Lives in Cricket No 2 - Johnny Briggs

satisfaction of beating their fellow-champions Surrey twice – both times by convincing margins – but they lost heavily to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge although in the return match at Old Trafford, they had Nottinghamshire in trouble at 69 for 8, with Briggs taking 4 for 32, in the only innings possible after rain had ruled out play on the first and third days so Lancashire’s hopes of clinching an outright title were washed away. They had won ten of their 14 games against other counties. In addition to Mold, two other players joined the Lancashire roster, Belfast-born batsman Albert Paul, whose association with the county was to stretch into the 1930s, and Yorkshireman Albert Ward, who topped the county batting averages with 33.65. Paul and Ward took the route Briggs had when he made his county debut, playing in a colts match. The pair were appearing for the Colts of the North against the Colts of South at Lord’s at the beginning of May and, as Lancashire were playing MCC in St John’s Wood later that week, they were asked stay on in London prior to their first-team debuts. They made auspicious starts, Paul top-scoring with 36 in the first innings and Ward making an unbeaten 62 out of 134 in the second innings. Later in the season, Briggs made a telling contribution to a remarkable Roses match at Huddersfield, although it was with the bat rather than the ball. In a low-scoring contest, Briggs top-scored with 25 and 41 as Lancashire mustered only 81 all out in the first innings and 153 in their second knock. Yorkshire fared marginally worse, scoring 160 and 71 as they went down to a dramatic three-run defeat. The 1890 domestic season was another good one for Briggs, who played in 26 matches in total, scoring 708 runs (at 18.63), and taking 158 wickets (at 12.34), which did put him top among the regular bowlers. Against Sussex at Manchester, Sharing the Championship 49 Pugnacious: Briggs in determined mood in this posed photograph