Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

all accounts, Michael Falcon’s fielding qualified him as an all-rounder even by his strict standards, although to judge from Wisden he sometimes had difficulty securing good catching from his charges. The only fielding position where he would have had limited experience for Norfolk was first slip, which was the domain of Geoffrey Stevens for as long as he played. In David Armstrong’s excellent Short History of Norfolk Cricket he has a chapter title mentioning ‘The Legend’. He is referring to his childhood hero, Bill Edrich, who certainly led by example and his captaincy certainly had an invigorating effect on a side that had been in the doldrums for several years. In contrast, when Philip Yaxley uses the term ‘legend’ as a sub-heading in his equally meritorious Looking Back at Norfolk Cricket, it is to Michael Falcon that he is referring. To place one of these two above the other would be invidious and it would perhaps be fairest to describe them both as ‘legends’, giving invaluable service to Norfolk cricket. 68 Their performances as players and captains for Norfolk were both highly exemplary, although of course Edrich’s best years were in the first-class and Test games, whilst Falcon remained loyal to Norfolk throughout his career. Falcon also spent many years doing patient spadework on the Committee, something which was not Edrich’s forte. Bill Edrich himself, writing in his heyday of 1947, describes the help Michael Falcon gave to him as a youngster and, in doing so, confirms Falcon’s place as an all-time great in Norfolk cricket: He was, of all the cricketers I have known, one of the most unselfish, courageous and inspiring. Without his leadership, backed as it always was by really magnificent all-round cricket, I do not know whether the Norfolk club could have survived at anything like the standard it attained. Without him, many boys now ranking as fine cricketers would never have had the chance to display their talents. He worked over novices untiringly, year 126 Michael Falcon’s Legacy 68 Would it be heretical to name George Raikes as a third ‘legend’? After an inauspicious start as a stop-gap wicket-keeper to replace Rev Archdale Wickham (who left to play for Somerset), he developed into a highly effective all-rounder. An aggressive batsman and a bowler of slow leg-breaks, his appearances for Norfolk were limited by his clerical duties so that his career aggregates do not stand comparison with those of Falcon or Edrich. However, when he did find time to skipper his county, his performances were, as has been mentioned in Chapter Two, instrumental in leading Norfolk to two Minor Counties Championships. Given that Falcon was actually in the United States when the title was won in 1913, it can be said that Raikes won two more Championships than the other two ‘legends’ combined!