Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

salaried position as a clerk in the offices of John Smith, a Derby solicitor, with secretarial responsibilities that embraced both the cricket and the football clubs. The County Ground at Derby had hosted county matches since the club’s formation in 1870 and it was also the home of Derby County Football Club. Frank reached an understanding with his employer that he could take time off to continue playing cricket and football, including matches for Derbyshire and for Derby County. As his match fees from Derbyshire were modest and he was not paid – at least officially – for his appearances for the football club, his wages for his secretarial duties were important to him. Frank was not the first man, and he most certainly was not the last, to combine playing and administrative involvement in his preferred sports. In Frank’s case, however, the combination of roles was not to last very long. In 1884, Derbyshire played only five other counties, home and away – Kent, Lancashire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire, plus matches with MCC. Frank Sugg played in all those championship matches and in three other first-class matches. His first match for Derbyshire was against Lancashire at Old Trafford, commencing on 22 May 1884. Lancashire won by 42 runs, Frank scoring 73 and 26. Following this match, he appeared for an England XI against the touring Australians at the Aston Lower Grounds at Birmingham. The England XI was chosen and captained by Hugh Rotherham, a Warwickshire amateur who had lived in Australia for a number of years. The team included a number of other local amateurs and did not merit the accolade England XI, notwithstanding the inclusion of the Lancastrians R.G.Barlow, Johnny Briggs, Alec Watson, and Richard Pilling. At so early a stage in his career, Frank Sugg seems an odd selection but he was no doubt delighted by the opportunity it presented. The match was a remarkable one with the England XI suffering defeat in a single day. They were dismissed for 82 in their first innings with F.R.Spofforth taking seven for 34. Sugg was one of his victims, bowled for five. But the Englishmen came back strongly to dismiss the powerful Australian side for only 76, Barlow taking seven for 31. The already worn and bare wicket deteriorated as the day wore on and the England XI were bowled out in their second innings for a miserly 26. Spofforth had the sensational figures of seven for 3 off 8.3 four-ball overs. Sugg failed to score, falling this time to H.F.Boyle. Needing only 33 runs for victory, the Australians made heavy weather of the task, losing six wickets for 28 runs before the job was done. Only three batsmen reached double figures in the Playing for Yorkshire and Derbyshire 35