Double Headers

67 3: Other instances in the British Isles Although there have been only two instances of a county side playing two simultaneous first-class matches, there have been over two dozen other first-class double-headers in the British Isles - though none have been more recent than 1961. These and some similar instances are detailed in this chapter. Double-headers by MCC Before the First World War, MCC matches made up a significant component of the annual first-class fixture list. Between 1865 and 1914, the MCC played at least nine first-class matches in each home season, and usually more: from 1878 until 1908 the figure was usually around 12 or 13, and it reached as many as 16 in 1895 (including one match in Ireland), and 15 in 1882, 1883, 1896, 1901 and 1908. These fixtures generally comprised home and away matches against both Universities, a game or two against any visiting tourists, and the balance against county XIs. This of course was only a relatively small proportion of MCC’s full fixture list, which reached 100 matches for the first time in 1881, and 150 in 1890, before peaking at 196 in 1899. By its nature, the club did not have a ‘First XI’, and few players could be regarded as ‘regulars’ for its first-class matches. For example (and picking a year at random), in 1891 as many as 65 cricketers represented the MCC in the season’s ten first-class matches, with only two players appearing in as many as half of them (Roland Pope 6 and William Attewell 5). Also by its nature, the club had more than enough players at its disposal to put out two, or maybe more, sides simultaneously that were strong enough to give a decent match to other first-class teams. So it had no need to try to arrange its fixtures so that its first-class matches did not sometimes coincide. The result was that between 1878 and 1913 the MCC’s fixture lists included as many as 21 occasions when they were scheduled to play two first-class matches simultaneously, including two instances in each of 1882, 1885 and 1895. Here is a list of these instances. The ‘Play dates’ given here and in similar tables later in this book are those on which play actually took place (except that dates when play was scheduled but none took place because of bad weather are also shown, in brackets). As in all similar tables later in this book, the ‘Results’ are from the point of view of the double-heading team. Season Play dates Fixture Venue Result 1878 17-18 June MCC v Sussex Lord’s D 17-18-19 June Oxford U v MCC Oxford (Magdalen) W 1880 13-14-15 May Cambridge U v MCC Cambridge W 13-14 May MCC v Lancashire Lord’s W 1881 16-17 May MCC v Sussex Lord’s W 16-17-18 May Oxford U v MCC Oxford D