Lives in Cricket No 17 - Fuller Pilch

heavyweight cricketer – like Fuller he was variously tailor and publican – at Brighton in September. Fuller top-scored in the Players’ first innings at Lord’s with 44 out of 127 and the Players won by 67. Next came the annual visit of Norfolk to face MCC at Lord’s on 28 and 29 July , but William did not join his uncle in London, perhaps too busy with setting up their tailoring business in Canterbury. Fuller’s top score, 22 out of 83, in Norfolk’s second innings failed to prevent an innings defeat. Another defeat for Kent followed, losing by just seven runs to Sussex at Tunbridge Wells at the start of August and their decline continued in the Cricket Week match at Canterbury on 4, 5 and 6 August, losing to England for the second time that summer, despite Lillywhite being ‘disabled and unable to bowl’, according to Scores and Biographies . The defeat did not deter Fred Gale from enjoying the occasion as usual, particularly on Ladies Day, ‘when the beauties of Kent come in swarms; and it doesn’t matter if they sit with their backs to the game, and have a picnic with the officers and listen to the band. They look very charming.’ With no further engagements for Kent, Fuller went on his customary travels for the rest of the season. At Brighton in the second week of August he was in the MCC team that lost to Sussex who were without the injured Lillywhite, but then changed sides at Bath to play for the West of England, with Mynn and Box, on 18, 19 and 20 August, to beat MCC who had six players from the previous match, by an innings and 94 runs, thanks to 117 runs from Fuller. Scores and Biographies reported this as his tenth recorded century in cricket, adding ‘though he may have made others!!’ 12 Still recovering from his injury, Lillywhite failed to take any wickets, an unusual event for that great bowler. One day later MCC were at Southampton to face Hampshire who had engaged Fuller again. Lillywhite began to recover his form and took three wickets, although not Fuller, who contributed only nought and three as the hosts went down by 138 runs. Five of the MCC eleven plus Fuller then rushed off up to Nottingham to join five other members to play against the North on 25, 26 and 27 August, and win by 85 runs. Redgate had Fuller caught for four in the MCC second innings. Earlier that year William Clarke had challenged Fuller Pilch again to bring his own ‘England’ eleven to Trent Bridge, and wagered £200 on the result. With neither Mynn, Lillywhite or Felix available to play, Fuller cobbled together an eleven from members of the MCC team that had played at Nottingham a week earlier, plus Martingell and Box who came up from London. Fuller tried to make a fight of it by top-scoring with 25 out of his England eleven’s first innings of 95 to take a small lead, but it had been agreed that Nottinghamshire could field 14 players and this gave them the winning edge after three days of play on 4, 5 and 6 September. Sam Redgate took seven wickets in the match but could not include Fuller among his William Pilch joins Uncle Fuller at Canterbury 89 12 It was certainly his third and last century in a match now regarded as first-class. It contributed greatly to his season’s total of 564 first-class runs, making him the leading run-scorer in the season, for the ninth (and last) time in his career.