Lives in Cricket No 17 - Fuller Pilch

and Nottinghamshire men, including Redgate, who only captured three wickets in the match, none of them Fuller’s, while Sussex won easily by 85 runs. Then it was time for Fuller to return to Town Malling to play Benenden on 10 and 11 September and score 58 out of the home side’s only innings of 122 in an unfinished match. But he could not resist the opportunity to go back to Brighton for the last two weeks of September where he was engaged to play twice for the Gentlemen of Sussex against the Players of Sussex. The Gentlemen won the first encounter by three wickets but lost the second by 102 runs, despite Fuller’s 67 out of 161 in their first innings followed by the top score of 23 out of 70 in the second. By now many supporters of Kent must have realised that there was a real danger of losing their star batsman to their neighbours. Positive action would be needed next season and all eyes turned to Thomas Selby at West Malling. But if the powers behind cricket in Kent had been worried about the temptations put before Fuller by Sussex in 1838, the first six weeks of 1839 would give them even greater cause for alarm. In the absence of any offers from clubs in Kent, Fuller played five games in Sussex between 27 May and 5 July, interrupted only by a visit to Lord’s to play for MCC against Sussex and joining Kent for their first game of the season at Brighton. Fuller began at Brighton on 27, 28 and 29 May, playing for the Sussex village of Chalvington against a strong eleven from the Brighton Club that included a number of Sussex county regulars, among them William Lillywhite. Keen to impress, Fuller even took a turn at bowling and captured some wickets, but he surpassed himself with the bat when Chalvington had to follow on 119 runs behind, and he recorded another century, 114 out of 208, that almost won the game before Brighton squeezed home by two wickets. Scores and Biographies said of this: ‘Pilch’s batting in this match, considering the bowling he had to contend against, was something marvellous.’ Then it was time to travel up to London where he was engaged by MCC to play against Sussex at Lord’s on 10 and 11 June. After making only one in the first innings, he was at the wicket with an unbeaten 16 in the second when MCC completed their win by seven wickets. For the next 24 days Fuller concentrated his activities exclusively within the county of Sussex. Another appearance for Chalvington came first on 19 and 20 June, with 38 out of 59 in their first innings in reply to 140, followed by nought when bowled by Lillywhite in a second Chalvington innings that only reached 21 when losing to Brighton by 106 runs. Then it was back in to Brighton where he was engaged to play for the Gentlemen of Sussex against the Players of Sussex. He stayed by the sea until the beginning of July to await the arrival of the Kent team to come down for their first match of the season to face Sussex. The hosts failed to capitalise on a first innings lead of 47 runs and Kent reached their target of 110 to win with only two wickets in hand thanks to an unbeaten 38 from Fuller. The Kent team returned home without Fuller and the next day he was in Chalvington to Attracted by the seaside charms of Sussex 63