Lives in Cricket No 2 - Johnny Briggs

prey to these debilitating side effects or was treated instead with other older remedies that might have included zinc and arsenic compounds. But the age-old treatment of purging for epilepsy did survive the various changes in the way the illness was treated. If that was the case it must have been an awful experience for the stricken Briggs as purging consisted of vomiting, inappropriate use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medication. It might have also consisted of excessive physical exercise or fasting. It speaks volumes for Briggs’ constitution that he was able to come through all this relatively unscathed and was, in fact, discharged from his doctors’ care after almost eight months on 28 March, 1900. Amazingly, just five weeks later – on 7 May – Briggs was back in action, playing for Lancashire in their opening championship match against Hampshire at Old Trafford, only a few days after proving his fitness in a warm-up match for A.N.Hornby’s XI against Levenshulme. He was given a warm welcome back by the home supporters and scored 19 and 29, but wasn’t called upon to bowl by Lancashire’s captain MacLaren, who relied on Cuttell and Sidney Webb, who took 19 Hampshire wickets between them – the other dismissal was a run out – as Lancashire got off to the best possible start to the new campaign with a 265-run victory. Strangely this match had not appeared on the original list of fixtures drawn up at the annual meeting of club secretaries at Lord’s and no umpires had been appointed by the game’s ruling body. Instead, two members of the Lancashire ground staff stood on the first day. Briggs must have had an iron constitution as he played in 27 matches for Lancashire that year, scoring 761 runs at a slightly reduced average of 20.56 with a highest score of 58 not out. But illness and his confinement in the asylum had not appeared to diminish Briggs’ bowling talents and he ended the season with haul of 120 victims – more than double his total in the previous year – at an average of 17.45. Even his fielding still attracted attention: Digby Jephson, who captained Surrey between 1900 and 1902 and was one of the game’s last lob bowlers, singled him out in an article in the 1901 Wisden , referring to his work at cover point as ‘nearly as good as it ever was’. It was a remarkable comeback and the highlight of his season came as early as the fourth match. After the win over Hampshire, Lancashire completed easy victories over Derbyshire at Old 82 Seizure at the Music Hall