Lives in Cricket No 13 - AP Lucas

When the party travelled south, ‘Bunny went off to see his wife’ and the team started their game against Hampshire Club and Ground. They had passed 500 when the ninth wicket fell and … After a short interval our last man arrived, slowly buttoning his glove. ‘Who’s your last man?’ asked the elated bowler to H.H. ‘Is he a setting shot?’ ‘Well, sometimes he is,’ replied H.H., ‘but sometimes he keeps up his wicket for quite a considerable time; he’s got quite a fair defence; he’s A.P. Luc– ’ The bowler gave a howl of despair and walked off. In the event Lucas took pity on his opponents and gave his wicket away for 23, but the Rovers won by an innings. Against the United Services, ‘when Bunny lost the toss, we felt something extraordinary was going to happen’ and it did. The home team were bowled out for 191 and then the Rovers piled up 659 for four. Schultz’s 286 remains the Rovers’ highest individual score, while Lionel Martineau made 184 not out and Lucas a mere 50. Lucas was re-elected captain in 1888. His century against the United Services … added one more to the masterly displays he has shown during his long and valuable service with the Rovers. A more powerful display of cricket has perhaps seldom been seen, his figures, which included eleven fours, seven threes, eleven twos and 27 singles, speaking for themselves. He made 114 out of 215 but the game ended in a draw. In the next game, against Eastbourne, ‘Lucas continued his fine cricket form of the previous match. His form was as perfect as ever and the spectators gave him a worthy reception on his retirement in return for the treat he had given them.’ The summary of the season noted that ‘Bunny, the captain, would bowl lobs, with a threatened resignation of the whole team in consequence.’ They may well have been right, for he took only three wickets for 103, and also scored 288 runs in ten innings. On the 1889 tour, Lucas, by now a player with some 150 first-class matches to his credit, had a fine time in Yorkshire. Against the Yorkshire Gentlemen he scored 27 in a low-scoring innings win. At Huddersfield he was ‘in magnificent form’ with exactly half of the total – 178 out of 356, and the Rovers had the best of a draw. Against Bradford he scored 96 out of 253 but again the Rovers could not quite force the win. Returning south to Eastbourne, ‘Bunny scored at a terrific pace and notched a century’ before lunch, finishing with 124 out of 492 in an innings win. The chronicler noted that the new ground at The Saffrons, dedicated to cricket, was far better than the old one at Devonshire Park, which had a variety of public uses. Against the United Services ‘Bunny’s donkey- drops proved more than useful,’ and at Horsham he ‘continued his defence well into the second day’ for 75 out of 372 in an innings win. In the season as a whole the Rovers won two and drew four, two very favourably: Uppingham Rovers, 1874-1913 33