Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

1771, in its own sizeable landscaped grounds. 32 He was unable to undertake many of the behind-the-scenes, administrative tasks for which he later became known in Norfolk and he was also obliged to play some of his social cricket in his adopted county. The Cricketer magazine managed to track him down playing for Gidea Park in 1930, when he was obviously ‘slumming it’ as his figures showed: 46.3 overs, 20 maidens, 55 runs, 18 wickets and an average of 3.05. One of his team-mates was future Test star, Kenneth Farnes, whose 70 wickets were comparatively expensive at 8.07 each. Michael Falcon’s sojourn in Essex came to an end in 1931, when he returned to Norfolk and a change in career, a move perhaps precipitated by the significant decline in the production of hops which occurred during the 1920s. By this time his first-class career had virtually come to an end, consisting by now only of the annual fixture between the Free Foresters and Cambridge University. As will be noted in Chapter Six, his role in the Norfolk team had also altered; by that date in that he was no longer by far the dominant At His Peak: 1919-1929 57 Rustic times for the Falcon family at Havering-atte-Bower in 1930. 32 It was bought by Romford Borough Council in 1933 and its grounds made open to the public. After various uses the house was demolished in 1958.