Cricket's Historians

104 The Cricketer Magazine Fierce arguments have since raged among historians as to the correct nomenclature of the Hambledon matches, many or most of which are considered as Hampshire matches promoted by the Hambledon Club. In retrospect it is rather surprising that Ashley-Cooper did not air this subject to any great depth. Under the guidance of Lord Harris, Ashley-Cooper compiled Kent Cricket Matches 1719-1880 which effectively linked up to the Kent County Cricket Annual and thus gave that county’s supporters the chance of possessing the detailed scorecard (or at least a summary, in the case of the early games) of every County game. Ashley-Cooper included seasonal averages from the time they became practical. With regard to the 18 th century data, in particular, it is a fine piece of research and despite the passing of some 80 years, only a small handful of additional matches have been discovered. The biographies of the Kent players for these pre-1880 matches had appeared in the Kent History. Ashley-Cooper was commissioned to compile Middlesex County Cricket Club Volume II 1900-1920 , this being a follow-on from W.J.Ford’s work. It is pity that the opportunity wasn’t taken to include biographies of Middlesex players – this comment has been made already when noting Ford’s book, but Ashley-Cooper must have been in a much better position to provide biographical notes than was Ford. During the Great War, Ashley-Cooper had had two books published. W.G.Grace Cricketer sets out the immortal player’s record innings-by- innings. He included the M.C.C. matches versus Hertfordshire and Staffordshire as ‘first-class’ together with others of doubtful first-class status, following the lead of the Lillywhite annuals of the 1870s. Ashley- Cooper’s decision cemented a stance which has, like the Hambledon question, caused headaches for modern historians. In the same year, 1916, Ashley-Cooper wrote the biography of E.M.Grace. This, like all the author’s work, contains valuable historical nuggets, but the statistical section might have been fuller. Ashley-Cooper’s output was prodigious. Between 1916 and 1931 his bibliography lists some 60 titles. After his brief spell as Nottinghamshire