Tennyson lights up Southampton

100 Years Ago: 1-7 July 1925

Day 1

Southampton: Hampshire v Middlesex

Lionel Tennyson unleashed a blistering innings against Middlesex, punishing the bowlers after being dropped early along with partner Tom Jameson. The pair added 112 for the fifth wicket, followed by a 134-run stand with Alec Kennedy. Tennyson, more composed this season but still ferocious, powered past his century in 1¾ hours and neared a double-ton by stumps. Earlier batting was slow on a quick pitch, but George Brown, Ronnie Aird, and Phil Mead added momentum. Middlesex fielded well overall, with standout efforts from Clarence Bruce and Harry Lee, though missed chances proved costly.

Leyton: Essex v Somerset (Sailor Young’s Benefit)

This match, held as a benefit for former England bowler and current umpire Sailor Young, saw a depleted Somerset attack missing its main bowlers and captain. Despite early success—Essex were 62 for three—Jack Russell and Percy Perrin turned the tide with a fluent 229-run stand. Russell led the effort with 150 in 3½ hours. Somerset fielded keenly, with George Hunt taking four slip catches, but couldn't halt the Essex charge.

Cardiff: Glamorgan v Sussex

Maurice Tate, bandaged but effective, returned to top form, taking 7 wickets in 20 overs as Glamorgan collapsed after a promising start. Only the opening stand of 32 showed resistance before Tate tore through the middle order in under two hours.

Sussex stumbled early, losing three for 61, but recovered thanks to a brisk 85-run partnership between Tommy Cook and Jack Holmes, who maintained his excellent touch from previous matches. Despite poor Glamorgan catching and missed chances, Sussex slid to 192 for eight before Harold Gilligan and Tich Cornford steadied the innings. Tate, still hampered by injury, batted last and showed obvious discomfort at the crease.

Cheltenham (Victoria Ground): Gloucestershire v Lancashire

Lancashire made a strong start at Cheltenham's Victoria Ground, reaching 99 before losing their second wicket, but their innings faltered after Ernest Tyldesley’s dismissal on 49. Acting captain John Barnes steadied things with a composed 50 in over two hours, supported briefly by George Duckworth in a 43-run seventh-wicket stand. The pitch didn’t favour Charlie Parker, while Wally Hammond impressed with his inswingers.

With Ted McDonald sidelined due to injury, Gloucestershire batted for nearly ninety minutes, and Alf Dipper made the most of his absence, scoring a fluent fifty from the team’s 68.

Eastbourne: H D G Leveson Gower’s XI v Cambridge University

Shrimp Leveson Gower’s powerful XI dominated Cambridge, whose bowlers lacked variety and fielders missed key chances. Jack Bryan, dropped twice, capitalized with a superb 182 over 4½ hours, after a 99-run opening stand with Douglas Jardine. Bryan built solid partnerships, notably 103 with John Naumann, while Reg Bettington added late aggression. Despite effort, Cambridge’s Jack Meyer couldn’t break through for a wicket.

Lord’s: M.C.C. v Oxford University

Oxford’s expected University match XI faced a slightly weakened MCC side, and after a shaky start, Charles Titchmarsh showed grit batting through pain from an early blow to compile a 150-run stand with John King. He fell to a sharp slip catch after 2¾ hours, triggering a middle-order decline as Oxford’s bowlers—led by Errol Holmes—tightened their grip with three late wickets. Oxford fielded sharply and closed the day with John Guise steadying the reply in the final 20 minutes. With a good batting pitch underfoot, opportunities beckon for Oxford on day two.

Northampton: Northamptonshire v Kent

Northamptonshire started brightly, with Claud Woolley and Rawlings Hawtin adding 60 in under an hour, and reaching 100 for two before Tich Freeman sparked a collapse on an unhelpful pitch. Freeman and Frank Woolley shared all ten wickets, yet Vallance Jupp resisted superbly, finishing unbeaten on 72 from 2¼ hours.

Kent’s reply was cautious and marred by injury: James Seymour was twice forced to retire after a painful blow to the collarbone from Nobby Clark. Bill Ashdown remained steady, reaching his fifty after a 38-run opening stand with Wally Hardinge.

Dudley: Worcestershire v Warwickshire

Worcestershire dominated early as Fred Root tore through Warwickshire, taking six wickets and leaving them reeling at 79 for seven by lunch. But the tide turned dramatically as Arthur Croom and Bob Wyatt staged a resolute recovery, adding 228 for the eighth wicket over 3½ hours. Both scored maiden first-class centuries, with Croom making a remarkable 305 in four hours and Wyatt nearly matching his time at No. 9. The innings was riddled with missed chances—six in total. Just before stumps, Harry Howell dismissed night-watchman Francis Summers, leaving Worcestershire at 11 for one.

Leeds: Yorkshire v Derbyshire

Yorkshire overcame a shaky start against Derbyshire’s disciplined attack—despite the absence of Bestwick and Morton—losing three wickets for 42 before a dropped catch let Wilfred Rhodes off the hook. He partnered Herbert Sutcliffe for 80, then combined with Roy Kilner after lunch in a fluent 170-run stand for the fifth wicket. Kilner narrowly missed a century, but Rhodes went on to post his first hundred of the season in under three hours, capitalizing on fading bowlers alongside Emmott Robinson.

Day 2

Leyton: Essex v Somerset (Sailor Young’s Benefit)

Essex piled up 433 at Leyton, anchored by Jack O’Connor’s slow but steady knock and an unexpectedly lively 52 from Whiz Morris. Somerset’s reply was sluggish early, hampered by Cecil 'Box' Case’s defensive batting, before Guy Earle lit up the innings with a blazing 67 in 40 minutes. Despite his fireworks, Somerset faltered and followed on 221 behind.

In their second innings, they embraced the inevitable with spirited strokeplay—seven players reached double figures, but none made a substantial score. Earle fell cheaply this time, yet Somerset kept the tempo brisk, scoring over four runs an over before collapsing inside 90 minutes just before the close.

Cardiff: Glamorgan v Sussex

Maurice Tate’s unstoppable bowling left Glamorgan in tatters once again, sealing an innings defeat before lunch on day two. Despite a strained wrist, Tate’s effectiveness was undiminished as he claimed 13 wickets for just 87 runs across the match. Harold Gilligan’s overnight declaration likely spared Tate from batting discomfort. Glamorgan’s resistance was minimal—only Harry Symonds reached double figures, while Emrys Davies showed gritty defence for his eight. Eddie Bates offered brief composure before edging to the keeper. George Cox supported ably with 2 for 7 in ten tight overs. Glamorgan’s losing streak sadly stretched to ten matches.

Cheltenham (Victoria Ground): Gloucestershire v Lancashire

Alf Dipper anchored Gloucestershire’s innings with a composed 84, but despite seven others reaching double figures, none surpassed 30, and the side fell 20 short on first innings. Wally Hammond, talented but reckless, was twice missed before being run out for 19. The hosts missed an opportunity against a depleted Lancashire attack lacking Ted McDonald, with Cecil Parkin ineffective and Dick Tyldesley bowling injured.

Lancashire replied with assurance. Harry Makepeace and Charlie Hallows added 100, Hallows dominating with stylish strokeplay. He and Ernest Tyldesley took the score to 229 before Hallows departed for a superb 126—his sixth century of the season. By stumps, Lancashire had taken control.

Southampton: Hampshire v Middlesex

Lionel Tennyson added just one run this morning before falling for 184, ending an explosive 2¾-hour innings that featured 3 sixes and 27 fours. Alex Bowell’s solid 64 lifted Hampshire to a commanding 578 before Middlesex safely navigated the brief pre-lunch session.

Harry Lee and Horace Dales opened confidently, putting on 113 before Dales was forced to retire hurt after a rising ball struck him on the head. Jack Hearne steadied the innings, playing cautiously as the crowd grew restless, while Patsy Hendren departed for 5. Frank Mann anchored the end of the day’s play. Hampshire’s Brown led the bowling effort; Alec Kennedy made little impact. With Middlesex needing 428 to avoid the follow-on, only then might a result be possible.

Eastbourne: H D G Leveson Gower’s XI v Cambridge University

Leveson Gower’s XI posted a strong total of 438 before Reg Bettington, sharper than ever this season, dismantled Cambridge’s middle order with deceptive googlies. Eddie Dawson fell early, but a solid start from the next five batsmen was undone by Bettington and a late burst from Ernest Smith. Duleepsinhji impressed with a fluent 63 before being bowled by a fine delivery from Frank Naumann. Trailing by 211, Cambridge followed on and made a spirited start despite losing Hamer Bagnall, with Dawson and Duleep showing promising form in a determined fightback.

Lord’s: M.C.C. v Oxford University

Oxford edged ahead with a gritty first-innings effort, highlighted by a lively 106-run stand between Claude Taylor—stoic across 2½ hours—and Geoffrey Legge, who played with bold aggression for his 83. Their partnership, backed by useful tail-end contributions, secured a slim lead.

With the ball, Oxford capitalized late in the day, claiming four MCC wickets in just over an hour, each to a different bowler. MCC’s top order struggled, collectively posting only 30, with Alex Hosie standing out amid the collapse. Oxford heads into the final day in a strong position, and a win would buoy their confidence ahead of the looming University match.

Northampton: Northamptonshire v Kent

Bowlers continued to dominate proceedings at Northampton today, when Kent, apparently well placed at 109 for two overnight, found their batting breaking down under the assault of the unpredictable left-arm pace bowler Nobby Clark. Clark could not remove the opener Bill Ashdown, who made 73 altogether in about 2¾ hours, but he ripped into the middle order. The only partnership of any size was one of 37 for the seventh wicket between Ashdown and Jack Hubble. Clarke’s assault enabled Northamptonshire to take a lead of 23 runs on the first innings.

The home county were unable to build a better lead in their second innings, though, although Claud Woolley again played a fine innings, this time scoring 57 while none of his partners could score more than 10 (Vallance Jupp) until Philip Wright stuck in to help him add 29 for the seventh wicket before Woolley himself was out just before the close. Tich Freeman and Frank Woolley again caused most of the damage, and when a heavy storm ended play at 3.50 Northamptonshire were 135 runs ahead with only two wickets left. Kent will have to bat a man short in their second innings, as unfortunately X-rays showed that James Seymour broke his collarbone yesterday against Clarke and is likely to be out for the rest of the season.

Dudley: Worcestershire v Warwickshire

Worcestershire lost their first three wickets for 47, but then Maurice Foster joined the solid William Hampton and hit up 67 of their partnership of 94 in 70 minutes; Hampton hit a maiden fifty. Afterwards, though, Harry Howell bowled well with the old ball after lunch and the innings fell apart, the last five wickets going down for 8 runs, four of them to Howell. Worcestershire did manage to save the follow-on, though, the deficit being 145.

With such a lead Warwickshire attacked the bowling vigorously in their second innings for three hours, and for once Fred Root took a rare hammering, bowling 21 overs for 103 runs and no wickets. Freddie Calthorpe led the way, taking less than an hour to score a brilliant 89. Jack Parsons played the anchor rôle with a solid 84, and Warwickshire took their lead to 452 by the close. Even in this season of extraordinary run chases, it is difficult to imagine a weak team like Worcestershire scoring anything like that in the final innings, but Warwickshire are practically certain to win in time tomorrow, apart from the risk of rain.

Leeds: Yorkshire v Derbyshire

Yorkshire continued their innings for half an hour this morning to add another 53 runs to their overnight score, most of which came from the aggressive bat of their wicket-keeper Reg Allen. Wilfred Rhodes added only 3 runs to his score before he was lbw to Jim Horsley in the second over of the day. Harry Elliott kept wicket beautifully for Derbyshire and gave away no byes in the whole innings.

Derbyshire were in trouble from the start, losing their first two wickets to Emmott Robinson for 8 runs on the board. They were saved from complete disaster only by a fighting 50 from their captain, Guy Jackson, who batted for two hours without giving a chance. The bowling was tremendously accurate, and Roy Kilner and Abe Waddington both bowled superbly for their success. By midafternoon Derbyshire were following on. Garnet Lee batted stubbornly and Jim Hutchinson played a good undefeated innings, but Jackson this time was bowled second ball by Kilner without scoring. The visitors were bowled out again just before the close to give Yorkshire another two-day victory after 13 minutes of extra time, their 13th win of the season. Jim Hutchinson fought well, hitting Rhodes for two sixes and getting away with it. When George Macaulay bowled out Sam Cadman in the second innings with a ball he didn’t attempt to play, he took his hundredth wicket of the season.

Day 3

Cheltenham (Victoria Ground): Gloucestershire v Lancashire

Lancashire began the final day 304 runs ahead and they batted on for another three-quarters of an hour before declaring. Ernest Tyldesley continued his superb batting of yesterday to reach his century and the declaration came soon after he was dismissed, after batting for about 2½ hours, leaving Gloucestershire to score 365 for victory on a pitch now showing signs of wear. Wally Hammond was the most dangerous of the bowlers, making the ball lift very awkwardly at pace quite often, but Tyldesley handled him very well.

Alf Dipper again played superbly while he was there, but he only made 29, and Gloucestershire lost their first five wickets for only 61 runs. Cecil Parkin had regained his spark and bowled with real skill and purpose. The innings was only saved from disaster by Hammond, who played a brilliant innings and completely dominated the bowling. His driving was especially powerful and his footwork excellent as he scored 94 in just over an hour. He was particularly severe on the bowling of Parkin and Dick Tyldesley, the two main dangers among the bowlers. On 94 he tried to reach his century with a six, but chose the wrong ball and was caught. He ended up scoring just over half the whole innings total, but another of this season’s massive run chases never looked really possible on this pitch.

Southampton: Hampshire v Middlesex

Some good cricket was played today, but the public showed little interest in attending with a draw practically certain. Jack Hearne soon reached his century but was out after batting for three hours and 20 minutes, and on his dismissal Horace Dales returned to the wicket after retiring hurt yesterday. He was obviously quite recovered and after reaching his century played some brilliant strokes, eventually being out for 126 in two hours and 40 minutes. At 416 for five a first-innings lead was a possibility, but then Dales and Frank Mann were out in quick succession, and the tail failed.

George Brown was certainly the best Hampshire bowler, no longer bowling exclusively fast but using much more guile and changes of pace. Having bowled 44.2 overs taking in Hampshire to a first-innings lead, he went in to bat again with an hour and ten minutes to play at the end and rattled up another fifty off mostly frontline bowlers.

Eastbourne: H D G Leveson Gower’s XI v Cambridge University

Rain, which has done so little damage to cricket this month, came in to wipe out most of the last day’s play, so we will never know if Cambridge had the spirit to achieve a draw by their own efforts. Eddie Dawson and K S Duleepsinhji continued their second innings after a delayed start, but despite the bowlers being handicapped by a wet ball, Duleep did not play very well this morning and survived two chances before being caught for 72. Dawson batted soundly and remained unbeaten at lunch after 75 minutes’ play. During the lunch interval a drizzle began and continued steadily until the match was abandoned at four o’clock. At the end of the match Cambridge had recovered well to finish 27 runs behind with eight wickets in hand, apparently on course to forcing a draw even without rain.

Both Universities struggled in their matches at Eastbourne, but judges who saw both matches agreed that Cambridge appear to be the stronger team, with next week’s University match in view. Oxford, however, were seen at their worst, and have played much better against M.C.C. at Lord’s. Both teams seem to be rather weak in bowling, with Jack Meyer the most impressive in either team.

Lord’s: M.C.C. v Oxford University

Oxford University duly completed a very satisfactory victory over the M.C.C. team today, although not altogether convincingly. There was not much memorable about this day’s play from either side. Alexander Hosie played solidly to score 63 for M.C.C., the only batsman in the innings to pass 20. John Greenstock was the best Oxford bowler, slow left-arm and flighting the ball well. Oxford laboured to reach their victory target and owed much to a fifty from Gordon Lyon, who should have been run out as soon as he went in. The decisive difference between the teams during the match was the fielding. Oxford were usually brilliant in the field and saved numerous runs, while the M.C.C. fielding was quite indifferent.

Northampton: Northamptonshire v Kent

Northamptonshire have often given Kent unexpected trouble in recent years, and in 1922 Northamptonshire beat them. They did so again today, with some good fortune in the shape of yesterday’s storm, which affected the pitch and made it fairly difficult today. Even so, that does not excuse the poor Kent batting.

The Kent bowlers finished off the last two Northamptonshire wickets for the addition of only two runs this morning, which meant they needed 138 to win, a task that they should have accomplished, although an awkward pitch and the loss of the injured James Seymour made it more difficult. But they never recovered from a bad start, losing their first three wickets for 19 runs, in spite of Wally Hardinge being dropped twice. Frank Woolley dug in grimly and most uncharacteristically, but it didn’t work. Arthur Day showed most fight with 25 in three-quarters of an hour. After seven were out for 55 and Kent seemed doomed Charlie Wright and Tich Freeman hit out desperately and added 32 in less than 15 minutes, including 22 off two overs from Vallance Jupp, but it was all in vain. The leg-spinner Tich Freeman took eleven wickets for 75 in the match for Kent, while paceman Nobby Clark had eleven for 87 for Northamptonshire. It was the home side’s sixth victory of the season, the most they have obtained since the war.

Dudley: Worcestershire v Warwickshire

Freddie Calthorpe no doubt had early worries about his refusal to declare his team’s second innings closed yesterday afternoon, as rain delayed the start by over an hour this morning, and when play did begin the pitch was lifeless. But so was the Worcestershire batting, so he soon found he had no reason to worry. Dick Pearson and Richard Williams began fairly well with a steady opening partnership of 35, but both were out before lunch, along with Harry Rogers. Then after lunch came some superb bowling from Harry Howell with no help from the pitch to bring Warwickshire victory within an hour. He took three wickets for one run scored, and then there was a brief interlude as Maurice Foster made a brief fightback by scoring 17 after being dropped twice.

Then Howell broke through again and took the last three wickets, including that of Foster, for one run to tumble Worcestershire out for 93 and a huge defeat. Howell finished with match figures of 12 wickets for 80 runs, and he is clearly back to his best form now after having had little success for several matches. Worcestershire were handicapped by the absence today of Charles Tarbox, who badly cut an eye in missing a slip catch yesterday.

Day 1

Burton-on-Trent: Derbyshire v Leicestershire

Apart from losing Garnet Lee early, run out for 10, Derbyshire began their innings strongly, with Joseph Bowden and Les Townsend scoring 89 for the second wicket. Guy Jackson joined Bowden and batted very finely, although after the dogged Bowden left at 172 for four he could not find another partner to stay in with him for long. He reached an excellent century, batting for just over 2½ hours altogether, and was ninth out just before the innings closed for 294, a good score for Derbyshire. Then Bill Bestwick and Jim Horsley removed the Leicestershire opening batsmen in 70 minutes’ play before the close. Derbyshire are without Sam Cadman, who has a bad knee, while John King cannot play for Leicestershire after splitting his finger when playing for M.C.C. at Lord’s.

Cheltenham (Victoria): Gloucestershire v Worcestershire

Thunderstorms on Friday had left the pitch soft on top but hard underneath, so Colonel Douglas Robinson was very happy to send Worcestershire in to bat on winning the toss. It was the ideal pitch for Charlie Parker, who bowled throughout the innings to take eight wickets for only 42 runs, getting some vicious spin on the ball. He took all the first four wickets with 42 runs on the board, three of them being caught by Wally Hammond at silly point as the batsmen made the mistake of playing back to him, and this took him to 100 wickets for the season. Briefly Maurice Foster and George Abell faced him confidently and tried to take control, but both went before reaching 20. The innings lasted for less than two hours.

Reg Sinfield has now qualified to play for Gloucestershire in the county championship, and he opened the batting with Alf Dipper. He has not faced Fred Root before, and was quickly caught in the leg-trap without scoring. So was Dipper for 1, although he has certainly faced Root before, and three wickets were down for 7. Hammond sought to hit his team out of trouble, but as so often he was too impetuous and was caught off Dick Pearson for 19. The rescue came from Harry Smith and Captain Adrian Becher, who played Root very well and put on 81 in 50 minutes for the fifth wicket. At 116 for four Gloucestershire looked like building a big lead, but after tea Root, refreshed, bowled so brilliantly that five wickets fell for 2 runs. A few big hits by the last man Tom Goddard (12) managed to get the score to 135, a lead of 44.

Worcestershire had 65 minutes to bat in their second innings, with the pitch a little easier, and they took a more aggressive policy when playing Parker, especially Abell, who hit out with remarkable skill and courage for a wicket-keeper with little reputation as a batsman. By the close Worcestershire were 51 runs ahead with two wickets down, and the match could be said to be well balanced after all.

Portsmouth: Hampshire v Surrey

Rain on Friday night affected the pitch, and before lunch the pitch took a considerable amount of spin and lifted awkwardly, although it eased somewhat in the afternoon. Surrey are with Jack Hobbs, who apparently has decided he needs a rest, and Andy Sandham opened the batting with Alfred Jeacocke, restored to the team to take his place. Jeacocke made only 8, but Andy Ducat played well to add 94 with Sandham for the second wicket. No other batsmen in the team reached 20, with the hampered bowlers causing them all trouble except for Sandham, who played with tremendous skill to record a century which was in the end more than half the runs scored off the bat in the innings. He batted for nearly four hours altogether, being missed at the wicket at 85. It was his fourth century of the season and during it he completed his thousand runs. When he was eighth out, he was the first leg of a hat-trick by Stuart Boyes; he chopped a ball on to his stumps off the last ball of an over, while Bill Sadler and Albert Geary fell to the first two balls of Boyes’ next over.

Hampshire soon lost Jack Newman for 5, caught at short leg — exactly the dismissal he had been trying to inflict on the Surrey batsmen when he bowled with his leg-trap. Three more wickets fell in quick succession just before the close, before Lionel Tennyson came in and appealed successfully against the light before he had faced a ball. Hampshire batted for 80 minutes before the close.

Tunbridge Wells Week: Kent v Warwickshire

After a storm during the night the pitch was not too easy at the start of play, but it soon improved. It was rather too soft for the pace of Harry Howell. Wally Hardinge was unfortunate enough to be out for 2 before he could benefit from that, but George Collins and Bill Ashdown batted very steadily and put on 104 for the second wicket, with Collins, in more aggressive mode today, dominating. Ashdown was out at 165 for three after a good partnership with Frank Woolley, and two more wickets fell quickly. Then Con Johnstone came in and hit out brilliantly, almost overshadowing Woolley in their dynamic partnership of 122 in less than an hour and a half.

The score was 306 for five at one stage, but then the new Warwickshire pace bowler Robert Cooke, playing in his second first-class match, came on and in three overs he remarkably finished off the innings. Johnstone was well caught at mid-off by Freddie Calthorpe, and four more wickets tumbled in the final over of the innings, the last three falling to successive deliveries to give Cooke the hat-trick; it was actually four wickets in five balls. Altogether the last five wickets went down for 6 runs in a quarter of an hour. Woolley was left stranded on 87 in two and a half hours. The Kent innings remarkably contained four fifties, with Ashdown the only right-hander among three ‘lefties,’ and seven batsmen who scraped together 19 runs among them. Warwickshire made a sound start with 27 runs on the board without loss in half an hour before the close.

Liverpool: Lancashire v Sussex

Perhaps overawed by the name of Ted McDonald, Sussex began the match disastrously. McDonald bowled out Jim Parks and Lionel Isherwood with successive deliveries for just one run on the board — a close lbw appeal was turned down off his next ball — and five wickets were down for 21 in three-quarters of an hour. The first four fell to McDonald, and when at 21 Ted Bowley, the rock of the Sussex batting, was bowled by Frank Watson all seemed lost. Watson is opening the bowling as Lancashire decided to rest Cecil Parkin. Ironically, McDonald was not even bowling fast; at this stage of the season and just after a side strain he is obviously nursing himself and just bowled at a brisk but very skilful medium pace, with a sharp nip from the pitch that proved fatal to batsmen playing back to him.

James Langridge and John Naumann took the score to 60 before Langridge was out, and this brought in Colonel Arthur Watson, who has just one answer to such a situation. He went on the attack with all guns blazing, especially at McDonald, smashing most of his runs from the Australian’s bowling and reaching 50 in 32 minutes. McDonald’s next six overs went for 53 runs. Having hit McDonald out of the attack he settled down rather and eventually made 63 in about 55 minutes. He was out to a huge skyer that was well held by the wicket-keeper George Duckworth. Maurice Tate went in at No 11 again, showing that his arm is still not fully fit for batting. He was given a big ovation by a ground record crowd of about 11,000, apparently attracted by the presence of this man. Dick Tyldesley bowled very well to finish off the innings for 147, a poor total, but far better than seemed likely before Watson took a hand.

Lancashire began their innings with a steady start from Harry Makepeace and Charlie Hallows worth 37, but they struggled for runs against very good Sussex bowling and ground fielding. Then after Makepeace went we saw the real Ernest Tyldesley come in for Lancashire. He went for his strokes very freely, and Lancashire took the lead over Sussex with only one wicket down. The batsmen played Tate carefully; he looked rather tired and has not yet taken a wicket, although Sussex did miss three difficult chances from the batsmen.

Kettering: Northamptonshire v Essex

Nobby Clark struck quickly for Northamptonshire as Essex batted first, removing Laurie Eastman with the second ball of the match, caught at short leg, and then John Freeman at 6. Jack Russell joined Jimmy Cutmore and they fought grimly to put on 116 for the third wicket, but five men were still out for 143. Then came the vital partnership, as Percy Perrin played a fine polished innings and Johnny Douglas dug in with him until they had added 93 together. Perrin stayed almost to the end, driving well, ninth man out, and reached a fine century, his first of the season, that saved his side. Only four batsmen reached double figures in the innings. Philip Wright bowled steadily and well to take most of the wickets. In the last ten minutes of the day two night-watchmen played out time for Northamptonshire. Kettering is well known for good home crowds, and in the afternoon there were nearly 6000 spectators.

Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan

Arthur Carr is resting from this match, we are told, so Nottinghamshire called in Lionel Kirk as the apparently obligatory amateur required to captain the side. The pitch was fast and sound enough, but the batting was poor. George Gunn began well for Nottinghamshire with a sparkling 69 in just over 1½ hours, but two wickets fell at 105 and two more at 132. Eddie Bates with his occasional slow left-arm was the surprise bowler, varying his pace and flight well. He took out Nos. 3 to 6 in the batting order, and seven wickets were down for 171. Nottinghamshire were saved further embarrassment by an invaluable eighth-wicket partnership between Kirk and Harold Larwood, who put on 65 together. Glamorgan fielded very well.

Anything Nottinghamshire could do, Glamorgan could do worse. Their top order collapsed so badly to the bowling of Fred Barratt and Sam Staples that six wickets were down for 31. They too were saved by a later partnership, the batsmen this time being Helm Spencer and Johnnie Clay. They gambled on attack and it paid off, as they added 76 in 40 minutes for the seventh wicket and averted the possibility of having to follow on, although both survived chances. In the end, though, Larwood finished off the innings and Glamorgan finished 134 runs behind.

Harrogate Week: Yorkshire v Somerset

Yorkshire’s experiment of holding a cricket week at Harrogate has begun very well, with a crowd of about 9000. They saw Yorkshire bat all of a warm, sunny day against a Somerset attack badly weakened by the absences of Jack White, Bill Greswell and Raymond Robertson-Glasgow, although Jim Bridges is back in the side. He was the only bowler able to put a brake on the scoring, mainly because he generally bowled a negative line outside the leg stump. Percy Holmes was soon out for 3, but Yorkshire steadily built up a large total after that with a series of solid partnerships. Herbert Sutcliffe and Edgar Oldroyd batted very slowly at first, but Oldroyd later played most attractively.

It was the partnership of Wilfred Rhodes and Roy Kilner that did the most to give Yorkshire their good score, with Kilner very bright and attractive, while Rhodes was less spectacular, but kept the score moving steadily with his excellent judgment and quick footwork. Kilner was so free and confident that he reached his fifty in only 38 minutes. They put on 83 for the fifth wicket and moved Yorkshire into real dominance. Rhodes scored his second consecutive century, thanks to the help of his captain, Major Arthur Lupton, who played probably his best innings for Yorkshire and added 57 with him for the last wicket in three-quarters of an hour without either being dismissed. Rhodes was 88 when Lupton came in, but his captain did not fail him, showing that he is no passenger with the bat. Rhodes did not give a chance during his fine and occasionally brilliant innings.

Day 2

Burton-on-Trent: Derbyshire v Leicestershire

Leicestershire struggled this morning, and in spite of a partnership of 57 for the fourth-wicket between Les Berry and Ewart Astill, they still had five wickets down for 101. Major Gus Fowke fought hard and George Geary helped him add 53 for the sixth wicket, but Derbyshire were still on top when seven were out for 176. Then they rather lost their grip, as Haydon Smith joined Fowke and hit up 65 in 1¼ hours in a partnership of 92 which should never have been, because he was dropped three times. Fowke ground out a fifty in 2¾ hours. This enabled Leicestershire to stay in the game, finishing only 10 runs behind on the first innings.

Derbyshire also ground out the runs slowly when they batted a second time, taking n hour and a half to score 56 for one wicket. It will probably take a batting collapse by one or both teams to bring a definite result to this match, the way it is proceeding.

Cheltenham (Victoria): Gloucestershire v Worcestershire

Worcestershire finished on Saturday evening in a much improved position after falling behind on the first innings, thanks mainly to the superb batting of George Abell, who took on Charlie Parker and won. However this morning Abell was out almost immediately, lbw to George Dennett, and the remaining batsmen were all too quick to join him back in the pavilion, despite an easier pitch than it had been on Saturday. Parker was now able to regain his stranglehold on the batsmen, while Wally Hammond supported him very well, swinging the ball at pace; they took four wickets each and Worcestershire’s last eight wickets fell for only 60 runs.

Gloucestershire were set 112 to win. But the two great figures of this match so far had been Parker and Fred Root, and Root soon had Gloucestershire in trouble. Reg Sinfield on his championship début suffered an unfortunate pair to Root, as later did his captain, Douglas Robinson. Alf Dipper handled Root well for a while, with Michael Green hanging on grimly at the other end, but then Root removed Dipper to make the score 35 for three wickets. This was when Hammond came in with the final decisive performance of this match. He did survive one difficult chance in the deep when he tried to hit Root for a second six, but otherwise he took charge of that bowler. Showing fine shot selection in this innings, he batted brilliantly for less than an hour to become the only batsman to score a fifty in this match. His final stroke gave him this landmark, and the four byes won Gloucestershire the match.

Portsmouth: Hampshire v Surrey

Phil Mead scored one of his best centuries today in taking Hampshire to a first-innings lead of 27 runs over Surrey. Often miscast as a slow batsman, by those whose minds are full of the likes of Hobbs and Woolley, he began the day by hitting four fours off bad short deliveries from Bill Sadler. He continued to score freely as his partners came and went. The best of them was Alex Hosie, who batted superbly in a partnership of 64 and looked set for a big score when he was caught off his wrist by a ball from Alan Peach that rose unexpectedly. When eight wickets were down for 221, Walter Livsey also gave Mead excellent support as they added 59, taking Mead to his century and Hampshire to a first-innings lead. Mead finished unbeaten after almost 3½ hours and was very strong on the hook today. It was only his second century this season, which has so far been rather a lean year for him.

When Surrey went in again, Andy Sandham played a brilliant innings, scoring 50 in 47 minutes without the slightest error until he pulled a ball straight to square leg. Perhaps he felt shown up by Mead, another batsman accused at times of slow scoring? Another unexpectedly dazzling innings came from Tom Shepherd, who was culpable in running out Andy Ducat for 18, but responded by hitting five sixes and five fours as he blazed his way to 70 in 55 minutes. He put on 83 for the fourth wicket with Douglas Jardine, a partnership that turned the game back in favour of Surrey. After his dismissal, though, two more wickets fell quickly, and when Miles Howell, who wears spectacles, was yorked without scoring by Alec Kennedy in gloomy light, play was called off for the day — a ball too late for that unfortunate batsman.

Tunbridge Wells Week: Kent v Warwickshire

Heavy morning dew meant another damp pitch this morning, but this time the sun came out warmly and the pitch played tricks as Warwickshire had to bat on it. The spinners Tich Freeman and Frank Woolley were in their element. Willie Quaife played a superb defensive innings from his usual No 4 position and was still unbeaten after 80 minutes when the innings closed, but none of the other batsmen were happy on it, and apart from the opening pair no other batsman could reach double figures. Warwickshire had to follow on 175 runs behind.

At least the pitch was easing now and in the second innings eight batsmen were able to reach double figures, although nobody went on to score a fifty. Freddie Calthorpe decided to send in Quaife again immediately to continue batting as Jack Parsons’ opening partner, but this time he was dismissed for 15. Parsons and Tiger Smith then took the score to 87 before the second wicket fell, both getting out to misguided big shots, but after that it was a steady procession — except at the end. Then Charlie Wright returned with the second new ball and emulated Robert Cooke yesterday by finishing off the innings with a hat-trick, his victims being Arthur Croom, who batted two hours — not Bob Wyatt as has been stated elsewhere — Harry Howell and Cooke himself. Before then Wally Hardinge had supported Freeman with such accurate left-arm slows that he took three for 25 in 21 overs; at one time he bowled nine successive maiden overs. Kent were left with 35 to win, but tonight they had time only to lose the wicket of George Collins with 5 runs on the board.

Liverpool: Lancashire v Sussex

The Sussex score of 147 was easily exceeded by Charlie Hallows alone today, as he played a magnificent innings of 163. He was on 80 overnight, and went on to add another 83 in an hour and a half through superb strokeplay, mostly excellent drives, so powerful that once he split his bat. At one time with Ernest Tyldesley the pair scored 71 runs off ten consecutive overs. Tyldesley passed 1000 runs for the season before he was out, the partnership having made 214 for the second wicket, and Hallows’ innings altogether lasted 4½ hours. The later batsmen for the most part played brisk and useful innings but did not stay unduly long, and Jack Sharp, returning to the side, declared with nine wickets down and a lead of 268. Tate, who can only field left-handed still, bowled 51 overs in the innings with his bandaged arm and was still the only Sussex bowler who ever appeared to be a threat, despite being unavoidably below his best, but he had little luck.

The Sussex second innings was interrupted at times by rain or bad light, but at least they began better than they did in the first innings. Ted Bowley and Jim Parks put on 42 for the first wicket, but Parks and Lionel Isherwood both fell to Dick Tyldesley just before the close. Bowley is still there and he is probably Sussex’s only hope of making a good showing tomorrow, unless Arthur Watson can strike twice in the same match.

Kettering: Northamptonshire v Essex

Northamptonshire lost four wickets for 40 runs when they continued their innings, but were rescued by a fine partnership between Wilfrid Timms and Dick Wright, who added 105 for the fifth wicket in almost an hour and a half, Wright for once curbing his hitting instincts to bat responsibly. After they went, Timms batting for two hours, there was not much fight to be seen from the later batsmen, and Northamptonshire fell 114 behind on the first innings. Their pace bowlers Johnny Douglas (George Louden is unavailable) and the young Stan Nichols took five wickets each, four of the latter’s wickets being bowled out.

Nobby Clark again struck early when Essex batted a second time, and Laurie Eastman and John Freeman again fell cheaply to him; two wickets down for 11 this time. But after that Essex steadily built on their lead, with Jimmy Cutmore and Jack Russell again doing the job with another century partnership, so their second innings was very similar to their first. Then came a difference, as before the close Claud Woolley dismissed Percy Perrin without scoring, after a century yesterday. By the close Essex were in a fine position, 271 ahead with six wickets still in hand.

Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan

Nottinghamshire went in again this morning with a first-innings lead of 134, but they were probably not happy with scoring only 246 themselves in their first innings. They made up for this with a vengeance. George Gunn again showed fine form, while Dodger Whysall batted steadily, and they put on 117 for the first wicket. Then Willis Walker came in and helped himself to an unbeaten century, his partnership with Ben Lilley adding 150 for the third wicket. When the lead passed 500, they decided it was time to declare. Glamorgan fielded well to the end, but Emrys Davies, underused, was the only bowler to cause the batsmen any concern.

Glamorgan also made a much better fist of their batting in their second innings, when they had just under two hours to bat today. Cyril Walters was promoted to open the innings with Tom Morgan and they did well to put on 62 together before both were out at that score. Then Emrys Davies and Trevor Arnott put on 59 together, with Arnott much the more aggressive, but it was Davies who was out in the final over for 14.

Harrogate Week: Yorkshire v Somerset

After declaring at their overnight score, Yorkshire had no difficulty in bowling the weakened Somerset side out twice in a day to win another innings victory, their ninth of the season and 14th altogether. There was much similarity between the two Somerset innings. In both their first four wickets collapsed cheaply, for 17 runs in the first innings and 16 in the second. In both innings there followed a defiant and aggressive partnership between Randall Johnson and Guy Earle, with the latter making some brilliant powerful hits off the bowlers the top order seemed to find unplayable. In the first innings Earle hit 55 in 40 minutes (3 sixes, 5 fours) and in the second 46 in 35 (one six and 5 fours). He gave no chance in his first innings, but two difficult ones in the second. He was bowled out by Abe Waddington in both innings.

It was Emmott Robinson who began the Somerset collapse in the first innings, taking three of the first four wickets and bowling almost through the innings for 25 overs before he was rested. In the second innings George Macaulay took the first two wickets, bowling with much pace off the pitch, and Roy Kilner the next two. But apart from Johnson and Earle, the Somerset found the Yorkshire bowlers much too skilful and accurate for them, and it took less than 4½ hours to bowl them out twice.

Day 1

Lord’s: Oxford University v Cambridge University

For once Lady Luck decided to help the underdogs, allowing Oxford to win the toss, and they did not waste their opportunity. It did seem, though, that their first aim was to insure themselves against defeat rather than try to dominate the bowlers and put Cambridge under pressure, as they batted steadily throughout the day, taking the runs as they came and never trying to force the pace. John Guise opened the batting with Philip Stewart-Brown, and both scored fifties, with the latter the more enterprising after a cautious start. He was brilliantly caught in the covers by Tom Francis, who had recovered from lumbago and was able to take his place in the Cambridge team. They put on 110 for the first wicket by steady cricket and excellent running between the wickets, making an invaluable start for their team.

Three wickets were down for 138, but the middle order played very steadily, although none of them went on to reach 50. The best partnership was one of 70 for the fifth wicket between Claude Taylor and Geoffrey Legge, with the latter being perhaps the most enterprising (and fortunate) batsman of the day. Oxford were in a good position by the close, although it remains to be seen if they have scored quickly enough to secure victory. Cambridge’s four main bowlers are all medium-fast and they could get no help from the pitch, which was quite fast, or swing in the air — bowlers say the ball rarely swings at Lord’s. But they remained steady and kept plugging away. Jack Meyer was no great threat today and Richard Lowe was the only bowler able to threaten the batsmen much with his best balls — although taking only one wicket. The Cambridge fielding tended to be rather inconsistent. There were about 15,000 spectators today.

Day 3

Burton-on-Trent: Derbyshire v Leicestershire

A rather boring match played at a slow pace by both teams had an exciting finish. There was heavy overnight rain, so no play was possible until after lunch. The rain had damaged the pitch, there was a strong wind, and survival was very difficult for the batsmen. Alec Skelding was soon into action for Leicestershire, taking three wickets very quickly, and the overnight 56 for one became 82 for six. Then Joseph Bowden, batting with a runner at No 8 after an injury in the field, joined Jim Horsley and they adopted more positive methods, especially Horsley, and added 60 for the seventh wicket. Guy Jackson was to regret his over-cautious declaration that left Leicestershire 163 to win on such a pitch in 1½ hours.

Bill Bestwick was in his element as he roared in and took out the first five batsmen in less than half an hour with only 13 runs on the board. Les Berry kept his end up like grim death and fought hard, scoring just one run in his first 55 minutes at the crease. Haydon Smith and Tommy Sidwell hung on with Berry for more than 20 minutes each, and Frank Bale at No 10 joined Berry with ten minutes to go. Berry’s great fighting innings ended when he was bowled by the third ball of Bestwick’s 18th over at about one minute to seven, but he had done his job successfully. The match ended here with Derbyshire just one wicket short of victory, as there was not the requisite two minutes’ play still available for the last man to come in. Bestwick bowled magnificently and well deserved to win the match for his team. So Derbyshire were left to regret their dropped catches in the first innings and a belated declaration today.

Portsmouth: Hampshire v Surrey

Rain early in the morning resulted in a late start today with a damp pitch. The new batsman Alan Peach hit a catch to cover point off the first ball bowled, and Alec Kennedy only just missed a hat-trick when Bill Sadler came in and slashed his first ball close to third man. Douglas Jardine hung in for half an hour this morning, but his partners did not last long, and he was the last man out, run out for 40 in trying to keep the strike. Hampshire were set 231 to win.

It looked like being an interesting finish, but the weather now took a hand. The sun came out, there was a strong drying wind and the pitch began to play up; in particular the ball at times lifted unexpectedly. However, Hampshire decided to go for victory and the batsmen went in with a positive attitude. The first two wickets went down for 16, but Phil Mead joined Jack Newman and the two put up a fine partnership of 80 for the third wicket. Mead was in fine form again, keeping the score ticking over very skilfully, until Percy Fender came on and bowled him out for 42 with a full-length ball that the batsman tried to work on the leg side.

After that it was all downhill for Hampshire, although they did maintain their aggressive approach. Albert Geary, accurate but innocuous at slow-medium until now in this match, was the main beneficiary, picking up wickets as the batsman tried to attack him without enough discrimination. The bowling of Fender, usually bowling off-breaks round the wicket and with a leg-side field, actually gave the batsmen more trouble. Hampshire went from 96 for two just before Mead was out to 148 all out, and the match ended a quarter of an hour after tea.

Tunbridge Wells Week: Kent v Warwickshire

Kent had some concern in the morning as there were several heavy showers of rain which could have denied them their well-deserved victory, but after lunch it cleared up and play was possible at 2.30. Victory was completed in 25 minutes for the loss of Bill Ashdown’s wicket.

Liverpool: Lancashire v Sussex

As if Sussex were not in enough trouble, heavy night rain had affected the pitch, making the batsmen’s job more difficult. The match was over before lunch, after an hour and a quarter’s play. Ted Bowley was out for 36, but none of the middle-order batsmen could even reach double figures, except for John Naumann, who fight doggedly to make 12 not out. Colonel Arthur Watson again tried to attack the bowlers, but was caught for 5. Maurice Tate again was last man in, but even with an injured right arm he was able to make some hard hits and do better than most of his fit team-mates; only his partnership with Naumann of 28 took the score past 100. Ted McDonald again bowled at a gentle medium pace and George Duckworth stood up to the stumps for him. It was Dick Tyldesley who did most of the damage, bowling with great skill and accuracy on the soft pitch to take in a good seven-wicket haul. Len Hopwood helped him with three excellent catches, including the ones to dismiss Bowley and Watson — the latter, needless to say, on the boundary.

Kettering: Northamptonshire v Essex

There was some heavy morning rain which affected the pitch, which helped the bowlers considerably. After a late start Essex lost Jack Russell to the third ball of the day, having scored 78 in about 2½ hours. Jack O’Connor went in for some powerful hitting and shared a partnership of 46 in 35 minutes with Johnny Douglas — who contributed 7. Douglas soon declared, leaving Northamptonshire 326 to win in about 3½ hours, a virtually impossible target given that state of the pitch.

Claud Woolley played well at the start of the Northamptonshire innings, making 28 out of 42 for two, but then before they scored another run four wickets fell, three of them to Laurie Eastman, who took full advantage of the pitch. Fanny Walden and Maurice Fitzroy did their best to fight back with a partnership of 36 for the seventh wicket, but then the left-arm spinner Rainy Brown bowled them both out and helped to finish off the innings, enabling Essex to win with almost two hours to spare.

Nottingham: Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan

Jupiter Pluvius has no qualms about kicking a cricketer when he is down; in fact, he often likes to do that. So it was that there was much rain in the early morning at Trent Bridge, which seriously affected the pitch that Glamorgan had to bat on as the sun came out strongly. Fred Barratt and Sam Staples used it well and gave the batsmen an almost impossible time. Trevor Arnott was soon out, a brilliant return catch by Staples, and Eddie Bates, last out, was the only other batsman able to reach double figures as the match came to an end within an hour.

Day 2

Lord’s: Oxford University v Cambridge University

There was much overnight rain and, although Lord’s nowadays dries quickly, especially after such a dry spell, play started an hour late. Oxford were obviously out for quick runs this morning and their innings lasted only another half-hour, with Jack Meyer taking two of the three wickets that fell.

When Cambridge batted, Oxford unleashed their fast bowlers, Edward Hewetson and Errol Holmes, but Eddie Dawson and Tom Francis played them capitally on a pitch slowed by the rain, and put on 40 for the first wicket. When Hewetson came back for a second spell he bowled superbly, and three wickets were down for 77. K S Duleepsinhji was not troubled by the pace, though, handling him superbly and standing in the way of a batting breakdown by his team. He looked set for a century when John Guise came on himself and kept tempting him with deliveries outside his off stump until he lunged too far and was stumped for a fine 75. Tom Enthoven now took over the job as bulwark of the Cambridge batting, although he could not match Duleep’s class and was twice dropped. He stayed in with Leonard Crawley until the close. With only 14 wickets down in two days, this match is generally predicted now to end in a draw, but a batting collapse, especially by Oxford in their second innings, could change that.

County Championship Leaders: Yorkshire 94.28, Lancashire 82.66, Surrey 75.38, Middlesex 73.38, Kent and Nottinghamshire 60.00, Northamptonshire 56.36, Essex 47.69, Hampshire 44.61, Sussex 40.00.