Dimming of the Day

55 full scores for this and county matches (amateurs had initials, of course). What the Mirror did have (as did all of the cheaper papers and many local ones) was a romantic serial which kept running when other things were squeezed. The Daily Mirror’s favourite author was Ruby M.Ayres. At this point she only wrote for serialisation, with her first novel (of 150) not published until 1916. Later, the Dictionary of National Biography called her ‘“one of the most popular and prolific romantic novelists of the twentieth century’”. Surrey, starting a game against Lancashire at Old Trafford, reached 371-5, Ernie Hayes being top scorer with 102*. The loss of time to rain allowed Hampshire to get away with a draw against Yorkshire, with scores of 103 and 79-7 hardly showing the batting to advantage. Oxford’s last warm-up match was against Mr Lionel Robinson’s XI at Old Buckenham Hall in Norfolk., where their bowling was thumped by Sir Timothy O’Brien who made 90 and 111 in his last first-class match (and his first since 1907) at the age of 51. Not bad for a man who had made his first-class debut in 1881. On 7 July there was a report of a strike at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, with a threat to call out men at the dockyards. An engineer called Entwistle had been dismissed after refusing to erect machinery on concrete poured out by a non-unionist. The Vienna correspondent of The Times reported that ’reflection is prompting a more moderate tone in the Austro-Hungarian discussion of the hypothetical complicity of Servia in the Sarajevo crime.’ Nothing to worry about, then. In the cricket reports, of course, the University match took pride of place. 5,710 people paid to enter and the paper estimated that there were about 9,000 people there by tea-time. Oxford batted first and were out for 239. The only man scoring over 30 was the wicketkeeper, E.A.Shaw, who batted at No.9, making an undefeated 57.It was his highest score in his last first- class innings: he died on the Somme in 1916. In reply Cambridge had made 40 without loss. The teams had been announced for Gentlemen v Players, both at Lord’s and immediately afterwards at the Oval. Hampshire were all for 134 at Birmingham, F.R.Foster taking six for 63. He then made 75 as Warwickshire reached 217-8 at the close. At Old Trafford Surrey closed on 393 and dismissed Lancashire for 216, ‘Razor’ Smith taking five wickets. Smith had a reputation for being deadly on soft wickets but very prone to injury and illness. In the damp summer of 1910 he had taken 247 wickets. He did not reappear after the war, his body no longer up to the strain, and he went to work for Stuart Surridge, the bat- makers. Lancashire followed on and made 43-0 at the second attempt so Surrey sat in a strong position after two days. At Sheffield Yorkshire were out for 101 against Kent of which Roy Kilner made 50: Kent were 96-5. At Brighton Somerset were dismissed for 68 (the July 1914