Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

country there was an explosion in the number of cricket clubs linked to the local chapel or church. We do not know if Frank and his siblings were regular churchgoers, but Frank showed such promise as an allround cricketer with the Chorist Church club as to be rewarded with an invitation to play for Pitsmoor Cricket Club, a club which, without fear of contradiction, could claim to be one of the leading clubs in Sheffield town and which counted George Ulyett amongst its members. League cricket and cup competitions did not emerge in the Sheffield area until the early 1890s – Pitsmoor entered the Hallamshire League and the West Riding League at that time – but the ‘friendly’ matches of Frank Sugg’s time with Pitsmoor were competitive, indeed often fiercely fought, nonetheless. Matches between the big local clubs often drew big crowds. The standard of play was high with George Ulyett not the only player of first-class standard to turn out for a local side. Reverse-wise, local club cricket served as a nursery for the county sides. The event which, in Frank’s view, kick-started his career as a professional cricketer was his selection in 1880, when eighteen years old, for Mr W.R.Gilbert’s self-styled All-England Eleven to play Twenty-Two of Matlock and District. A cricket impresario and a cousin of W.G.Grace and his brothers, Walter Raleigh Gilbert played for Gloucestershire between 1876 and 1886. 22 Frank was recommended to Gilbert by Tom Armitage, the Sheffield-born Yorkshire cricketer who had been one of James Lillywhite’s party for the historic tour of Australia in 1876/77. It was a feather in Sugg’s cap to be chosen for this match by a man of Gilbert’s standing in the game, even if Gilbert would have been looking to include players who lived not too distant from Matlock. Frank justified his selection, and underlined his promise, by top-scoring in the match with 37 runs. ‘To that innings,’ Frank said, ‘I owe a confidence which was of the greatest use. It carried me along for I thought that if I could get 37 in that company while others were not so fortunate, I could get runs on other occasions.’ 23 During the following two seasons, Frank continued to enhance his reputation by some high-scoring feats in club cricket. As was the practice at the time, his appearances were not limited to a single 22 Sporting Beginnings 22 W.R.Gilbert emigrated to Canada in 1886 after being involved in a scandal over a dressing-room theft. 23 Sporting Chronicle , 25 July 1916.