🧢 Captain's Log

Tue 10 Aug 1909 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLDLL

Tuesday last, we had the visitors round to Linton Park, and won the toss to have first use of the ball — always a small mercy on our sort of afternoon. The opposition batted long and stubbornly, W A Coveney anchoring the innings with a well-made 71 not out, ably supported by G M Style's 48 and the Reverend C J Hilton's 27, the good Rev clearly deciding sermons could wait. It fell to Ernest Cruttenden to do the real damage, spinning through them for a scarcely believable 5 for 0, with George Champion and F W M Cornwallis chipping in two apiece to keep the innings honest.

Then it was our turn, and George Champion, having already troubled the opposition with the ball, set about troubling them further with the bat — 110 not out, a superb hundred that made the runs that mattered, with F D Thomas (38) and W R Gosling (21) lending sturdy support, and the extras column doing its usual quiet, unglamorous work with 49. A personal contribution of 110 was, I'll admit, rather satisfying to watch from the other end. Champion also passed 200 career wickets in the process, a landmark that rather puts my own efforts in the shade — he now leads our 1909 run charts and sits second in the wickets too.

In the end honours were shared, neither side able to force the issue. A draw, then — but a thoroughly good one to have been part of.

Sat 07 Aug 1909 🧢 1st XIv ? · HomeformLLLDL

Skipper's Log — Saturday 07 August 1909, at home.

Won the toss, elected to bat — and for once I shall allow myself a small pat on the back for the decision, whatever befell later. R W Mitchell set about the bowling in fine style for a chanceless 54, and with C G E Farmer chipping in a tidy 27 and Arthur Cornwallis a brisk 24, we had the makings of a proper total. Down at the other end of the ledger, poor C Stevens will want to forget the whole business — a first-ball duck of the kind that has the fielders suddenly very interested in their bootlaces.

Out we came with the ball, and it was Captain Bush who denied us, compiling a fine 65 and finding sturdy company in Captain Robinson (42) and Captain Druce (37) — a rearguard of captains, no less, each seemingly determined to outdo the last. Mitchell, bless him, kept plugging away for 4-0, with Stevens (redeeming himself nicely with the ball, 3-0) and F W M Cornwallis (2-0) offering support. I myself contributed a golden duck with the bat, on which the less said the better.

There was cheer amid the gloom: C Murdoch's 18 lifted him past the Rev F A Leveson-Gower into 7th on the all-time run-scorers' list, while Mitchell's four wickets nudged him past W H Fryer into 7th among the wicket-takers — history quietly being rewritten even as the scoreboard turned against us.

Not our day, in the end, beaten as we were. But with landmarks falling and Mitchell in such heart, back to the nets we go, heads up and spirits, if not the result, unbowed.

Sat 24 Jul 1909 🧢 1st XIv ? · AwayformWLLLD

Saturday last saw us pack the kit bag and head off into enemy territory, the sun doing its level best to make village cricket feel like a proper occasion. Winning the toss, I opted to have first use of the ball — never one to turn down a new Dukes on a green-tinged pitch — and for a while it looked a shrewd call. The opposition were eventually dismissed, though not before J Joy had made a thorough nuisance of himself with a fine unbeaten 68, well supported by B Mullins (33) and F Curtis (20). Elsewhere it was rather grimmer for their card, with A Older, M Hills and C Maynard all shuffling off for ducks. The bowling honours belonged emphatically to P Le Feaver, whose 5-0 was a spell of real quality, George Champion chipping in with 3-0 and A Eltham with 1-0.

Our reply had its moments too. Guy Bracher played the innings of the day with a splendid 77, George Champion continued his fine all-round afternoon with 49, and H G Smith added a tidy 35. Spare a thought, though, for poor Charles Wycherley, whose walk back for a duck will not trouble the highlights reel.

In the end it came down to the finest of margins, and we were beaten by a single wicket — the sort of result that leaves you proud and wounded in equal measure. Plenty to admire, plenty to ponder; we'll be better for it next week.