ummer’s Crown

The Story of ’s

 

Christopher Saunders Publishing We will be publishing a limited edition, or rather eighteen limited editions, Eighteen wonderful limited editions— one for each county. Each county edition will be case bound, in a slip case, one for each county and covered in the diVerent coloured cloth. Each book and slip case will bear the county badge. There will be an eight page insert at the front on that from Christopher Saunders Publishing county, specifically designed for this edition, containing material not in the

stephen chalke has spent a year writing a hugely entertaining main body of the book. Each copy will be numbered and signed history of the County Championship—350 pages by Stephen and a prominent former of that of good stuV. This wonderful book is county. The limitation of each county due to be published by Fairfield edition will depend on the number of subscribers. Books in March 2015. John Barclay

1952: The first year of the championship pennant Stuart Surridge and display it outside the 1890s DerekHe Underwood was a truly exceptional of Kent bowler. He bowled long spells with an action that was full of energy and effort, and he never seemed to fail, never got the nerves. Oval pavilion Images of the 1890s He wasn’t as demonstrative as some, no cursing or swearing, but inwardly he Trouble at Tonbridge was fiercely competitive. Tonbridge Week was not only a pair of cricket Cheltenham College matches at the Angel Ground, attended by the It was said that had ‘the face of a choirboy, the demeanour of a civil ordinary folk of the town. It was also a grand social Gloucestershire 1890-2014 gathering, with every evening offering festivities: Some players of the 1980s servant and the ruthlessness of a rat-catcher’. He was certainly an innocent-looking 17-year- Even the Victorian chapel, with its tall, arched windows, is younger than the at Cheltenham. It started shows, balls and concerts that attracted to the town old when he joined the Kent team in 1963, the youngest bowler to take 100 in Most runs 31,344 a great influx of visitors, many of them not especially his debut season, and he still had that deceptive look of innocence as he loped in to bowl Arthur Milton 27,528 in 1872 with a single match, in which a young, slim WG Victory at Blackheath conversant with the finer points of cricket. in the late 1980s. By then he was in his 40s and the pitches were covered, but there were Most wickets Charlie Parker 3,022 bowled out Surrey twice in a day, and now it spans a full Each year in July the Surrey cricketers came to the Rectory still days when he was unplayable, none more so than at Folkestone in 1986 when in 35.5 Field at Blackheath, and each year they were beaten by Kent, of JuneThe 1893, fourth a dry Tonbridge month that Week unfortunately was held at theturned end But remarkable twist there was. When the groundsman fortnight, drawing cricket lovers from far and wide. If there wet at the start of the week. Lancashire were the first overs, with never a loose ball, he took seven Warwickshire wickets, Kallicharran and Amiss 2,678 usually by a great margin. At the end of another crushing defeat visitors and, though the pitch was damp and the light among them, for just 11 runs. He was not known as ‘Deadly’ without reason. pulled backMost the appearancescovers on the third Charliemorning, Parker he found a large 571 is one place where time has stood still and county cricket is in 1922 the Surrey captain Percy Fender triedSurrey to cheer captain up Percy his Fender speaks to the crowd, Blackheath, July 1923 For a left-arm finger-spinner he was quick through the air, medium-pace even, and bad, they managed a full day’s play on the Monday. patch of engine oil close to a good length at one end. In no time still in its old glory, it is here at the College Ground. ageing keeper Herbert Strudwick by offering him a cigarette. he knew how to adapt his flight to different pitches and batsmen. An integral part of the the square was a hive of activity, with motor fans and industrial “No, thank you, Mr Fender,” Strudwick, a non-smoker, said to be followedOn Tuesday by scudding morning showers, a steady and drizzle it was cleared, Post-war only 1946-2014 success of Kent in the 1970s, he was blessed with the best of keepers, , who, heaters at work. Alan Butcher, Glamorgan captain, was wearily. “I’ll have my first when we beat them here.” decided to take lunch early and to hope for play at he says, “seemed to know whatSabotage I was going atto bowl New before Road, I did.” Worcester Gloucestershire grounds 2.30. All the while, a large audience built up and, At all times he set himself high standards, enjoying the challenge of on a flat determinedMost runsthat the game wouldArthur triumph, Milton and eventually play 27,528 Back they all came in 1923. Another Saturday in July, though there was still rain in the air, they became They should have been champions in 1930. But a quirk of With one round of matches of the 1988 season left to play, got under way. The oily patch createdRon Nicholls no problems, certainly 21,096 First Last Matchesanother full ground. The Times reporter caught the mood: angry when nothing happened at 2.30. pitch as much as the seven- hauls on helpful ones. “I like your bowling,” Zaheer 1900s Cricketers from the colonies leaders Worcestershire were one point ahead of Kent – and no more than normal on the uneven New Road pitch, and by the point- system put their 15 wins below Lancashire’s Abbas, a supreme player of spin, once told him. “You make me concentrate.” Most wickets Sam Cook 1,609 Gloucester – Spa 1890 1923 45This is no ordinary county match. It is the match in the playersThey and,gathered when in that front produced of the pavilion no result, calling they for He would have gone intothat his one father’s point airgun-pellet was a source business of grievanceif he had not for made Kent it in supporters. cricket ten. Their free-thinking captain Bev Lyon, a man before his four o’clock Worcestershire hadJohn won Mortimore by an . 1,522 1973:Clifton The –first College year Close of the 1890 1932 which 33 the cricket of Kent is annually vindicated by ‘invaded the wickets and not only trampled all over At Edgbaston in June Kent bowled out Warwickshire for Meanwhile the police went into the crowd and led away the pitch but pulled the stumps out.’ With too few time, so hated draws that he upset the traditionalists with freak but, with his natural ability and his supreme professionalism, there was never a chance of that. the humiliation of its neighbour. The Kent crowd do Most appearances John Mortimore 541 Lord’sBristol Taverners – County Trophy, Ground 1890 705 police to control the disturbance, the protest went declarations. And he had great match-winners in Charlie Parker 107 but, because two men had been unfit to bat, they were a Kent supporter whose conversation had been decidedly not come to Blackheath to see a match, but – like the who loved to think beyond the orthodox. Many thought him and TomAll theyGoddard lacked and, was most a top-class of all, infast Walter bowler. Hammond. They never had Cheltenham – College Ground 1890 273 on for twentythe minutes best captain before a Englandheavy burst never of rain had. Part-Huguenot, part- not awarded the bowling point that came with the fall of the suspicious but, without firm evidence, no charges were pressed. presented always French revolutionaries – to dance the carmagnole sent them all running for cover. Moreton-in-Marsh – Batsford Road 1914 1914 1 Scots, he was perhaps too much of an outsider, too clever for one till arrived. Instead, with their pitch a ninth wicket. Unsuccessfully they appealed and, in the words So it fell toLast Worcestershire 25 years only to receive 1990-2014 the championship at Buckingham Palace execution. Long before the time for starting, they were Deadly Wisden, ‘it was a point that rankled all season.’ It especially Bristol – Greenbank 1922 1928 sitting three 18 deep round the ground, licking greedy lips. The magazinesome Cricket and Field much was too appalled: quick to ruffle establishment feathers. slow bowler’s heaven, they had a long line of spinners, so many of Mosttrophy runs from Prince PhilipMark at Buckingham Alleyne Palace – 11,214or it Surrey did not have a strong bowling attack, but they had a in the 1950s that , a future star, spent five RichardCheltenham Gilliat –of Ground 1923 1937 17 They seemed to think that a county cricket rankled when it looked like being the difference between Alex Gidman 10,641 captain in Fender who was full of imaginative tricks, a man Yet at Surrey they loved him. A fine all-round cricketer, years inThe the big second city eleven, of Bristol waiting has producedfor his chance. its cricketers, none should have. The cup itself had not been collected from Trent HampshireGloucester holds the – Wagoncup Works 1923 1992 151 match had beenhe was arranged the scorer for their of benefit the fastest hundred of all time, in 35 Four times leading wicket-taker finishing second and sharing the title. Bridge, and after a last-minute panic the ceremony took place only and thatminutes, play should and have at Blackheathtaken place he hit two crucial and ‘merry’ The last matches were four-day ones, and after two Most wickets Jon Lewis 746 while PrinceStroud Philip – Erinoid jokes 1956 1963 12 giving greater service than Arthur Milton, but the heartbeat of with a hastily acquired substitute: the Lord’s Taverners Brands wet or fine. fifties,Unfortunately capping they didthem not on the final day with four wickets and the county has always been further north, represented by men Maca Mike Smith 511 Lydney – Recreational Trust Ground 1963 1969 7 limit their misbehaviour to the usual cheap days Kent were well on their way to an innings victory at Hatch Motor Racing Trophy. Perhaps, after the triumph overwith two catches as he masterminded a 222-run victory over Kent. The popularity of county cricket had grown to a new peak like the ungainly batsman Alf Dipper, a farmer from Apperley, Gloucester – 1993 2008 14 witticisms at the expense of the players in the 1900s. The championship was contested with ever- Most appearances Mark Alleyne 231 The jinx of the Rectory Field was finally broken. KS MalcolmI shalland Marshallalways the steady remember slow-left-armer of Hampshirethe incessant Sam Cook, chatter. a Tetbury If much plumber; of Malcolm Canterbury. characterised Worcestershire, the at home to Glamorgan, were the engine oil, it was not inappropriate. but, led on by one or two turbulent spirits, increasing keenness, with many of the counties happy to look 15 wrecked the wicket. This crass stupidity on beyond their boundaries for fresh, match-winningIndia to Sussex talent. In Gloucestershire calypsolike cricketer, the effervescent much, Jacktoo, Russellepitomised from thethe modelStroud professional.valley and also winning. They had moved in the boundaries to make sure at an some cases, to the alarm of traditionalists, they were even 10 the part of the mob was almostThe equalled Surrey team made hurriedly for the pavilion, thelooking beyond the shores of Great Britain. them. the wholeheartedTheir Cheltenham ‘Syd’ Lawrence Festival, from started Gloucester. in the 1870s, remains 134 championship wickets in 1982 25 Formation of present county club: 1871 He was a top performer – and a top bloke as well. they got David maximum Lloyd batting6 points 10and, on 380 for six, they by the inane remarks of the ladies and silence of the crowd being broken by a few ecstaticEnglishmen to be born abroad. Lord Harris had started life 249 In those high days of Empire it was not uncommon for Joined county championship: 1890 already had a lead of 11136. Glamorgan,17 bottom of the table, gentlemen in the subscribers’ tents, many in Trinidad, where his father was Governor; so, too, had the highlight of county cricket’s summer-long schedule. 8 yells from the Surrey supporters. Still silent, the crowd Number of championships: 0 18 of whom had apparently come down on a Pelham Warner, the Middlesex captain. Teddie Wynyard, Among the overseas cricketers who joined county cricket after thewere first not wave the toughestof specially13 of opponents,4 and the weather was set congregated outside the pavilion, and at lastthe a Hampshire voice captain, was born in , as was his team- 4 wet afternoon to see cricket because there registered recruits, none gave greater value than the Barbadian .7 A slightly mate Major Bertie Poore, who played for South Africa while Is there a county with a better All-Time Eleven? The batting fair. It would take a remarkable5 7twist for Worcestershire not was nothing else to do. shouted, “We want the best gentlemanstationed in there.England.” For such men it was sufficient qualification 8 Fender made his victory speech. Then he went to give a cigarette genius of Grace, Jessop, Hammond and Graveney; the spin built 21-year-old when he arrived in Southampton in the springto winof 1979, the titlehe treated now –the by that one point. final Thereday, butwas so talk muchof preparing rain had a fallennew pitch that next for the that they had some family connection with their county. 8 8 13 morning they were able to roll out theto damage. his keeper, only to find him alreadywas an Indian puffing prince who came to away. England to“I study decided at mastery of Goddard and Parker; the inspired keeping of Jack county game as an opportunity to improve himself and, even at the peak of his2 powers, he6 13 Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji was in a different category. He Bryan ‘Bomber’ Wells not to wait for yours, Mr Fender,”Cambridge said Strudwick University, after which cheerily. his friend Charles Fry Russell; the best and most loyal of overseas stars in Procter, gave his all to it, playing for Hampshire till 1993 and returning later as coach. persuaded him to play for Sussex. In some quarters Ranji’s Carpenter and Thoms, the two umpires He was not tall and he did not have a long run-up, but for a time he 14was considered12 the Zaheer and Walsh. Throw in the dashing strokeplay of Charlie 16 125 dark skin created problems; they say that was the reason why 9 12 17 he did not make his debut for England at Lord’s in 1896. He to Middlesex Barnett or the bowled brilliance in final hour. of the young Charles Townsend, and 244 played the next Test at Old Trafford, however, and he was fastest bowler in the world – and, with his open-chested ,3 he could10 move the ball it is asYet strong Gloucestershire and as entertaining have never as any won county’s the championship, eleven. at 11 magnificent, hitting an unbeaten 154 while all around him late both ways. Furthermore, benefiting from a dedication to personal13 fitness and always were failing. The writer Home Gordon described the innings

12 12 in glowing detail to a senior MCC man, only to be told that least not since the spoilsports took away their unofficial triumphs 1980s wanting the ball in his hand, he could sustain his pace through long13 spells. The shrewdest of it was ‘disgusting degeneracy to praise a black’: ‘If England 12 13 (one year only). in the 1870s. Several times they have come close, but always the cricketers, with a great arsenal of deliveries, he soon6 knew the 9weaknesses of all the batsmen. His work-rate was extraordinary.16 In all competitions in 1982, three-day and one-day, yearningsThey in havethe Cotswolds never been have a wealthy remained club. unfulfilled. At times, as now, in 9 10 We are inviting subscriptions 10 he bowled 1,008 overs, the hardest-worked12 bowler 10in the country, and he took 160 wickets. an age of two divisions and easy transfers, that has been theirGlorious Gloucestershire 10 2 He also scored 891 runs,9 including his7 first Hampshire century – against a Lancashire side led handicap. In the 1870s their all-amateur elevens could beatIs there another county of such beauty? The stone-built cottages 3 by his West Indian 8captain Clive7 Lloyd, whom he dismissed in both innings. He loved his professional teamsThe fromfigures Surreyvary from andyear to Nottinghamshire, year, influenced by the but weathersnuggling and by in the Cotswold hills. The magical villages, hidden in the minimum of 20 overs to be adjustments to the laws. But the long-term trend, particularly since battles with Lloyd9 and with8 .17 But then he loved all his cricket. For all the menace Overs and no-balls that was because they had ThereWG wasGrace. little changeBy the in runschampionship per wicket betweenancient 1900 Forest and 1969, of Dean. The mighty River Severn with its elvers. The minimum number of overs to be bowled in a day. 1970, has been for higher scores and faster run rates. 2 12 1890 Five-ball overs. proper of the 1890s their professional staff was too small for of his run-up, his uncoiling delivery and his lethal bouncer, he played the game with a smile. South Africa to Hampshire town of Cheltenham – ‘poor, pretty and13 proud’, as my dad used to for these limited editions at a price Charlie Llewellyn 1900 Six-ball overs. but thereafter, with covering of pitches, advances in bat manufacture and 5 15 could not win without resorting to the assistance of coloured them to compete consistently acrossThe best18 or summer 20 games. for batsmen And remains thesay. 1990, And the my year own in beloved which Gloucester, with its majestic cathedral and 1939 Eight-ball overs the introduction of four-day cricket, the numbers have risen significantly. 14 men, it had better devote its skill to marbles.’ 1968 A situation got worse. They only survived after the First Worldits throbbing industrial heart. 13 14 1984 A War by selling their Ashley Downgroundsmen ground. were instructed to prepare better batting pitches and 3 7 to overcome such attitudes. In both 1899 and 1900 he passed 1996 Minimum overs in final hour reduced to 16. 7 Ranji was simply too good a cricketer and too fine a man not when the seam on the ball was reduced. Runs that year were scored at 3,000 first-class runs, the first batsman to achieve the feat, and 1997 Two runs for no-balls and wides, in addition to runs scored off The rate of scoring before the First WorldCOUNTY War was not CHAMPIONSHIP matched till PLACINGS YEAR BY YEAR a record 38.7 per wicket. 9 10 10 he did it in gloriously elegant and wristy style, even creating 2003 Wides now one run. a new stroke, the leg glance. His was a magic that was at the but by 1996 it was down to 16. With extra minutes allowed 4 10 8 7 7 24 9 4 5 4 9 6 8 very heart of that Edwardian Golden Age, and his style came These tables relate to the laws and regulations in the county championship. the 1980s. In the dry summer of 1911 it reached3 53.7 runs per 100 for the fall of each wicket, the day’s play3 often ran beyond the with substance, too. Among those who have scored 10,000 balls, a record till 1990. The highest rate to date is 58.74 in 2007. 85 100 allotted time. In 2001 fines were replaced by the deduction of of £ each. The published price will be £ . 5 Recent scorebooks suggest that, by the old system of 72 championship runs, his career average of 62.04 reigns supreme. points in the championship3 table. 6 15 10 day at Lord’s, when he claimed to have fielded a ball inside the 7 calculation,16 where time was not allowed for the fall of wickets, Above all, he was an amateur, and he behaved as one. One Runs per 100 balls 4 Run-rates have risen, over-rates have fallen. Combining , when the crowd protested and the did not overs are now bowled at approximately 15.3 an hour. immediately accept his word as a gentleman, he was furious: How has the game changed? 1890-99 45.7 14 9 10 “It seems to me, Barlow,” he told the old pro, “that you have 1900-14 49.5 5 the two, it is possible to compare the average number of runs One of the private tents a great deal too much to say for yourself.” 9 13 In 1954, with a typical hour yielding 52.8 runs off 20.5 overs, 1919-39 48.1 3 scored in a day. 1946-59 44.2 7 2 to preserve the identity of the county sides, lay not with the West Indies to Derbyshire In 2013, with a typical hour yielding 50.9 runs off 15.3 overs, The closing date for subscriptions will be 1st March The problem for the traditionalists, those who wanted Charles Ollivierre 1960-69 42.5 8 a spectator would have seen 316 runs in six hours of cricket. amateurs but with the growing number of men who were 9 2 4 4 8 3 1970-79 47.6 making their way from the colonies to earn a better living in 4 the county game. Albert Trott was an early one. An Australian 1980-89 51.1 18 90 91 6 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 17 99 1900 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 a spectator 12 13 would 14 have seen 19 315 20 runs, 21 much 22 as 23 in 1954, 24 25 but 26 he Test cricketer not picked for the 1896 tour of England, he 1990-99 53.1 2 or she would have stayed longer than six hours to see those runs. 5 came anyway, spent two years qualifying for Middlesex and 2000-13 2000-14 56.2 27 28 29 30 31 16 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 92 set the world of cricket ablaze with his fast-medium bowling 12 and big hitting. In his first summer of championship cricket

17 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 2015 99 . No cheques will be cashed, and no credit cards 15 318 The runs increase Runs per wicket 2000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 1890-99 22.1 D2 D2 D2 D2 D1 D1 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 D2 1900-14 24.1 1919-39 25.1 Wisden. In 1966 the rate 1946-59 25.0 1960-69 24.1 charged, until 2nd March. Please fill in the form on the back and 1970-79 28.2 1980-89 30.5 1990-99 32.6 2000-13 2000-14 33.133.0 return to Christopher Saunders Publishing to be certain of your copy. The overs decrease When Yorkshire were all out for 887 at Edgbaston in 1896, they received 274.3 five-ball overs in 10 hours 50 minutes. Even with more changing of ends, that works out at the An inspection of the Nottinghamshire scorebook for the equivalent of 21.1 six-ball overs per hour.

summer of 1954 reveals that the overs in their games that year In the 1960s, with concern that over-rates were declining, were bowled at an average of 20.5 an hour.

figures were published each year in was 19.2 an hour; by 1972 it had fallen to 18.0. This prompted the introduction of fines for counties averaging less than 18.5 across the summer. At this point the method of calculation From 1984 counties had to bowl a minimum number of was altered, with time deducted for the fall of wickets.

overs in a day. Initially the figure was based on 18 an hour,

leaflet designed by jules akel order form

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