Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

This fact of life applied to cricketers as much as any other trade. Norfolk has produced many fine cricketers but most have moved on from their county of birth in order to further their ambition. The first was Fuller Pilch, easily Norfolk’s most skilful player in the 1830s, who was lured away to Kent in 1836 by an offer of £100 per annum, leaving behind a virtual vacuum. Similarly, Bill Edrich, a highly talented all-rounder a century later, qualified for Middlesex and went on to play Test cricket with considerable success. His cousin, John Edrich, moved to Surrey and also had a prolific Test career. Others whose transfers away from Norfolk led to international recognition were Peter Parfitt, Clive Radley and Martin Saggers, whilst several more emigrants have played first-class county cricket. In the face of this efflux, two cricketers who have every right to be considered amongst the best ever born in Norfolk have bucked the trend. They turned their backs on fame and fortune, preferring instead to play for Norfolk and for fun. One was David Walker, an immensely talented batsman, who scored nearly 4,000 Minor Counties Championship runs at an average of over 60 and who turned down approaches to play first-class cricket with Leicestershire, Middlesex, Sussex and Surrey. 1 Walker’s nine-year career, during which he played only sporadically, was terminated by the Second World War, in which he was tragically killed whilst on active service. The other cricketer who stayed in Norfolk was even more important than David Walker. Michael Falcon made his debut for Norfolk against the 1906 West Indians whilst still a schoolboy and was an integral member of the side by the time he was appointed captain in 1912. From then, until say 1929 he was both the best batsman and the best bowler in the county side and, although age reduced his powers, he remained worth his place in the side until his last year as captain in 1946. His achievement of captaining his county before the First World War and after the Second is unique. This biography aims to chart the deeds of Michael Falcon, both as a Norfolk cricketer and on the first-class scene, where he represented Cambridge University, the Gentlemen and the Free 8 East Anglia and Cricket 1 According to Bill Edrich – who was writing to Walker’s godson – the Norfolk opening bat was ‘with the possible exception of Don Bradman ... the best batsman in the world!’ I am indebted to Andy Archer, a disc jockey with BBC Radio Norfolk, who has conducted some preliminary research for a biography of David Walker, for this information.