Lives in Cricket No 13 - AP Lucas

an extra mid-off must have prevented, and brought off this favourite stroke of his a good many times without let or hindrance.’ Then, three years after his previous appearance for Essex, he assisted them twice more, at Leyton in August 1907. In his final championship game, against Lancashire, he scored 49 in 80 minutes and shared in a seventh wicket partnership of 118 with Sam Meston, who was born two months after the Ashes Test of 1882. The Times commented: ‘The present is Mr Lucas’s 34th season of first-class cricket and he is still able to hold his own.’ He had in fact missed the 1885 and 1886 seasons through illness, but it was still a remarkable achievement: only 14 players in English first-class cricket have surpassed his career span of 34 years. Perhaps encouraged by this performance, he played in the next game against the South Africans. He held one catch but when the tourists were nine wickets down he dropped an easy chance from Gordon White and they added a further 58 runs. He was then bowled for two ducks, in the first innings round his legs by Reggie Schwarz without playing a stroke, and in the second by a good length ball from White. Tragically, both young men died in the last month of World War I, and so the veteran outlived them both. Evidently Lucas decided it really was time to call it a day, for this was his last first-class appearance. It was an ignominious end to a distinguished career, but he had nothing to be ashamed of. Against the counties in 1907, the South African slow bowlers with their then new-fangled leg-breaks and googlies deceived many younger men than Lucas. And he was aged 50 years and 178 days, which made him the only cricketer to play for Essex when aged over 50 except in the 1920s, when careers were artificially prolonged because of the losses caused by the war. * * * * * Lucas brought his gentle sense of humour to Essex. In the remarkable game against Lancashire in 1898, Owen had already tried six bowlers in an attempt to break a big partnership between Johnny Tyldesley and Frank Sugg: ‘I say, Bunny,’ Owen asked, ‘what shall we do?’ Lucas replied without any hesitation, ‘Put on the worst bowler you’ve got,’ whereupon Owen replied with equal promptitude, ‘Well then, you go on next over!’ 94 Immediately Sugg scored two fours and a single, but off the first ball of Lucas’s second over he pulled a full toss straight to McGahey at deep square leg. Alexander Eccles hit the next two balls for four and Owen decided that the experiment had gone on long enough, but it had served its purpose. Lancashire collapsed from 206 for two to 254 all out, and Essex Essex cricketer, 1895-1907 111 94 Story told by O.R.Borradaile in his Chats on the Cricket Field interview with W.A.Bettesworth, 1910.