Dimming of the Day

84 August 1914 or of taking it at Lord’s. 32 The attendance was estimated at 7,000 and a collection produced £24/14/6. The result was something of a disaster for Hobbs. Although Surrey guaranteed £500, the total receipts from his benefit came to £657, below the average level, let alone what might have been expected. The Surrey committee agreed that he would be granted another chance the following year or, failing that, once the war had ended. 33 In the match, Kent had lost 4 for 11 but rallied somewhat to 140. Surrey were 147-3, though Hobbs was out for 16. On 12 August the response to Lord Kitchener’s appeal was said to be satisfactory, with an average of 3,000 a day signing up: but The Times felt the need to encourage the wealthy to relinquish some of their servants. The Daily Express proclaimed the ‘Eve of the Great Battle’. Surrey won in two days, Hitch and Fender bowling Kent out for 140 and 140, though Blythe took nine for 97. Surrey made 234 (Hayward 91) and 47-2 to win by eight wickets. 7,046 paid for admission. Middlesex were struggling against Yorkshire, having made 175 and 219-6 against 345 (David Denton 129). Denton was 40 years old but would play on for a couple of seasons after the war. Frank Chester made 178* for Worcestershire against Essex, his highest first-class score. Losing an arm at Salonika during the war, he became an umpire and stayed at it until 1955. Harry Dean took 13 wickets in the match as Lancashire beat Hampshire by an innings, and Nottinghamshire beat Gloucestershire by an innings as well. The Portsmouth Cricket Week had been called off as the military had taken over the ground, with the two matches arranged transferred to Southampton and Bournemouth. There was news of a couple of German bakers’ shops in the East End being wrecked (though The Times was quick to assure its readers that the perpetrators could not have been Englishmen. Many places were keen to emphasise that for seaside holidays it was business as usual and that the trains were not much affected – the Isle of Wight, Scarborough, Torquay and Felixstowe were all keen to say that they were open for holiday business. The Times remarked that much of what the new official Press Bureau gave out as news had already been reported. At this period, said The Times , ‘no news of any importance can be expected.’ The papers would not, for instance, give information about British troop movements. Liege was reported still to be holding out. On 13 August The Times was again encouraging holiday makers: railway companies which had suspended cheap fares were thinking of 32 Jack Hobbs, My Cricket Memories , London, 1924 33 Leo McKinstry, Jack Hobbs, England’s Greatest Cricketer , Yellow Jersey, 2012