Lives in Cricket No 17 - Fuller Pilch

Chapter Fifteen Attracted by the seaside charms of Sussex Fuller Pilch played as many matches in Sussex in 1838 as he did in Kent and twice as often in 1839. Eventually Kent would have to make him an offer that he could not refuse. His 1838 season started in June with two games for Town Malling against a side representing the Kent village of Leeds. The two clubs contained most of the best players in Kent and this proved good preparation for the season to come. The first, on 5 and 6 June at Town Malling, was won by Leeds, thanks to Mynn bowling down ten wickets in the match. In the second, at Leeds a few days later, Town Malling had their revenge by 23 runs, with Fuller making top score of 18 out of 79 in their second innings. Then Fuller went to Lord’s to play for MCC against Sussex on 18 and 19 June and a week later was back at Lord’s to play in another special North v South match arranged to take advantage of the crowds that had swarmed into London for the Coronation of Queen Victoria on 28 June. Fuller rose to the occasion and made top score of the match with 64 in the first innings for the South, when not even the combined attack of Lillywhite and Redgate could dislodge him and only some swift action in the field to run him out prevented him from reaching an even higher score. After the Coronation match, Fuller joined Kent for two consecutive matches with Sussex in July. Kent won by 76 runs at Brighton on 12, 13 and 14 July and narrowly by two wickets at Town Malling a week later. The result of the second game might have been different if the coach bringing the Sussex team had not been upset and some of the visiting players suffered minor injuries. Even so, it needed a masterly 42 from Fuller to get Kent’s first innings up to 93 and a winning lead of 29. For the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord’s at the end of July, Fuller joined Cobbett and Wenman to strengthen the Gentlemen who were without Mynn. This meant that Fuller had to face a rampant Redgate who took nine wickets in the match to help the Players win by 40 runs. Fuller was dismissed twice by his nemesis but not before he had made top score of 21 in the Gentlemen’s second innings. Kent only played one other match that year when they lost by ten wickets to Benenden at Hemsted Park on 6 and 7 August, after Fuller was bowled by Mynn in both innings. Then Fuller was off to Brighton where he made 42 in the MCC first innings of 114 but was not needed in the second innings of their six-wicket victory over Sussex on 13 and 14 August. He stayed on in Brighton and at the end of the month he was engaged as a given man for Sussex against a strong England team in which all the players were Kent 62