🧢 Captain's Log

Wed 30 Jun 1875 🧢 1st XIv Marden CC, Kent · HomeformWWLLL

Wednesday, 30 June 1875, and Marden CC of Kent were the visitors to Linton Park. I won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat — the right call, I felt, and so it proved, at least for some of us.

We were all out in the end, with E Case top-scoring on a watchful 22, the only man who truly got to grips with the Marden attack. Elsewhere the Duck Club ledger swelled alarmingly, none more painfully than poor M A Atkins, whose nought was the very picture of the long, lonely walk back to the pavilion.

With the ball in hand we turned the tables handsomely. Marden's innings folded amid a rash of ducks — J Lefeaver, W Hammond and T Savage all departed without troubling the scorers — while W H Fryer bowled quite beautifully to finish with 6-0, a fine five-for and thoroughly deserved. E Case backed him up admirably with 3-0, and I confess to rather enjoying myself too, finishing with 6 wickets of my own.

There were landmarks amid the fun: E M Owens's five runs eased him past R Warde to 17th on the club's all-time run-scorers' list, while E Case's three wickets lifted him past C French Jnr to the same lofty perch among the wicket-takers. As things stand this season, that same E Case leads our 1875 run charts with 22, and W H Fryer tops the wicket charts with 6 — both earned this very afternoon. A fine win by 18 runs, then. Onwards.