Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

the story was often re-told, its provenance has to be in doubt for the facts as described do not fit those of any Gloucestershire home match involving Frank Sugg and Lancashire. Stories can often be improved by embroidery! Returning to the 1893 season, the most praiseworthy of Sugg’s three hundreds was probably the 127 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. Notts scored 318 in their first innings, Arthur Shrewsbury accounting for 148 of them. Not to be outdone, Lancashire replied with 322, with Sugg, batting at three, making his 127 out of 178 while he was at the wicket. Nottinghamshire were then dismissed for 92, Mold and Briggs sharing the wickets. Lancashire struggled to get the runs needed for victory, losing six wickets for 55, including Sugg without scoring, before Smith and Baker saw them home without further loss. As this pair of scores shows, Sugg had not eradicated his vulnerability early in an innings – he was out for a duck ten times in 1893 – but his heavier run-scoring was rewarded by selection for the North against the Australians and for the Players in both their matches against the Gentlemen. He was, however, out cheaply in all his innings in these matches, just as he had been when Lancashire met the Australians early in the season, and there was no chance of his winning a place in the Test team. 71 (His colleagues, Ward and Mold, did win their first caps in this season, however.) For the first time in Frank Sugg’s career, he made more than one thousand runs in all first-class matches, finishing the season with 1,047 runs but his average of 24.92 was well down on that in championship matches alone. Crosfield was not available for the 1894 season and the captaincy reverted to A.N.Hornby. However Hornby failed to show up for Lancashire’s ninth match of the season against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and the 22-year-old Archie MacLaren took over the position thereon. The season had started badly for Lancashire, six of the first seven championship matches being lost, and although results later in the season were better, only seven of the 16 championship matches were won. Lancashire finished joint fourth with Kent behind Surrey, Yorkshire and Middlesex. Once again 76 Lancashire Stalwart 71 In the Players’ first innings at Lord’s, Sugg was dismissed by a ‘famous’ catch, nonchalantly taken by wicketkeeper Gregor MacGregor, standing up to the stumps. He held it low down to his right off Charles Kortright, bowling at his frenzied fastest. P.F.Warner described Kortright’s ‘muzzle velocity’ as a hundred miles an hour, though he had no means of measuring it. As we now know, perhaps he wasn’t far wrong.