Famous Cricketers No 39 - D.C.S.Compton

twenty boundaries in his 208, his first Test double hundred, made in five hours fifty minutes. Another superb all-round performance came in the game against Surrey at Kennington Oval where Middlesex amassed 537 for 2 wickets on the opening day of the match of which Compton and Edrich made 217 in an undefeated partnership. Compton then proceeded to win the game for Middlesex by taking twelve wickets for 174 runs. Great excitement came towards the end of the season as Compton drew close to two long standing records. The climax came at Hastings in early September where in successive matches for the South of England, against the South Africans and Sir PelhamWarner’s XI, he exceeded first Hobbs’ sixteen centuries in a first-class season, made in 1925, and then the forty-one-year-old record aggregate of 3,518 runs made in 1906 by the Surrey and England batsman Tom Hayward. Compton finished his season with a glorious 246 runs for the Champion County against The Rest of England. He and Edrich put on 210 although the former’s innings was interrupted for a while by an injured knee. In this innings he hit thirty fours, including one extrordinary stroke made literally off his back after he had fallen down trying to make a shot. In this innings Edrich also overtook Hayward’s aggregate. Compton finished his wonderful year with a total of 3,816 runs and eighteen centuries. It is fairly safe to say that these figures will never be exceeded given that the present pattern of the first-class fixture list is maintained. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 173. M.C.C. v Yorkshire, Lord’s, May 3, 5, 6 (M.C.C. won by 163 runs) b E.P.Robinson 73 134 - - - - 81 lbw b T.F.Smailes 7 343-9d 3 0 4 0 233 1 174. M.C.C. v Surrey, Lord’s, May 7, 8, 9 (Match drawn) b A.V.Bedser 52 269 - - - - 209 c J.F.Parker b E.A.Bedser 34 228-8 16 2 51 2 L.B.Fishlock c S.C.Griffith 370 1 E.A.Bedser c and b 175. Middlesex v Somerset, Lord’s, May 10, 12, 13 (Somerset won by one wicket) c G.E.S.Woodhouse b H.T.F.Buse 6 231 134 1 b M.F.Tremlett 25 78 178-9 176. Middlesex v Gloucestershire, Lord’s, May 14, 15 (Middlesex won by an innings and 178 runs) c J.F.Crapp b C.J.Scott 22 388 122 3 88 177. M.C.C. v South Africans, Lord’s, May 17, 19, 20 (M.C.C. won by 158 runs) c D.M.Ovenstone b L.Tuckett 18 230 127 c L.Tuckett b O.C.Dawson 97 253-4d 198 178. Middlesex v Worcestershire, Lord’s, May 21, 22, 23 (Middlesex won by 234 runs) not out 88 207 134 1 b R.Howorth 112 314-7d 153 1 179. Middlesex v Sussex, Lord’s, May 24, 26 (Middlesex won by ten wickets) b C.Oakes 110 380 3 0 6 1 J.H.Cornford c L.H.Compton 139 did not bat - 21-0 13 4 42 1 J.K.Nye st L.H.Compton 259 1 180. Middlesex v South Africans, Lord’s, May 31, June 2, 3 (Match drawn) st D.M.Ovenstone b A.M.B.Rowan 154 316-8d 3 1 8 0 424 b A.M.B.Rowan 34 226-6 - - - - 217 2 181. Middlesex v Hampshire, Lord’s, June 4, 5, 6 (Middlesex won by an innings and 49 runs) st L.Harrison b J.Arnold 88 429-6d - - - - 164 18.4 5 46 2 G.Hill b 216 N.T.McCorkell c W.J.Edrich 182. ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA, Trent Bridge, June 7, 9, 10, 11 (Match drawn) c B.Mitchell b L.Tuckett 65 208 2 1 6 0 533 c B.Mitchell b N.B.F.Mann 163 551 4 0 14 0 166-1 183. Middlesex v Yorkshire, Lord’s, June 14, 16, 17 (Match drawn) not out 50 350-2d 15 6 28 1 A.Coxon lbw 187 16 6 34 1 L.Hutton c and b 147-4 1 184. ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA, Lord’s, June 21, 23, 24, 25 (England won by ten wickets) c A.M.B.Rowan b L.Tuckett 208 554-8d 21 11 32 2 B.Mitchell st T.G.Evans 327 T.A.Harris st T.G.Evans 23