Lives in Cricket No 11 - CP Lewis

The tourists fared better in a one-day game against Prince’s Club where the Welsh batsmen ran up 361 but, as declarations were not allowed then, it left their opponents little time to bat. In addition to their fine display of strokeplay, one of the highlights was the presence at the match of the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Two days later, against the Surrey Club and Ground at The Oval, Lewis took six for 51, including a return catch off H.H.Stephenson, the old Surrey professional who had led the first English tour to Australia in 1861/62. Arranged as a two-day match, it was all over in one: South Wales 119 and 45; Surrey Club and Ground 134 and 34 for 2. Lewis’ bowling record at this time reads rather like an old children’s story in the Victor comic where Spofforth and his yorker appeared like Superman whenever there was a spot of bother. Lewis bowled many people, suggesting that his pace was too quick for many batsmen, even allowing for the rough pitches on which some of his games were played. However, his armoury also included a slower ball, as indicated by many cases of batsmen being dismissed caught-and-bowled. The many instances of lbw, and sometimes hit wicket, suggest that his pace and skill could certainly cut a swathe through mediocre batting. After the London tour, Lewis’ next recorded engagement was in a two-day match in mid-July for Breconshire against Glamorganshire at Cardiff Arms Park. Lewis opened both the batting and the bowling, and once again was top scorer in the match, making 58 in the first innings before being bowled by Arthur Redwood, a solicitor who was a leading member of Bridgend club. After taking two wickets in the Glamorganshire first innings, he bowled the top three in their second innings, including J.T.D.Llewelyn and two other prominent batsmen from leading clubs, before adding two more victims as the contest was drawn. Once again, a haul of seven wickets, plus his half-century, in a match against some of the best club cricketers in South Wales was a major feather in the cap of the 21-year-old undergraduate, and further evidence of his bowling prowess. A week later he was playing for Breconshire against Herefordshire on the Hereford racecourse at Widemarsh Common. Scores and Biographies records he took six for 44 in the second innings as Herefordshire were bowled out for 34 and lost by 90 runs. Later in the season, he played in the return match at Brecon, scoring 25 out Cricket for Breconshire and South Wales 41