Chapter Twenty In the West There is a lovely story relating to the credentials which enabled Raymond Robertson-Glasgow to qualify for Somerset. A tall, fast medium bowler able to swing the ball appreciably, he did well at Charterhouse and played for Oxford against Cambridge for four years. Popular and with a rich sense of humour, Robertson-Glasgow became a distinguished writer on the game, a correspondent with national newspapers and an author of charm and style. Crusoe, his nickname, owed its origin to a match against Essex during which he yorked Charlie McGahey. The Essex captain, Johnny Douglas, had not seen the dismissal and when McGahey came into the pavilion, he asked him how he was out. McGahey replied: “I was bowled by an old so-and-so I thought was dead, called Robinson Crusoe.” In June 1920, Oxford gained a two-wicket victory over Somerset at The Parks, Robertson-Glasgow taking five for 20 in the second innings. John Daniell, the Somerset captain, asked him if he would like to play for the county. Robertson-Glasgow had no qualifications for Somerset, having been born in Edinburgh, but he had relatives at Hinton Charterhouse in the county, one of whomwas MP for Bath. Typically, Daniell, a forthright character with a splendid disregard for bureaucracy, decided that was good enough. Daniell was one of the great men of Somerset cricket. He was only an average batsman, although he could hit hard, but he was a brilliant fieldsman at silly point and a strong and resourceful leader. A rugby international who captained England, he was later president of the Rugby Football Union and an England cricket selector. Daniel, who had spells as a schoolmaster and a tea planter, captained Somerset from 1908 to 1912 and 1919 to 1926 – a keen, popular, scrupulously fair leader with a colourful vocabulary if things went wrong and an intolerance of slackers. In 1920, his crew sometimes consisted of ten amateurs and Len Braund, who was in his final season. Such was the case at Taunton, where Gloucestershire won the Whitsuntide encounter by one wicket after Charlie Parker had taken eight for 45 in the first innings. Parker started his career as a medium paced left-arm bowler, George Dennett being established as the county’s slow left-arm spinner. In 1919, with Dennett still serving as a commissioned officer in India, Parker switched to slow left-arm with devastating effect. He spun the ball fiercely at a pace a little quicker than usual with bowlers of this type and although he was 36 when cricket resumed after the 1914-18 war, he continued playing until 1935. Gloucestershire also had to economise. In 1915 they sold their Ashley Down ground at Bristol to the local company JS Fry and Sons. For 17 years the ground bore the company’s name and was used by their employees. Under the conditions of sale, Gloucestershire retained the right to buy it back for the same price and the repurchase was completed in April 1933 after a fundraising appeal. Most of the August Bank Holiday fixtures were held at Bristol. 91