Famous Cricketers No 95 - P.A.Perrin

J.W.H.T.Douglas and the batting of C.A.G.Russell. Perrin was invited to join the Essex committee but declined the invitation: as it transpired he never joined it. In a summer of poor weather, Perrin who was now forty-four, failed to score a century and did not reach a thousand runs, despite playing in 24 matches. He ascribed his difficulties to ‘his legs not being what they had been’, although he thought he could see the ball as well as ever. Wisden added that ‘on many days . . . he showed fine defence, but he had little left of his old brilliant hitting.’ Perrin’s new role became apparent in the match against Sussex at Hove in June, when he did not bat in the Essex second innings, when runs were required quickly to set up a declaration total. His difficulties were evident earlier in the season when he was dismissed for a duck by the nineteen-year-old Douglas Jardine, bowling leg-breaks in his first ever spell of bowling in first class cricket. Jardine took 6 for 28, his only five wicket return, in a collapse which took Essex from 201-1 to 220 all out. Like many other clubs at this time, the Essex side had a distinctly veteran aspect. Among the more regular players were C.P.McGahey (49), F.H.Gillingham (45), C.D.McIver (39) and W.Reeves (45). Wisden referred to the ‘sedate’ fielding methods of the side, so that Perrin’s legendary slowness might not have been too conspicuous. When Perrin dropped out of the side for the last two matches of the season, his place was taken by H.A.Carpenter, aged 51, who thus set a new record for the oldest player to appear for the county. Succession planning was clearly not in the air. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 377. Essex v Northamptonshire, Northampton, May 8, 10 (Essex won by ten wickets) [4] c R.A.Haywood b C.N.Woolley 0 137 128 did not bat - 102-0 110 3 378. Essex v Cambridge University, Fenner’s, May 15, 17, 18 (Match drawn) [4] c C.P.Johnstone b A.E.R.Gilligan 15 342 3 1 8 0 384 [4] c G.A.Rotherham b C.H.Gibson 35 169-5 - - - - 207-6d 379. Essex v Oxford University, The Parks, May 19, 20, 21 (Oxford University won by 235 runs) [4] b D.R.Jardine 0 220 331 [4] lbw b R.H.B.Bettington 9 187 311-5d 380. Essex v Worcestershire, Leyton, May 24, 25, 26 (Essex won by an innings and 51 runs) [4] c A.T.Cliff b C.R.Preece 72 501 331 119 381. Essex v Surrey, Kennington Oval, May 29, 31, June 1 (Surrey won by four wickets) [4] b G.M.Reay 22 248 333 1 [4] run out 30 238 156-6 1 382. Essex v Sussex, Hove, June 2, 3, 4 (Essex won by 218 runs) [6] b A.H.H.Gilligan 2 260 98 did not bat - 304-6d 248 1 383. Essex v Northamptonshire, Leyton, June 5, 7 (Essex won by an innings and 102 runs) [4] st W.A.Buswell b F.I.Walden 69 439 181 156 1 384. Essex v Kent, Leyton, June 9, 10, 11 (Match drawn) [5] c R.T.Bryan b G.C.Collins5 221 326 1 did not bat 116-1 176-6d 1 385. Essex v Derbyshire, Derby, June 12, 14, 15 (Essex won by six wickets) [4] b A.Morton 41 220 103 [4] b A.Morton 4 41-4 157 1 386. Essex v Yorkshire, Dewsbury, June 16, 17, 18 (Yorkshire won by 206 runs) [4] c W.Rhodes b A.Waddington 8 159 175 [4] c H.Sutcliffe b E.Robinson 4 157 347 387. Essex v Hampshire, Castle Park Ground, Colchester, June 19, 21, 22 (Hampshire won by an innings and 62 runs) [4] lbw b F.P.Ryan 5 87 415-9d [4] c C.P.Mead b J.A.Newman 58 266 55