Lives in Cricket No 17 - Fuller Pilch

and Biographies , ‘refused to go in.’ Fuller did what he could to keep the professionals in the game with 24 out of 65 in reply to 192, and was the only Player to reach double figures, although the change in the Laws meant that they had to follow on and there was little improvement in their second innings with Guy reaching 25 and Box 26, out of a final total of 87. Felix had top-scored for the Gentlemen with 21 in their only innings and this must be a rare, if not unique, instance in an important match where a team has lost by an innings yet provided the three highest individual scores. Clarke’s All-England ‘squad’ now left for two engagements at Nottingham and Leicester, but Fuller did not join them until they reached his old ground at Bury St Edmunds to play Eighteen of Bury and Suffolk on 2, 3 and 4 August. Their old hero failed to attract the crowds of years before, although he even bowled twenty overs and took six wickets as a reminder of past glories, and attendance was disappointing over the three days ‘for so great a display of the finest cricketers England can produce.’ Two days later Fuller and most of the All-England eleven were at the Kennington Oval playing in the Surrey v England match. Then they all travelled down to the West Country to play Eighteen of Dorsetshire at Weymouth on 9, 10 and 11 August. Kent had two more matches to play and won them both. They beat Sussex by 18 runs at Tunbridge Wells on 16, 17 and 18 August and then it was time for Canterbury Week where, on 20, 21 and 22 August , they made up for the two earlier defeats that year and beat England this time by 206 runs. Fuller made top score of 34 in Kent’s first innings, making amends for the unfortunate dismissal of Nicholas Felix. The Kentish Gazette reported that ‘with his score at seven Mr Felix was run out from too great an anxiety to add to his score. His co-batsman, Fuller – and where is there a better judge? – saw the hit did not justify his moving from his ground; but Mr Felix, not seeing that his ball went direct to “him at the slip”, moved off, and ’ere he could recover his ground “his timbers were shivered”.’ Only twenty-four hours later Fuller was in Warwickshire playing for the All-England Eleven against Twenty-Two of Atherstone and two days after that they were at Derby against Twenty of Derbyshire. Staying in the Midlands they went to Leamington where Wisden and Parr had established their own ground and would be hosts for the return match North v South at the end of August. Fuller’s top score of 29 out of 87 in the South’s second innings could not save them from another defeat. He ended the season by playing six consecutive odds matches for Clarke in September, against sides representing Sheffield, Manchester, Leamington and District, Leeds, Stockton-on-Tees and Birmingham. Fuller only scored 124 runs in his twelve innings, but his highest score of 39 in the second innings of the last game played a major part in All-England’s one-wicket victory to end the tour on a high note. Three cheers for the ‘stale’ men 105