Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

Had it not been for the Second World War, during which Alf’s work as a baker and in agriculture rendered him too valuable to be called up, he would probably have made his debut for Norfolk before 1946, when he was already 26 years old. Performing well in Club and Ground matches, Alf was duly rewarded with a call-up for the first Championship match of 1946, a fixture against Hertfordshire at Lakenham. In those days, before the mass ownership of motor cars, mobility was limited and petrol rationing during the War had worsened the situation so that cricketing communications between west Norfolk and the rest of the county were tenuous. Thus the first time Alf and Michael Falcon met was at the match itself. Furthermore, Falcon was unaware of Alf’s capabilities. Alf remembers Falcon asking him where he batted and, when Alf replied that he was an opener, Falcon told him to go in at seven. (The scorecard reveals Alf’s memory to be faulty as it shows him batting at five, one place above his skipper.) He also found himself fielding at third man and fine leg. Despite being treated as very much the junior, Alf has favourable memories of Falcon, remembering him as ‘straightforward’ and a ‘marvellous man’. Although Falcon rebuked Alf for saying goodbye to his parents when he should have been padding up in the pavilion, Alf admits that he was the one in the wrong. He also remembers praise from Falcon whilst they were batting together; Alf faced a delivery which ‘popped’ and evaded it, causing Falcon to say, ‘Well left, boy’. Alf’s career only really took off once Falcon had retired. He was one of the top batsmen in west Norfolk and played regularly with the Rought-Roughts, Wilfrid Thompson (whose Rolls-Royce he particularly remembers) and, at a later date, Norfolk slow left-armer Barry Battelley. Alf played for many sides: Toftrees (for whom he once accumulated 1,000 runs in a season, playing only on Saturdays), Fakenham, Wisbech, March and West Norfolk. His career statistics for Norfolk do not do him justice: seven matches yielded just 186 runs at an average of 16.91, with a highest score of 72. However his performances in club cricket were sufficiently impressive for Leicestershire to invite him for a trial, and even to get as far as arranging accommodation for Alf at Hinckley. Unfortunately he broke his leg playing football shortly before the trial and the injury took a couple of years to heal properly. By this time he was too old for Leicestershire still to be interested, nor did Norfolk invite him to play again despite his continuing to dominate club cricket in the western half of the county. Second World War and Beyond 107