Dimming of the Day

44 Leicestershire. Tom Rushby was the bowler here, taking 11 wickets in the match. He was another who played on after the war until 1921. Hampshire, at this point high in the table, had a splendid day against Somerset at Bath. Jaques and Kennedy bowled Somerset out for 83 and by the close Hampshire were 232-7, with Mead unbeaten on 110. Philip Mead played on for Hampshire until 1936, making the most runs for a single team in cricket history, with a couple of years for Suffolk after that. The military seem to have been much occupied by cricket. Cambridge University were due to play the Army, though The Times reports that the title of the team was changed to The Navy and Army: it was not a very strong team (no suggestions that this was because of calls to duty) and at lunch was 63-7, at which point it rained. The Times also reports a game in which the Royal Artillery beat the Household Brigade. There was a meeting of the various county secretaries at Lord’s to arrange the fixtures for 1915, and it was generally agreed that matches would start on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with some flexibility for bank-holiday weekends. On 13 June The Times reported that in France, M Ribot’s “ministry of all the talents” had fallen at the first hurdle, being defeated on its first appearance in the Assembly. It was thought that M Viviani, who sat as an independent socialist, would be next in line. The first feature on the cricket page this day was a preview of Old Etonians v Old Harrovians, even though it was scheduled for two days and so not first-class. Hampshire had bowled out Somerset for 38 in their second innings, Arthur Jaques finishing with match figures of 14 for 54. Mr S.H.Saville, who later in the year would turn out for Middlesex, made 141* against the Army (the name of the side apparently changed back again). As the Army side included a Reverend and three Misters, it was perhaps not as military as it might have been. It is, of course, possible that the Misters were Lieutenants/2 nd Lieutenants and the Reverend an Army Chaplain, Mr Walter Parke, who opened the batting and whose only first-class match this was, was to die in France in October. For Harry Gardner too it was his only first-class appearance and the Rev John Burrough had not played much first-class cricket since he won his blue for Cambridge in 1895. It would seem that that the Army had turned up short and picked up what players they could. If duty was calling, it might have been because of Ireland, but nothing to do with the European situation. After the second day Middlesex had gained a first-innings lead of 98 against Yorkshire – 277 against 179 – but with only a day to go would have to work to force a win. A team had been picked for Rest of England against the team that had toured South Africa – described as the ‘Centenary at Lord’s’ (the centenary being that of the current ground). C.B.Fry would captain the side. June 1914