Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

Watson, who took 39 cheap wickets, there was no other bowling to speak of. 34 Unsurprisingly, Falcon was invited to captain the Minor Counties XI in a two-day fixture against MCC, but the dates clashed with a Norfolk fixture, which naturally took precedence. Norfolk being back in action, Falcon had less time to play first-class cricket but still managed to turn out for four matches. He had a successful season with the ball with one glaring exception. As in the previous year, he started with nine cheap wickets for the Free Foresters in a losing cause against Oxford University: this time the promising batsman he dismissed twice was Douglas Jardine. Again playing for the Free Foresters, he made a good start against Cambridge University, returning figures of six for 62, as he bowled the students out for 139. The Daily Telegraph said he bowled with ‘deadly effect’. It was a vastly different story in the University’s second innings as Hubert Ashton ran amok with a superb, unbeaten double century; a lot of them at the expense of Michael Falcon who returned figures of 23-2-145-2, probably the nadir of his career. Many runs were also conceded against the Players at The Oval, but Falcon was compensated by the capture of several wickets; with an analysis of five for 157 out of a total of 384, he justified his place in the fixture. In March there was a meeting of Norfolk cricket clubs at which it was decided to form a Norfolk and Norwich Cricket Association. The aim was to help junior clubs keep in touch with the county authorities. Michael Falcon warmly commended the initiative to the floor, stating that he had consulted Lord Hawke about a similar set-up that operated in Yorkshire. He was unanimously elected the first President of the Association, an early example of his patient work behind the scenes for Norfolk cricket. 60 At His Peak: 1919-1929 34 In his old age, when Harold Watson was asked his opinion on Michael Falcon’s captaincy, the professional remarked wryly that his skipper would inspect the opposition’s batting line-up before a match, and if he thought it weak, he would mentally prepare himself for a long bowl. If he thought it a more challenging proposition, he would ‘allow’ Harold plenty of work in his place. Perusal of match scorecards of the time reveals that there were occasions when Falcon bowled surprisingly few overs, given his status as the leader of the attack, but conversely there were also many matches in which he took his fair share of punishment. The most obvious example is that, when Surrey II racked up 550 for five declared at The Oval in June 1925, Falcon bowled more overs (32) than any other member of the Norfolk attack. That there was no lasting bad blood between the two strike bowlers is clear from Falcon’s attendance at Watson’s funeral in 1969, and from the extremely generous legacy left to the County Club by Watson’s daughter, Vera. (I am grateful to Frank Devaney, who is Harold Watson’s nephew, for this information.)