Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

proved to be a disappointing, damp squib both as a spectacle as a whole and specifically for the two Norfolk players in the England side. At opposite ends of their respective careers, Falcon and George Raikes, barely troubled the scorers with the bat and Raikes bowled but two fruitless overs before rain terminated the proceedings. Falcon didn’t get a bowl at all which must have been desperately disappointing for him. He did, at least, take three catches. The fixture against the South Africans at Old Buckenham (a village about twelve miles south-west of Norwich) in September, provided Falcon with a much better showcase in which to display his talent as an up-and-coming pace bowler. Lionel Robinson’s XI 14 batted first and had struggled to 30 for five when Falcon came in. Although not comfortable with the bowling of Sid Pegler, he defied the attack for 65 minutes, making the second top-score of 29 in an innings total of 153. Given the new ball, he tore into the South African batting, taking four of the first five wickets to fall at a personal cost of only eight runs. Having collapsed to 17 for five, South Africa reached close of play at a precarious 34 for five. Michael Falcon finished with figures of six for 47 the next day. In the second innings he bowled a solitary maiden as the South Africans collapsed against Frank Tarrant and Harry Simms on a treacherous wicket – the former took five wickets for just eight runs – but it could now be said that he had truly arrived on the international scene. 1913 Norfolk continued to impress in the Minor Counties Championship in 1913, reaching the Challenge Match for the third time in four years. Michael Falcon had another successful season with the bat, scoring over 400 runs. Again he scored all round the wicket with ‘clean, powerful driving’ a feature of his game. Against Bedfordshire, he and Reginald Popham put on 197 for the first wicket in only 100 minutes: he moved from 61 to 155 in a little over half an hour. With the ball he took 36 wickets, including five five-wicket returns. He bowled with ‘great pace’. Several batsmen were deceived by his ‘swerver’. His captaincy, too, earned plaudits, ex-England skipper Archie MacLaren being favourably impressed. Taking Over the Reins at Norfolk: 1911-1914 31 14 Lionel Robinson’s role in Norfolk cricket and his involvement with ex-Test skipper Archie MacLaren will be dealt with in Chapter Nine.