Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

will be reported later, she was not the last female to represent the Falcon family on the cricket field for her daughter, Sybil, was a keen player. 1927 Though Wisden grumbled again about the county’s ‘seldom above moderate’ fielding, Norfolk had a vastly improved showing following their disastrous season in 1926, being defeated only three times, twice by their new arch-rivals Buckinghamshire and also by New Zealand, and recording one win, against Leicestershire II. This recovery, which put them in mid-table in the Minor Counties competition, was not due to an improved team batting performance. Only Michael Falcon, with over 500 runs at an average of nearly 40, scored runs on any scale. If anything, the rest of the batting was even poorer than that in 1926. Falcon’s batting was somewhat inconsistent, but he did register two centuries, against Hertfordshire and Kent II, noted, as usual, for his powerful driving. The improvement in the team’s performance was due to a recovery in the bowling, Walter Beadsmoore particularly starring with 35 wickets at an average of under 10. Michael Falcon took only 28 wickets (but at a reasonable average of under 20) and it was noticeable that he bowled fewer overs than usual. He did have his day of success with the ball against Buckinghamshire, at High Wycombe where he employed what for himwas a novel method of attack: ‘Falcon bowled round the wicket with only three fieldsmen on the off-side of the wicket, and the batsmen had difficulty in keeping the ball away from three short-leg fielders. At one point Falcon bowled seven overs for 16 runs and four wickets.’ And again: ‘Falcon bowled finely to take five wickets in the innings for 57 runs and was so successful with the leg-theory that he bowled for more overs at a stretch than usual.’ As he aged, Michael Falcon became more and more versatile. After relying almost exclusively on pace at Harrow, he developed his highly effective outswinger before the Great War; then he developed the inswinger in 1925 and now he was backing up that inswing with a leg-theory field in the style of Fred Root, the Worcestershire medium pacer. Falcon took place in a record-breaking match when playing for MCC against the New Zealanders. No fewer than 1,502 runs were scored, in 332.3 six-ball overs, for the loss of just 28 wickets, At His Peak: 1919-1929 79