Famous Cricketers No 82 - H.E. 'Tom' Dollery

312. Warwickshire v Northamptonshire, School Ground, Wellingborough, August 11, 13, 14 (Match drawn) * b F.R.Brown 23 252-9d 162 1 190-6 313. Warwickshire v Northamptonshire, Courtaulds Ground, Coventry, August 15, 16 (Warwickshire won by an innings and 169 runs) * c N.Oldfield b V.Broderick 42 456-5d 117 170 314. Warwickshire v Essex, Clacton-on-Sea, August 22, 23, 24 (Essex won by seven wickets) * b T.E.Bailey 3 204 216-8d c P.A.Gibb b K.C.Preston 0 174 163-3 315. Warwickshire v Hampshire, Edgbaston, August 25, 27, 28 (Match drawn) *† not out 110 345-6d 198 2 run out 4 51-7d 81-3 1 316. Warwickshire v Surrey, Kennington Oval, August 29, 30, (31) (Match drawn) * lbw b A.V.Bedser 12 61-9d 127 56-5 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St County Championship 28 42 6 1491 111 41.41 3 8 25 1 Other Warwicks matches 2 4 0 58 52 14.50 - 1 1 - Season 30 46 6 1549 111 38.72 3 9 26 1 Career 316 524 51 17403 200 36.79 36 86 196 14 1952 Warwickshire suffered a hangover from their Championship season, and made such a hash of retaining the title that by mid June they had lost five games and won none, the only bright spot being the tie at Hove. The batting was “beyond belief”, according to Dollery and as had happened before, his own form mirrored that of his team and he didn’t put together a score higher than 63 for the first two months. Four of his half-centuries, (those against Sussex, Surrey, Derbyshire and Lancashire), were made on extremely difficult pitches however, when the rest of the batting could hardly lay a bat on the ball. The one against Surrey at The Oval in the fourth innings on a diabolical pitch, Wisden described as “providing an object lesson in bad-wicket technique”. This was the match when the pitch was repaired overnight after twenty wickets had fallen on the first day with Surrey due to bat on it in the morning. The Warwickshire players were incensed and wanted to get it called off and Surrey reported to MCC, but Dollery calmed his team down and decided to play on, after pointing out the illegal repairs to an embarrassed Surrey Committee. Although they lost, he had taken his stance in the wider interests of cricket and he came out of it with his dignity and diplomacy enhanced. His personal form and that of his team was such that he seriously thought of resigning following some criticism in the Press and by a section of the members, but all of a sudden his own and his team’s batting form returned with a vengeance at the beginning of July and they rallied well enough to eventually finish equal 10th in the table. His form returned with a flourish in the highest score of his career against one of his “pets”, Leicestershire at Edgbaston. 24 fours and a six flowed from his bat as he put early season problems behind him during a brilliant 212; “Displaying perfect style, he drove, pulled and cut with great power”, was how Wisden described his innings and with Hitchcock he added 204 runs in only 135 minutes of exhilarating stroke play. He tormented the Leicestershire bowling in the return a few weeks later when he hit exactly the same number of boundaries in a four hour 158 not out. His next century was also scored off one of his “pet” attacks, Derbyshire, at Edgbaston, and this one, exactly 100 was made against Gladwin and Jackson on a wet pitch, after they had shot Warwickshire out for 75 in the first innings. The last two weeks of the season saw Warwickshire right back to form with a win over the eventual Champions, Surrey, a moral win against runners-up Yorkshire and victory at Lord’s against 45