Lives in Cricket No 13 - AP Lucas

Cambridge captain Sammy Woods ‘very unwisely altered their order of going in, and the early batsmen playing a rash hitting game when runs were of no value, the match was soon in a critical position.’ Lucas, coming in at No.6, played a typically defensive rearguard innings and, although he was eventually out for 12, he helped save the game with Cambridge on 78 for eight. The end of the season was disappointing for Lucas and for Essex. Leicestershire and Surrey both beat Essex by fairly narrow margins which could well have been reversed if he had batted as well as he had earlier in the season. An overall record of one win, five losses and four draws represented a decline from the previous season, but only two of the defeats were heavy and the home draw against Yorkshire would certainly have been won but for the rain. The fall of Lucas’s own average from 42 to 22 was due partly to his loss of form late in the season, but also to the wretched weather that affected everybody. 1891 Lucas advised the committee that, because of business commitments, he would not be available for the first four county matches – more than usual, so possibly related to Percy’s affairs. They formally offered the captaincy to Cyril Buxton. The young professional Herbert (‘Bob’) Carpenter, son of the great Robert of Cambridgeshire, opened the innings with some success so, with typical thoughtfulness and keenness to encourage young talent, Lucas returned at No.3. In Buxton’s absence, Lucas captained the side against Hampshire at Leyton and ‘hit freely’ for 26 and 18, but after his dismissal Essex collapsed and lost by 21 runs. Against Warwickshire at Leyton Lucas’s 72 was easily the highest score in the match, and Essex won by ten wickets. It was probably in this game that Lucas took on a new role, that of wicket-keeper. Since 1888, Essex’s regular keeper had been George Littlewood, a Lancashire import described by Lillywhite as ‘quite among the first flight of keepers’, but after the Hampshire defeat he was dropped for the rest of the season, either through loss of form or for disciplinary reasons. Lucas had kept wicket at school but there is no record of his having done so since, so it was quite a departure for the 34-year-old. He usually fielded in the outfield and had not taken a single catch in 1890, but in three matches held six catches and took a stumping. In the return game against Warwickshire he played ‘a brilliant innings of 113 made without a single blemish in three hours, with chief hits of 13 fours.’ With four wins, Essex began to fulfil the promise of the previous year and, but for the Hampshire defeat, would have won the Second-Class Championship. Lucas finished the season with 315 runs at 35.00. 92 Essex captain, 1889-1894