Double Headers

21 and two for Leveson Gower’s XI – scoring 51 for MCC v Leicestershire, and then a fine 137 for Leveson Gower’s XI against Cambridge University on 11 June. Here at least was a batsman in form. Harry Altham was a rather different pick. He had played once for Surrey’s First XI in 1908, and later in that season he had scored 132 for Surrey II against Berkshire in a Minor Counties match; he had also made one First XI appearance earlier in 1909. He was now in his first year at Oxford University, but had not established a place in the University’s First XI. The Reigate fixture provided an opportunity to further the career of this promising batsman, and a good performance against his University colleagues might help him towards a Blue. If there was some recent(ish) form to go on when selecting these two batsmen, the same could not easily be said of the other two ‘outsiders’ who found favour for the Reigate fixture. William Sarel had played three first-class matches for Surrey in 1904, none of them in the Championship, scoring 44 and 12 against Cambridge University but making only 1, 1, 1 and 4 in his other four innings. A soldier, he had spent some of the intervening time on his duties in Trinidad, where he had played four first- class matches in which his highest scores were two more innings in the 40s. But with a career average of 17.92 to his name, and no first-class cricket since January 1906, it is difficult to see what exactly he was expected to bring to the side at Reigate. John Raphael came to the match not long after fighting a losing battle for the Liberals in a Parliamentary by-election at Croydon. He had played for Oxford University from 1903 to 1905, scoring 201 against Yorkshire in 1904, and was a fairly regular member of the Surrey First XI from 1904 until mid-1906, when he disappeared from county cricket for ever, apart from the Reigate match. Perhaps it was an innings of 113 for the Free Foresters in a non-first-class match against Oxford University in June 1908 that had kept him in Surrey’s mind? He had also made his mark on the rugby field, playing in nine internationals for England as a three-quarter between 1902 and 1906. Were these the best amateurs that Surrey could find? As well as Oxford- educated Second XI captain Arthur Rutty 19 , there were two others around who had connections with both Surrey and Oxford University, and who might possibly have been in the selectors’ minds. Hugh Teesdale had won his Blue at Oxford in 1908 and played one match for Surrey in each of 1906 and 1908; after his final first-class match in 1910 his career average was just over 30. Harry Chinnery had played for the Oxford University Authentics on tour in India in 1902/03, and played 30 matches for Surrey between 1897 and 1904; his final career record was 2536 runs at just under 25, but he had played no first-class cricket since 1904. Both might have had at least as good a claim to a place in the side at Reigate as some of those who were selected, but it is fair to say that neither of them had any credentials which placed them clearly ahead of those who finally made the Reigate XI. 19 Rutty had not played first-class cricket at Oxford, despite useful performances with bat and ball in the Seniors Matches in 1893 and 1894 – he scored 78 in the 1893 match, and took a hat-trick in 1894. He eventually made his one and only first-class appearance for Surrey v Oxford University in 1910, batting at number 10, scoring 12* and 6*, not bowling, and taking one catch. Surrey in 1909