🧢 Captain's Log

Sat 11 Aug 1906 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformDLLLD

Saturday last, we played host, and for once the coin behaved itself, so in we went to bat. It was, in truth, a tale of two contributions: Ernest Cruttenden played the anchor role beautifully for 42, with W S Cornwallis giving him fine support and finishing unbeaten on 36. Elsewhere the card made grim reading — both C L Pemberton and Tom Peach Jnr departed for ducks, the sort of scores that have a captain studying his boots rather rather too closely.

Out in the field we asked our visitors to chase, and for a good while they made it look straightforward. T C Roper played a lovely hand of 83, with G Bensted (42) and C H Style (29) filling in around him with irritating fluency. Yet amid the carnage, G Knight was a wrecking ball, returning figures of 7-0 and dragging us back into the contest almost single-handed, ably assisted by H G Smith and Tom Peach Jnr, who each chipped in with a wicket apiece.

There was cheer amid the gloom on the records front: H G Smith's 17 runs eased him past F S W Cornwallis into 4th on the club's all-time run-scorers list, while G Knight's heroics lifted him past Arthur Cornwallis to 21st among our wicket-takers — and in the season charts, Rev J R Leigh (99 runs) and G Knight (7 wickets) both sit proudly in 4th.

Sadly, none of it was enough — we went down by 9 wickets. Chins up, and back to the nets.

Sat 28 Jul 1906 🧢 1st XIv Town Malling CC · HomeformLDLLL

Lost the toss again — I'm beginning to suspect the coin has it in for me — and so we were put into the field on a Saturday that Town Malling CC had clearly marked in their diaries. F B Leney made himself thoroughly at home, sailing past his fifty to 83 before we prised him out, with L H Hardy (37) and F G Busbridge, unbeaten on 33, offering steady support. Small mercies: V L Hough departed without so much as troubling our scorer, a duck greeted with the usual mixture of sympathy and quiet delight. Major Blake was the pick of our attack with 3-0, and George Champion and Ernest Cruttenden chipped in with 2-0 apiece to keep the visitors honest.

Our reply had its own tale to tell, C Murdoch leading the way with a fine 48, Major Blake following his bowling with 35 not out, and George Champion adding 27 for good measure — proof, if any were needed, that our all-rounders are earning their teas.

A word of celebration amid the toil: H G Smith's unassuming 9 runs quietly nudged him past F S W Cornwallis into 4th on the club's all-time run-scorers list — history made without anyone much noticing at the time. Murdoch continues to lead our 1906 run charts with 328, and Champion tops the wicket-takers with 23.

In the end, honours were shared and nobody could force it — a draw that felt, on the day, entirely fair to both sides.

Fri 20 Jul 1906 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLDLL

Won the toss at home on Friday and, with barely a moment's deliberation, chose to bat — a decision that felt rather clever at tea and only slightly less so by the close. The lads settled in nicely: C Murdoch anchored things with a fine 58, E A Fulcher chipped in 53 of his own past the fifty mark, and I was rather pleased to finish unbeaten on 38 myself, though I claim no great credit for it. Not every innings can be a triumph, and poor R W Mitchell will want to forget his golden duck in a hurry — the walk of shame, indeed.

Defending the total, we huffed and puffed but found ourselves on the wrong end of some fine hitting. Captain Barrow's 67 was the innings that did for us, with Lieutenant Hewitt (39) and Major Robinson (29) offering sturdy support. We did have our moments — Captain Druce, Captain Lees and Captain Liebenvood all departed for ducks at our hands, and George Champion was simply unplayable, spinning his way to 5-0, with Major Blake and Captain Campbell weighing in with two apiece.

Elsewhere, Rev J R Leigh's 27 nudged him past F E Wallis to 13th on the club's all-time run-scorers list, and R W Mitchell's solitary wicket lifted him past S Christopherson into 9th among our wicket-takers — small consolations on a chastening afternoon. Beaten by 76 runs in the end. We'll be better for it next week.

Sat 07 Jul 1906 🧢 1st XIv SS Sutton Valence School · HomeformWLLDL

Called correctly at the toss on Saturday and, with the sun doing its level best to co-operate, there was never any real doubt I'd ask Sutton Valence School to bowl first. C Murdoch led the way with a tidy 25, C H Style chipped in with 24, and between them they gave the innings some backbone. Poor B W Haynes will not thank me for mentioning his duck, but a captain's report must be an honest one.

With the ball in hand we set about the visitors properly. S E Kay played the innings of the day with 43, well supported by E W Pritchard's 29, but at the other end it was a procession — D G S Urmson and P H Champion both back in the pavilion without troubling the scorers. George Champion was quite unplayable, turning it square for 5-0, with R W Mitchell (4-0) and H G Smith (1-0) mopping up what little remained.

Two small footnotes for the club historians: F S W Cornwallis's 13 runs eased him past H G Smith into 4th on our all-time run-scorers' list, while R W Mitchell's four wickets took him past Tom Peach Snr into 10th among the wicket-takers — Murdoch (164) and Champion (14) meanwhile continue to lead the 1906 charts in their respective disciplines.

And yet, for all that, we were beaten — by 0 wickets, which takes some explaining over a pint. We'll be better for it next week.

Sat 23 Jun 1906 🧢 1st XIv ? · AwayformLWLLD

Away to the Duck Club, Saturday 23 June 1906. Won the toss, and with the pitch looking full of runs I had no hesitation in sending us in — a decision I stood by rather more comfortably than my knees did by close of play.

We were bowled out in the end, George Champion top-scoring handsomely with 44 and looking, for a spell, as though he might bat all afternoon on his own. The rest of the card was rather less distinguished — Jack Fryer, Rev J R Leigh and Charles Wycherley all completed the long, lonely walk back for nought, though Rev Leigh redeemed himself later, his 37 runs enough to nudge him past C Murdoch into 13th on the club's all-time run-scorers list. A small mercy amid the ducks.

With ball in hand, however, the afternoon turned thoroughly our way. George Champion, not content with his runs, span through the Duck Club's order for a staggering 9 for 26, leaving R Whittingham and W Steadman both back in the pavilion without troubling the scorers. Rev F A Leveson-Gower chipped in with 1 for 0, moving himself past F Reeves into 13th on the all-time wicket-takers list — and he continues to lead our 1906 run charts with 130, while Champion now sits second among the season's wicket-takers with 9.

For my own part, 44 with the bat and 9 wickets made for a personally satisfying, if lonely, triumph. Alas, the Duck Club chased down our total for the loss of just 2 wickets, beating us by 8. A curious day — individual glory, collective disappointment. We'll regroup, and no doubt bat with rather more resolve next Saturday.

Mon 04 Jun 1906 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLWLL

We put out the opposition first, opting to have a go with the ball, and for a good while it looked a canny decision. C Munds settled in for a chanceless 77, with G W Leng playing the perfect lieutenant on 57 and A Brownscombe chipping in with 38, and it took some proper toil to prise them out. R W Mitchell did the heavy lifting with 3 for 0 — figures that flatter no one who actually faced him — while Ernest Cruttenden (2 for 0) and H G Smith (1 for 0) tidied up round the edges.

With the bat we made rather a habit of it. C Murdoch, serene as ever, carried us home in all but name with a majestic 92 not out, and the Reverend F A Leveson-Gower matched him stride for stride with a well-made 86. Between them they put on 207 before the first wicket fell — 207! — by which point Captain Hickley's brisk 36 felt almost an afterthought. Spare a thought, though, for R W Mitchell and Allan Peach, who between them contributed nothing at all, and knew it.

Two names for the scorebook of record: the Reverend's 86 lifts him past E C Streatfield into 8th on the club's all-time run charts, and Cruttenden's brace edges him past the Reverend Thomas Burra into 3rd among our wicket-takers — sermons and spells both, it seems, in good order this season.

A draw, then, honours shared, and nobody especially minding.

Sat 12 May 1906 🧢 1st XIv Town Malling CC · AwayformWLLWL

Saturday last took us up the road to Town Malling, and if you'd told me at the toss how the day would unfold I'd have suggested you'd had one too many at the bar beforehand. Lost the toss, put into the field — no great hardship, we thought, until F B Leney settled in and made merry to the tune of 93, with G H Adam's classy 75 and J G Smith's 30 giving the scoreboard the sort of look that makes a captain reach for his hip flask. Only R W Mitchell emerged with real credit, a superb 6 for the innings that deserves a standing ovation even in defeat, well supported by Ernest Cruttenden and the Rev F A Leveson-Gower, who each picked up a wicket for their trouble.

Our reply never really got out of second gear. L Caldecott battled hard for 25, I chinned in a workmanlike 18, but with D H Luck and J W Bowles both back in the pavilion for ducks, we were always playing catch-up on a total we simply couldn't chase down.

There was, mind you, a silver lining amid the wreckage: the good Reverend's wicket saw him leapfrog T Gandy into 13th on the club's all-time list — a fine bit of history-making on an otherwise chastening afternoon. Beaten by 160 runs, no dressing it up. We'll lick our wounds, raise a glass to Mitchell's five-for, and go again next week — chastened, not broken.