Lives in Cricket No 2 - Johnny Briggs

Briggs turned in a remarkable performance with both bat and ball. He scored 129 not out as Lancashire declared on 246 for 2 after the first day’s play had been washed out. His unbeaten partnership of 215 with Ward for the third wicket was the highest he was ever involved with in first-class cricket. Briggs then took five wickets in seven balls at no cost as he and Watson skittled out their opponents for 35 and 24 to record an innings victory. Briggs’ figures were 5 for 25 and 5 for 16 with Watson taking 5 for 7 and 4 for 6. The Sussex first innings total was the lowest ever innings total at Old Trafford and their combined innings total of 59 is the second lowest aggregate in a championship match. It was arguably Briggs finest all-round performance for Lancashire. On the international front, Briggs missed the first two Tests against Australia – at Lord’s and The Oval – because of injury and was brought back for the Third and final Test at Old Trafford in August, although frustratingly, the match was abandoned without a ball being bowled. He did, however, play twice against the Australians for the North of England, at Old Trafford, in June and at Headingley in September. His most notable performance against the tourists was at Scarborough for Lord Londesborough’s XI in September. It was on the North Marine Road ground that Briggs set bowling figures that stand to this day as the best ever at the venue. Briggs took 15-57 (9 for 31 and 6 for 26). He might have captured all ten in the first innings but for the fact that the Australians’ No.7, Percie Charlton, was run out. In a low-scoring match, the visitors were bowled out for 77 and 60 with Lord Londesborough’s XI, captained by W.G.Grace, making 39 and 90 as the Australians recorded an eight-run victory. Domestically, the season was probably most memorable from Lancashire’s point of view for the debut of an 18-year-old, only a few weeks out of Harrow School, one A.C. ‘Archie’ MacLaren. He was destined to become one of the greats of the game and was to captain both the Old Trafford club and his country in a long, distinguished and often controversial career. MacLaren played in 35 Tests, scoring 1,931 runs at an average of 33.87, and in all first-class cricket totalled more than 22,000 runs at an average of 34.15. He scored five Test centuries and a further 42 in other first-class matches. He will be remembered for his mammoth effort for Lancashire against Somerset at Taunton in 1895 when he was finally dismissed for 424, an individual score which has never been bettered in the club’s history. Although his quadruple Sharing the Championship 50