Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

which was ruined by rain, was one of many fund-raisers in which Falcon turned out for the benefit of cricket facilities in Norfolk: he was always very enthusiastic about improving the sporting ‘infrastructure’ in his native county. 1938 Michael Falcon won the toss for Norfolk eleven times out of twelve in this season. His batting was less consistent and rather more typical of his later years; an opening full of promise followed by a loss of form. After three matches he had scored 162 runs for just three dismissals, a 54 against Hertfordshire getting something of a rave review in the Eastern Daily Press : ‘Falcon exploited all his strokes, making lovely leg glances, some superb and powerful drives, and several fine hooks.’ Subsequently he scored so poorly that his final average was below 20. His bowling figures also looked poor – only ten wickets at 25.20. However, they hide a couple of match-winning performances. Against Kent II at Gravesend, when the rest of the attack laboured to dismiss Kent for the second time, he nipped in with a spell of three for 20 to set up a five-wicket victory with minutes to spare. Even more impressively, against Cambridgeshire, he bowled extremely well to take four for 34: ‘from a good length he was always moving the ball, coming swiftly off the pitch, and frequently beating the bat.’ His partnership with Tristan Ballance, who took the other six wickets, constituted a match-winning attack on this occasion. In friendly cricket Michael Falcon continued to turn out for a variety of teams (East Norfolk, Church of England’s Young Men’s Society, Norfolk Club and Ground, Norwich Union) but the highlight of the social season was expected to be the All-Edrich match. Set for the 14 September, a match between Michael Falcon’s Norfolk and an All-Edrich Eleven starring Bill, the newly capped Test player, was proposed by the local rector to raise funds for a new recreation ground at Blofield. The BBC ‘wireless’ men were to be present and there was a fair crowd gathered, despite steady drizzle. In an early example of sport dancing to a broadcaster’s tune, Michael Falcon’s team batted first and knocked up a rapid 132 for two before declaring to give Bill a chance to take first knock for his family team and be at the wicket in time for the radio 90 Elder Statesman: 1930-1939