Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

celebrated his debut with a century and was marked down as a future Lancashire captain. The Australians toured again in 1890, under the captaincy of W.L.Murdoch. The first of three Tests was at Lord’s, scheduled to start on 21 July. If Frank Sugg was to have any chance of getting another cap, he needed some big scores early in the season. He scored a fine 66 in Lancashire’s second match against Kent and in the county’s fourth match against Oxford University he scored 171, his third first-class century, out of Lancashire’s total of 475, and followed with 69 in Lancashire’s second innings. But otherwise decent scores eluded him in the weeks before the start of the Test series, including Lancashire’s match against the tourists. Low points were a pair against Surrey and another against Middlesex, both at Old Trafford. Perhaps surprisingly, he was selected for both the Gentlemen v Players matches, two curtain- raisers for the Tests, although not for the Players match against the Australians that was sandwiched between them. Sadly for Frank’s hopes, he failed in both matches; opening with Arthur Shrewsbury each time, he was out for two and three in the first match at Lord’s and for nought and six in the second match at Kennington Oval. It was surely no surprise therefore that he was not selected for the First Test at Lord’s, commencing on 21 July, which England won comfortably by seven wickets. For the Second Test at Kennington Oval three weeks later, Attewell and Briggs were unfit and England were further weakened when Yorkshire, due to play Middlesex at Bradford, refused to release Ulyett and Peel; A.E.Stoddart was then withdrawn by Middlesex. James Cranston, the Gloucestershire allrounder, and the pace bowlers J.W.Sharpe and Fred Martin all made their England debuts in this Test. England won a closely fought, low-scoring match by two wickets in two days. 22 wickets fell for 197 runs on the first day, and Martin, the Kent left-armer, took five for 50 and five for 52 in the match. The final Test was scheduled for Old Trafford, on 25 to 27 August. Frank Sugg did little of note for his county in the run-up to this match, his best score in the preceding three championship matches being 28 against Surrey at Kennington Oval. Nevertheless, Sugg was among the twelve named for the Test. With Ulyett and Peel not considered and the three debutants in the Second Test all discarded, the twelve were W.G.Grace, W.W.Read, A.E.Stoddart, G.MacGregor, A.Shrewsbury, W.Gunn, W.Attewell, G.A.Lohmann, 70 Lancashire Stalwart