Lives in Cricket No 17 - Fuller Pilch

Wisden had canvassed enough players, nearly all of whom had played for Clarke in the past, to form a breakaway group which he called the United All-England Eleven, and a week later they were playing their first game at Portsmouth on 26, 27 and 28 August, while the All-England Eleven were playing at Hereford on the same days. Wisden’s next fixture was at Newmarket on 30 and 31 August and 1 September, where Clarke turned up to confront Wisden and demand that he abandon his plans to continue with an independent touring team in competition with his All-England Eleven. Wisden refused to back down and called the fourteen members of his United All-England Eleven to a meeting at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield, on 7 September, the second day of their match against a local fifteen. Here, according to Scores and Biographies , they ‘unanimously resolved … that neither the members of the … Eleven shall at any time play in any match of cricket, for or against, wherein William Clarke may have the management or control (county matches excepted) in consequence of the treatment they have received from him at Newmarket and elsewhere.’ Both groups went on to complete their remaining schedule of fixtures in September. Any hopes that Fuller Pilch would go on the road again for either Clarke or Wisden in the future were dashed when he eventually found himself drawn unwillingly into the argument near the end of the year. A letter appeared in Bell’s Life under the signature of ‘A lover of cricket’ which criticised Clarke’s management of the All-England Eleven and the unfair distribution of its earnings. The writer accused Clarke of retaining total control despite inviting some of his players to form a management committee, and that Fuller Pilch had refused to serve on that committee and told someone that his reasons were ‘not exactly understanding how affairs were managed.’ More letters followed and in due course a response from Clarke arrived ‘to expose the malicious fabrications.’ Clarke insisted that his players were satisfied with his methods of payment. He denied any rift with Fuller Pilch and included a statement from him: ‘I am not aware of ever drawing my name from your committee, and I am very sure I never told anyone so.’ Apparently, Fuller had not seen any of the correspondence in Bell’s Life until Clarke had written to him with the details, and declared that he ‘had not read the long, sickly, childish prattle.’ Putting all this unpleasantness behind him, Fuller was back at Oxford in the spring of 1853, and he was joined by Caffyn, Willsher, Grundy, Hinkley and Buttress to coach the undergraduates. They were each paid one pound a week and one shilling and sixpence for each hour of coaching. It seems that the University were determined to build a strong team ready for their annual encounter with Cambridge at Lord’s in June and prepared the Magdalen ground at Cowley Common for three practice matches in twelve days. They started on 2, 3 and 4 May with a six-wicket victory over a side titled ‘Eleven Players Engaged at Oxford as Bowlers’, a team which included Fuller, and then beat Oxfordshire on 5 and 6 May and Oxford Harlequins on 12 and 13 May. A week later, at the Christ Church ground, Fuller brought his own England eleven again to lose to a fifteen of Oxfordshire which Fuller’s final seasons 113