Cricket's Historians

Ashley-Cooper, Pentelow and their Contemporaries appeared, with their statistics for that match. The list specifically states ‘First-Class and Other Important Matches’. If something out of the ordinary occurred in a match, then Ashley-Cooper appended a note. In a separate section I.D.Walker’s statistics are summarised. This is prefaced with a note which gives an idea of the statistical record keeping problems with which compilers were faced in 1900: ‘So incomplete are the records of the matches in which the elder members of the Walker family played – among other things the bowling analysis is often not to be found – and so difficult is it to say what were first-class matches, that it would be quite useless to give averages even if they were obtainable. But in the case of Mr I.D.Walker it is possible to give a complete record. The following tables were compiled by himself ’. This is not the place to try and break down the season by season first- class batting data that Walker gives, but what is rather peculiar is that Walker lists 465 first-class innings (presumably completed innings) and this is exactly the number credited to him in the statistics compiled by the ACS, BUT he claims 11,655 runs, whereas the ACS make the total 11,400. The differences are an exercise for a rainy day! The next major work to which Ashley-Cooper made a substantial contribution was Surrey Cricket: Its History and Associations . As previously mentioned De Lugo compiled the Record Section for this work, but Ashley-Cooper was responsible for two chapters, ‘Early Surrey Cricket 1598-1845’ and ‘Cricket Curiosities’ which make up 89 pages. The whole volume is 552 pages in length, easily the most comprehensive County history to date. The editors are given as The Rt Hon Lord Alverstone (Surrey President) and C.W.Alcock. In view of the popular notions of cricket history peddled by Gale, Lucas etc, it is very worthwhile reproducing Ashley-Cooper’s opening paragraph to his early Surrey piece: ‘Surrey, in short, is the Cradle of Cricket, an honour which many commentators have declared to belong to the little 78