Lives in Cricket No 13 - AP Lucas

landowning classes that were well represented among the Rovers, so The Rhyming Rover had his own take on it: We’ve heard a deal of talk of late about a Ground Game Bill, What matter does it make to us we’ve our Hare and ‘Rabbit’ still And spite of legislation and all that sort of stuff On Monday next at Lord’s our Bunny will give the Players snuff… The Rovers’ ‘hare’ was John Hugh Montague Hare of Docking Hall in Norfolk, but their ‘rabbit’ failed to ‘give the Players snuff’, being bowled for nought and two. Lucas had been badly out of form in first-class cricket but came back to his best with a Rovers side that enjoyed a fine season. Their first fixture, against Essex, was also a popular social event and ‘Bunny performed in rare style at the ball’. On the field he scored 22 opening with Green, and took eight wickets in an innings win. Lucas had scored centuries in the two previous games at Northampton, so the chronicler recorded that ‘the Northampton match is Bunny’s annual benefit and, in fact, so confident was he of making a century that he magnanimously offered to forgo his innings if they would credit him with Uppingham Rovers, 1874-1913 28 An affectionate - even sentimental - tribute to the Rovers’ star player. The photograph was taken on the Australian tour of 1878/79.