innings this morning and wickets fell steadily for a while at fairly regular intervals. Len Bates began well, with a very correct and attractive style that makes him one of those batsmen capable of scoring many more runs than he does. Freddie Calthorpe played a most attractive innings, and his partnership of 40 with Jack Smart for the second innings was the highest of the innings. Percy Fender took most of the wickets with clever variations of length and flight, perhaps his best bowling performance since 1923, and was well supported by Alan Peach. Only some good batting by George Jennings took the score past the 200 mark. Warwickshire finished 233 behind and had to follow on.
They batted much better in the afternoon, on a fast pitch and in sunny weather. The main figure was the opening batsman Jack Parsons, who played a fine upright fluent innings, particularly notable for powerful driving, especially on the off side. He mastered the bowling as no-one else was able to do during the day, scoring 72 in 1¾ hours. Willie Quaife gave him quiet support as he scored 72 out of 117, showing his class even at the age of 53. Calthorpe played well again, but the Surrey slip fielders were guilty of missing two or three chances. At the close Warwickshire were still 22 runs behind and had six wickets in hand.
Day 3
Peach Bustles Out Warwickshire
SURREY 442 and 58/1 (J B Hobbs 32*, A Sandham 25). WARWICKSHIRE 209 (L T A Bates 41, W G Quaife 20, F S G Calthorpe 43, G A Jennings 22; H A Peach 2/18, P G H Fender 6/56) and (following on) 290 (W G Quaife 76, F S G Calthorpe 73, A D Lane 21; H A Peach 7/59). Surrey won by nine wickets. Overnight score was: Warwickshire (2) 211/4 (Quaife 70*, Calthorpe 31*).
After making such a fine fightback yesterday afternoon, Warwickshire disappointed this morning against the fine bowling of Alan Peach in particular. Willie Quaife, who had played well yesterday, never got going this morning and added only 6 runs in three-quarters of an hour before Alan Peach came on to bowl and had him caught in the slips. This was the beginning of a triumphant spell by Peach, who took all the six wickets to fall this morning with only 37 runs added to the score. He next bowled out Freddie Calthorpe for a fine 73, and only Spinney Lane scored any significant runs after that. Peach bowled at a slower pace than usual, cutting the ball well off the pitch with great accuracy, one of his very best spells. Surrey were left to score 58 for victory, and with Jack Hobbs and Andy Sandham scoring fluently they achieved this in 35 minutes. Surrey have now won all four of their matches this season, and all at the Oval.
Hove: Sussex v Glamorgan
Day 1
Sussex Plod
Sussex made laborious progress at Hove today which was fairly good for batting, but they had some excuses. The Glamorgan bowling was tight, with Jack Mercer especially bowling well, and Glamorgan fielded very well on a slow outfield; it actually took 2½ hours’ play before the first boundary was hit. Also their experiences in their previous four matches this season (highest total 202) was hardly likely to inspire confidence. The first four batsmen all played very steadily, even the usually aggressive Harold Gilligan, with Ted Bowley leading the way as usual. This policy worked well enough to take them to 166 with only three wickets down, when Tommy Cook was fourth out for 49. The later batsmen had less patience and the batting collapsed; it took a last-wicket partnership of 31 between George Cox (15) and Tich Cornford (17 not out) to take the score past 200. The Glamorgan openers survived 20 minutes before the close of play. Arthur Gilligan is unavailable for this match owing to injury.
Day 2
Tate Shatters Glamorgan
Several players who toured Australia during the winter have found difficulty in finding their best form so far this season, but Maurice Tate, perhaps the hardest-worked of them all out there, is not one of them. He ripped through the Glamorgan batting to take 12 wickets in the day, so that Sussex are only two wickets away from victory. Opening the bowling with Bert Wensley instead of his missing captain Arthur Gilligan, he took a few overs to warm up, as Glamorgan, 8 without loss overnight, reached 29 for the wicket of Eddie Bates, Tate running down the pitch to take a return catch. But at 29 he produced a magnificent breakback to bowl out Norman Riches for 9, and the avalanche began. From 29 for one the score went to 34 for nine, eight wickets falling for 5 runs — including three in four balls to Tate — before the last-wicket pair managed to scrape another seven runs between them.
Sussex, although 186 ahead, did not enforce the follow-on, no doubt to give Tate a rest, and lost four wickets for 50, with Helm Spencer bowling very well. Tate now had to help his side with the bat, and hit 38 in three-quarters of an hour in partnership with James Langridge, who went on to hit his maiden first-class fifty. They declared at half-past five with a lead of 405, and unleashed Tate on the embattled Glamorgan team again. They lost their first seven wickets for 12 runs, and an eighth at 19, but managed to survive the day, though only with the unlikely hope of rain all day tomorrow. Glamorgan lost 18 wickets during the day for only 66 runs on a fair batting pitch, but against the world’s greatest bowler. Well though Tate bowled, with pace, accuracy and movement off the pitch, the batting was very poor and many batsmen appeared to be defeated before they reached the crease, throwing away their wickets with desperate and hopeless swings of the bat. Tate’s match figures so far are 12 wickets for 37 runs.
Day 3
Tate 14 Wickets
SUSSEX 227 and 219/7 dec. GLAMORGAN 41 and 79 (H Spencer 22, F P Ryan 23, D Sullivan 13*; M W Tate 7/35, A F Wensley 3/39). Sussex won by 326 runs. Overnight score was: Glamorgan (2) 23/8 (Spencer 9*, Ryan 0*).
The way Glamorgan had batted in their second innings yesterday no doubt made almost everybody expect their last two wickets to fall within a few minutes of play this morning. Somehow, however, the last three batsmen had found the resolve their seniors in the batting order never had, and fought for 50 minutes before Sussex were able to complete their first victory of the season. First Helm Spencer made some good hits while his partner, Frank Ryan, played a quieter game, and when Spencer was bowled by Maurice Tate at 54 for nine, Ryan and the last man Dennis Sullivan added another 25 for the last wicket before Tate ended it all, having taken 14 wickets for 58 runs in the match. He and Bert Wensley bowled unchanged throughout the match. Ryan’s 23 (and his 24 in the match) were the highest by any Glamorgan players; of the top eight in the batting order, Norman Riches scored most runs in the match — 15.