agriculturist, Alfred Cockerill bought the ground for £10,000 and gave it to the club to be preserved for sport for ever. The maximum seating capacity at Northampton at this time was around 7,500. More often than not, then, the counties were to be found in the lower half of the table; the annual matches of significance only to themselves and other counties fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. In 1920, when each won on its opponents’ home ground, the matches were notable for some fine pace bowling from Northamptonshire’s William ‘Bumper’ Wells, a Leicestershire hundred from Harry Whitehead and glimpses of past glory from Coe and King. Leicestershire won both of the 1921 holiday matches, Aubrey Sharp, no doubt still celebrating his return from hostilities, making a century at Leicester in August. He repeated this in a victory by an innings for Leicestershire over the following Whitsuntide when Geary and Astill proved too much for the Northamptonshire batsmen at Aylestone Road, rain ruining the return although not before Claude ‘Dick’ Woolley, elder brother of Frank, registered an unbeaten hundred. The one-sided nature of these fixtures continued in 1923 – when Leicestershire finished 14th and Northamptonshire 17th and last - with another Leicestershire double, marked by another hundred for Sharp, more success for Astill and Geary and a glimmer of hope for Northamptonshire as Albert ‘Taffy’ Thomas claimed eleven wickets in the match with his medium paced bowling. The rot was stopped with a couple of draws in 1924. This coincided with the arrival of Jupp, who at 33 already had a fine career behind him. He began with Sussex as a professional but reappeared as an amateur after the war. At the end of the 1921 season, during which he scored 2,169 runs and took 121 wickets, he became secretary to Northamptonshire, qualifying as a player from 1924. Jupp was secretary for 11 years, captain for six and achieved six doubles for the county before he finished playing in 1938. In 1924, Northamptonshire won only one match, against Derbyshire, the only county to finish beneath them, but the following season brought nine victories and 11th place. Again, however, they had to yield to Leicestershire, who although ending one place below their neighbours, gained a comfortable win at Northampton at Whitsuntide. Skelding was the matchwinner with eight for 79 and six for 46 – 14-125 – and he took eight more in the return at Leicester. Charles Bray recalled opening at Aylestone Road for Essex in his first match. His partner Jack Russell passed on some advice: “Mr Bray, there are two bowlers you are just going to face. One runs a mile and bowls medium. The other takes six strides and lets her go. That’s Skelding and he’s almighty quick.” Northamptonshire fought fire with fire. Nobby Clark bowled fast left-arm with a high, immaculate action. He could be moody and difficult to handle but he produced some outstanding performances and played in eight Test matches between 1929 and 1934. Clark was prominent in Northamptonshire’s victory by 58 runs over the August Bank Holiday at Aylestone Road in 1927 – their first over Leicestershire since 1920. They started badly, only Walden coping with the home team’s bowlers in a total of 169. Jupp hit back with a seven-wicket haul but Northamptonshire faded after a good start, leaving Leicestershire to make 209, but Clark, Bill Wright and Jupp proved too much. It was all the more satisfying because Leicestershire had a fine season in 1927, finishing seventh. On June 8 they were second, with only the champions Lancashire above them. Northamptonshire had to settle for 16th, one place above Worcestershire. Such a home defeat had to be avenged and there was an early opportunity when the Woolly Backs and Cobblers 102