🧢 Captain's Log

Thu 25 Aug 1904 🧢 House Teamv ? · HomeformDLDLL

Thursday last, and Linton Park welcomed the visitors to what turned out to be a proper old-fashioned scrap of a cricket match. Winning what passes for a toss around here, I had no hesitation in sending them in, and it's fair to say our bowlers made a right meal of it. Tom Peach Jnr was the chief tormentor with three wickets to his name, ably backed up by E Mitchell and T Woollett with two apiece, while the Thorndycraft brothers, W and H, both trudged back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers — a family double of ducks that I imagine made for a quiet car journey home. Only A Hollands, with a spirited 45, gave the innings any real substance.

Requiring runs of our own, we set about the task with rather more application than elegance in places. I confess to a certain quiet satisfaction in compiling 105 myself, and young H Goodenough played his part handsomely with 22 in support. Less happily, T Woollett and G Pearce both joined the Duck Club ledger, proving that no one is safe from the indignity of a nought, captain's teammates included.

A word for the record books: Tom Peach Jnr's runs saw him leapfrog S Christopherson into 20th on the all-time run-scorers list, while in this season's charts I find myself ahead with 127 runs and Tom sits second among the bowlers with six wickets — the lad is quietly having a year of it.

In the end neither side could force matters home, and honours were shared. A draw, then — the cricketing equivalent of agreeing to split the last biscuit. No shame in that.

Tue 09 Aug 1904 🧢 House Teamv ? · AwayformWDLDL

That's fine, I'll just estimate — it reads at roughly 250 words, within range. Here's the report.

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Tuesday the 9th of August found us on the road again, boots polished, hopes modest, and, as is so often the way, both slightly misplaced by tea. Winning the toss, we sent the opposition in first, and for a good while it looked a canny decision undone by good batting: A Hollands compiled a handsome fifty, well supported by C Stedman's 38. Small mercies came in the shape of A Bodiam, back in the pavilion without troubling the scorers, and it was Jack Fryer who did the real damage with four wickets, Tom Peach Snr (three) and Tom Peach Jnr (two) chipping in behind him.

Our reply never quite got out of second gear. Tom Peach Jnr batted with real class for his fifty — indeed his 70 was the innings' spine — ably supported by James Gilham's 22, and I managed a modest 22 of my own to keep the scorebook honest. Jack Fryer, so lethal with the ball, endured the walk of shame for a duck, proof that cricket delights in evening its scores.

There was, at least, cause for quiet pride in the ledger: Tom Peach Jnr's innings carried him past Captain H Hamilton into 21st on the club's all-time run-scorers list, while Tom Peach Snr's three wickets lifted him past J N Tonge into 10th among our wicket-takers. Tom Peach Jnr now leads our 1904 House Team run charts, and Jack Fryer sits top of the wicket pile on seven. Small comfort, though, against a ten-wicket thumping. We'll be better for it next week.

Sat 06 Aug 1904 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLWLLW

Captain's Log, Saturday 6th August 1904. Winning the toss, I sent the visitors in — a decision I stood by rather more comfortably in the pavilion than out in the field, it must be said. C H Style gave us a proper working-over with a fine 68, and L Caldecott wasn't far behind with a well-made 62, R H Style chipping in 26 more, so credit where it's due — they batted with some style, if you'll forgive it. Our bowlers stuck manfully to their task, though, H G Smith leading the way with three wickets, W H Forshaw and C Murdoch each claiming a trio of their own to keep the innings honest.

With the bat, H C Barker played the innings of the day, 76 not out and still there at the close, well supported by W L Hubble's own fifty of 61, and Allan Peach's brisk 40 not out. A generous 27 in extras rounded things out nicely — our opponents' bowlers were evidently as charitable as our fielders had been earlier. I managed a modest 15 myself, and found a bit of rhythm with the ball to take three wickets, which at least spared my blushes twice over.

A word of note: H G Smith's three scalps carry him past W H Fryer and into 6th on the club's all-time wicket list — a fine personal landmark on an otherwise chastening afternoon. Beaten by two wickets in the end. Heads up, chins forward, and back to the nets.

Mon 04 Jul 1904 🧢 1st XIv SS Sutton Valence School · HomeformLLWLL

Monday 4th July, 1904 — Sutton Valence School at home, and the sun (or whatever passed for it) shone on a proper day's cricket.

I lost the toss, which these days I've come to regard as simply the natural order of things, and we were sent into the field. The school made a decent fist of it — F A Thew top-scored with 35, well supported by H W Hunting's 30 and J M Druce's 23 — but R W Mitchell was in irresistible mood, tearing through them for a thoroughly deserved 6-42, with F B Leney (2-0) and the Reverend F A Leveson-Gower (1-0) mopping up around him. N Strickland, for his troubles, departed for a duck.

Our reply was carried, as it so often is, by George Champion, whose 55 was the innings of the day, with the Reverend chipping in 37 and Mitchell — busy man — adding 27 with the bat too. I contributed a modest 16, more diligent than decorative. Less happily, Arthur Cornwallis, C H Style and Allan Peach all took the long walk back for nought, and the Duck Club ledger groans under the weight of it.

Small mercies amid the ledger: the Reverend's 37 nudges him past F E Wallis into 11th on our all-time run charts, and F Reeves's solitary wicket has quietly moved him past T Gandy into 12th among our wicket-takers. Champion now leads the 1904 run charts with 88, and Mitchell sits third among the bowlers with six.

Two points, won by 0 wickets, and not a run to spare — but a win's a win, and we'll take it gladly.

Sat 18 Jun 1904 🧢 1st XIv ? · AwayformDLLWL

Saturday the 18th of June found us on the road again, the charabanc creaking with the usual mix of optimism and liniment. Winning the toss, I sent the opposition in, and for a while it looked a shrewd call. F Foreman made a watchful 25 and D A Harrison chipped in with 22, but the rest came and went with the regularity of the tea urn, Dr Whitestone in particular gracing us with a golden duck. Tom Peach Jnr was in fine, miserly form to finish with four wickets, George Champion and Ernest Cruttenden each claiming three apiece to wrap the innings up.

Alas, with bat in hand we rather returned the compliment, Peach himself completing a chastening pair for the day — out for a duck having bowled so beautifully. Beaten, in the end, by 106 runs, and no amount of English understatement will dress that up as a close-run thing.

Still, there was much to raise a glass to. Ernest Cruttenden brought up his fiftieth career wicket and, with his tally now moving him past H Freed, sits fourth on the club's all-time list — a proper achievement on an otherwise chastening afternoon. C Murdoch's 20 runs nudged him past A M Streatfield into 24th among our run-scorers. A E Piper leads our 1904 charts with 45 runs, Champion tops the bowling with ten wickets. A heavy defeat, but the old ledger keeps filling nicely. We'll be better for it next week.

Wed 15 Jun 1904 🧢 1st XIv Town Malling CC · AwayformLDLLW

Wednesday 15th June, and the road took us to Town Malling — a fixture that always tests a side's fortitude, and never more so than yesterday.

Losing the toss meant the field first, and we soon discovered why: G H Adam played the innings of the day, 66 well past his fifty, while R A Arnold and W H Cooper both compiled fine half-centuries of 52 apiece. Only poor W Phillips departed without troubling the scorers, a small mercy in an otherwise chastening morning. Ernest Cruttenden did what he could, leading the attack with three wickets, and found willing support from Rev F A Leveson-Gower and W E H Hills. But the runs kept coming, and come they did.

Our reply, alas, was over almost before it began. C Reid's golden duck set the tone, and though I did my best to hold things together with 15, it was not to be a day for the bat. I fared rather better with the ball, taking three wickets for the skipper's ledger — cold comfort, given the scale of the chase.

Still, there was a silver lining or two amid the wreckage: Rev F A Leveson-Gower's 15 runs edged him past F Marchant into 12th on the club's all-time run-scorers list, and his three wickets lifted him past Walter Wright into 16th among the wicket-takers — history quietly made even as the scoreboard groaned.

Beaten by 198 runs in the end, there's no dressing it up. We'll be better for it next week.