Lives in Cricket No 13 - AP Lucas

and nought and took three for 55 and, bowling unchanged, four for 26. At Lord’s he scored 0 and 2 and, in the second innings, two for seven. In his next game, Lucas had the misfortune of captaining a Surrey side that was caught on a drying wicket at The Oval and bowled out for 16 by Nottinghamshire. It was to remain their lowest score until Essex dismissed them for 14 in 1983. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lucas retreated to the comfort of the Uppingham Rovers’ tour and missed all of Surrey’s six county games in August. Meanwhile, the Australians were making their second tour of England. They came almost uninvited and Lord Harris wrote: ‘They asked no one’s good will in this matter, and it was felt that this was a discourteous way of bursting in on our arrangements; the result was that they played scarcely any counties and were not generally recognised.’ They were, however, recognised by the crowds who turned out in large numbers to see them, even when playing old-fashioned odds games against local eighteens. The authorities began to realise that they were missing out on a possible money-spinner and the Surrey secretary, Charles Alcock, therefore set about arranging the first Test match on English soil, at The Oval. On 15 July Lucas was appointed to ‘a sub-committee for the Australian match with full power to carry out necessary details.’ On 12 August this sub-committee reported difficulty in getting together a representative side and Alcock was empowered to pay professionals £20 each, ‘rather than the game not be played.’ Eventually a powerful team was assembled, with eight amateurs and three Nottinghamshire professionals. Lucas had played himself back into some sort of formwith the Rovers, and batted at No.3 behind E.M. and W.G.Grace. He made 55 off 121 balls ‘without the semblance of a chance’ until he played on to Alec Bannerman, and added 120 with W.G. – the first century partnership in Test cricket. England dominated the first two days and early on the third Australia still needed 84 to avoid an innings defeat, but Billy Murdoch’s magnificent unbeaten 153 enabled them to set England 57 to win. England collapsed to 31 for five before Frank Penn and W.G. saw them home by five wickets. H.H.Stephenson was umpiring and gave Lucas out caught at the wicket for two, although some said the ball came off the pad. The Test was successful from a financial as well as a cricketing point of view, and the Surrey committee sent letters of thanks to the amateurs, the pros presumably having to make do with their £20. They also passed a ‘vote of thanks to the sub-committee for the excellent manner in which they carried out the arrangements for the match between England and Australia.’ In 1881, Lucas picked up where he had left off the previous season. For MCC against Lancashire he carried his bat for 43 out of 126 in 98 overs and for the Gentlemen of England against Cambridge he made a then career-best 142. For Surrey he made 62 out of 110 against Yorkshire and 72 not out against Nottinghamshire, but Surrey lost both games badly. After Surrey and England, 1879-1882 56