Famous Cricketers No 95 - P.A.Perrin

1921 In spite of the huge all-round efforts of J.W.H.T.Douglas and the batting of C.A.G. Russell, Essex had a poor season, finishing fifteenth out of seventeen, largely because of the weakness of the bowling. A total of 39 players appeared for the county in Championship matches, of whom only eight were regulars. Though he accumulated a thousand runs for the fifteenth season, Perrin’s performance was only fair by his standards. He was the top scorer in eight Essex innings, but failed to reach a century, despite fine, warm weather which had hitherto created conditions in which his batting flourished. The Times referred to his habit of suddenly getting out when apparently well set. After mid-July he tended to bat at five or lower, mainly so that Hubert Ashton, from Cambridge University, could bat at four. He did however captain the side for the first time since 1910, against Gloucestershire at Gloucester, when Douglas was away captaining England. Essex lost despite forcing the home side to follow on: this is the only time the county have lost in this way. There were nine other matches from which Douglas was absent, when Perrin, as the most senior amateur, may well have been the captain, but match reports and scorebooks do not confirm this. Six of these nine were lost and three drawn. In the Essex second innings in the match with Somerset at Southend in July, when he top-scored with 62*, Perrin showed his tougher side, stopping ‘many balls on the legs and body’ on a rough pitch, in an attempt to stave off defeat, according to the reminiscences of R.C. Robertson-Glasgow. However, in the next match in the Southend week, against the Australians, he received ‘a severe blow in the stomach’ from a delivery from J.M.Gregory in the Essex first innings and left the field for a while. He missed the following match with Worcestershire. Finding difficulty batting thereafter, he did not play in the last two matches of the season. Perhaps he found compensation when, bowling fifth change at Trent Bridge in mid-August, he took the wickets of W.R.D.Payton and S.J.Staples, the latter being stumped by F.W.Gilligan. In the match against Hampshire at Colchester in June, Perrin played for the last time for Essex alongside his ‘twin’, C.P.McGahey, now fifty years of age. Their last ever batting partnership, in the first innings, added nothing when ‘Charlie’ was caught behind by W.H.Livsey off the bowling of E.R.Remnant for a duck. No doubt the incident produced a wry remark. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 401. Essex v Sussex, Hove, May 11, 12, 13 (Sussex won by six wickets) [4] c G.B.Street b H.E.Roberts 21 196 358 2 [5] c E.H.Bowley b V.W.C.Jupp 62† 198 37-4 402. Essex v Worcestershire, Leyton, May 14, 16, 17 (Essex won by 132 runs) [4] b C.R.Preece 0 90 - - - - 245 2 [4] lbw b C.V.Tarbox 1 560-5d 4 1 20 0 273 403. Essex v Australians, Leyton, May 18, 19 (Australians won by an innings and 75 runs) [4] b E.A.McDonald 17 144 318 [4] c and b J.M.Gregory 11 99 404. Essex v Surrey, Kennington Oval, May 21, 23, 24 (Surrey won by 202 runs) [4] c H.Strudwick b T.F.Shepherd 10 200 251 1 [4] b T.F.Shepherd 70† 234 385-7d 1 405. Essex v Gloucestershire, Spa Ground, Gloucester, May 28, 30, 31 (Gloucestershire won by 60 runs) [capt] [4] c B.H.Lyon b E.G.Dennett 55† 314 120 2 [5] c H.Smith b C.W.L.Parker 1 67 321 406. Essex v Somerset, Bath, June 1, 2, 3 (Somerset won by an innings and 47 runs) [4] not out 48† 111 287 [4] st H.Chidgey b J.C.White 0 129 407. Essex v Surrey, Leyton, June 4, 6, 7 (Surrey won by an innings and 32 runs) [4] c J.W.Hitch b P.G.H.Fender 0 104 480 [4] c and b P.G.H.Fender 33 344 57