Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

top-scoring with 97, and the England XI replied with 167, of which Sugg, batting at eight, scored 31. In their second innings the Australians were 186 for four when the match fizzled out into a draw. This was to prove the closest that Frank Sugg came to appearing again for England against Australia. All in all, 1890 had turned out to be a disappointing season for Frank Sugg. In all first-class matches he scored 796 runs at an average of 21.51, boosted by his 171 against Oxford, and well down on the previous season. He appeared in 13 of Lancashire’s 14 championship matches, scoring 420 runs at an average of 21.00, well down the Lancashire list. By 1891 progress in Frank Sugg’s cricket career appeared to have levelled off. His only first-class cricket that season was for Lancashire. He appeared in 15 of the 16 championship matches and also against MCC and twice against Oxford University. He was not chosen either for the North in the two matches against the South or for the professionals in the two Gentlemen v Players matches, and it was to be the same in the following 1892 season. In his 18 matches in 1891 Frank Sugg scored 557 runs at 21.42 and he finished well down both the national and the Lancashire averages. His highest score was 75, which he achieved twice, against Yorkshire and against Sussex, both in matches which Lancashire won handsomely by an innings. Lancashire’s leading batsman in 1891 was again Albert Ward (though Archie MacLaren and A.G.Steel had better averages, they each played only a handful of games) and newcomers George Baker and Arthur Smith also finished above Sugg in the averages. While Mold and Briggs again had outstanding seasons, Alec Watson was troubled by injury and was not the force in 1891 that he had been previously. Lancashire finished second to Surrey in the County Championship in 1891. This was a satisfactory outcome considering the poor start they made to the season. In the end they won eight of their 16 matches compared to Surrey’s 12. There was no disputing Surrey’s right to the title once more. Changes in the Lancashire old guard were afoot in 1891. A.N.Hornby played only occasionally, S.M.Crosfield taking over the captaincy when he was not available, and Richard Barlow played his last game for the county, indeed his last first-class match, in 1891, ending a career that extended over twenty seasons. Lancashire Stalwart 72