Lives in Cricket No 17 - Fuller Pilch

side that already had Felix and Clifford before adding Hillyer, Charles Taylor and Alfred Mynn’s brother Walter. The return fixture took place a week later on a field next to the Cavalry Barracks, outside the North Gate in the Canterbury city walls. This ground was hired by Beverley from a local farmer, John Sneller, as part of the club’s bold and ambitious plans to strengthen relationships with the city. More well-known cricketers were added to the teams, Lillywhite for Chilston, Redgate and Hawkins for Beverley, and the match attracted enormous interest, according to the Kentish Gazette , with crowds of between 1,500 and 2,000 on both days occupying ‘marquees, tents, benches and accommodation of all kinds’ despite Beverley charging an entrance fee for the first time. Refreshments ‘served up in first-rate style’ were available and the band of the 13th Dragoons, quartered in the Barracks next door, played on the ground every day. Fuller rose to the occasion with an undefeated top score of 59 in Chilston’s first innings; he top-scored again with 49 in the second, to give the visitors a repeat victory. News of the success of the occasion even found its way to the desk of Lord Hill, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, who issued orders that cricket grounds should be built at every Army barracks throughout Britain, in the belief that spare time spent playing cricket, a game which embodied the ‘virtues of strength, persistence, courage, leadership and sportsmanship’, and would provide a moral and character-building distraction from the more usual off-duty pursuits of soldiers – drink and prostitutes. Fuller’s own 1840 season had started earlier, on 28 May, with two matches in Sussex, playing for Goodwood against West Sussex and three days later at Lewes for Alfriston against The Priory. The Sussex connection continued when he appeared as a given man for the county against England at Lord’s on 8 and 9 June. Then he was back at Town Malling on 18, 19 and 20 June for the county match between Kent and Nottinghamshire. He was bowled by Redgate for only three in the first innings and Kent needed 116 runs to avoid an innings defeat when they batted again. Fuller’s 63 out of 120, falling to a catch off Clarke, meant Nottinghamshire only had to bat briefly again to register an impressive victory by ten wickets. Two days later Fuller faced Redgate again in the Slow Bowlers v Fast Bowlers encounter at Lord’s and the Nottingham bowler dismissed him in both innings for nought and eight. They were together at Lord’s on 29 and 30 June to help the Players beat the Gentlemen by nine wickets, but on July 6 were back on opposite sides when England faced Kent. Fuller was dismissed cheaply in both innings but not by Redgate as it was Lillywhite who did all the damage taking 15 wickets in the match to help England win by 76 runs The Beverley and Chilston matches in July had been part of a sequence of six consecutive appearances in Kent made by Fuller over a three-week period that year, including two games for Town Malling against Penshurst, another at Tunbridge Wells where he and Lillywhite were given men for Hastings and St Leonards against the local club strengthened by Mynn and The growing influence of the Beverley Club 68