Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

Ranji, stumped when attempting to hit one of Sugg’s slows out of the ground. Now 34 years old, Frank Sugg could be very pleased with the way his season, his tenth for Lancashire, had gone in 1896. The Lancashire committee recognised his contribution over the preceding decade by awarding Frank a benefit match in the 1897 season. With A.N.Hornby once again taking over the captaincy from MacLaren, Lancashire played 26 matches in the Championship in 1897, four more than in the previous season, 78 and Frank Sugg played in all but two of them. He would no doubt have played in every game had he not suffered a broken finger in the match against Surrey at Kennington Oval when he was hit by one of many fearsome deliveries sent down by Tom Richardson (earlier he had had his bat broken) when there were two further matches to play. With Surrey and Lancashire fighting it out for the Championship, it was a vital match. Surrey won by six wickets but on the scoring system then in place Lancashire went on to snatch the title even though Surrey won 17 matches to Lancashire’s 16 and beat their northern opponents in both their matches. It was in many respects a wonderful season for Lancashire. At last the bowling was less dependent on Mold and Briggs, with the 32-year-old Willis Cuttell, another Yorkshireman, taking over 100 wickets and Albert Hallam 90, the two bringing needed variety to the attack. The bowlers secured 444 wickets at 17.95 runs each, the lowest average of any county in the Championship, in a year in which, overall, wickets cost 22.69 apiece. The batting, worth 25.89 a wicket, remained more than adequate. MacLaren, who once more was available for only a few matches, again headed the batting averages, followed by Ward, Baker, Tyldesley and Frank Sugg. Sugg scored 972 runs in the Championship at an average of 31.35. Adding in his two other first-class matches against MCC and the Gentlemen of Philadelphia, Sugg scored 1,023 runs at 30.08, and it was in this season that he passed the mark of 10,000 runs in first-class cricket. Although he only hit one century, 122 against Yorkshire at Old Trafford late in the season, he had fifties in another eight innings. Against Essex at Leyton, he scored 88 not out and 81, one of the very few instances where Frank got a big score in both innings. Frank regarded his century against Yorkshire the finest innings he ever played. As he explained, ‘That Lancashire Stalwart 83 78 The additional fixtures were with Essex and Hampshire.