Lives in Cricket No 21 - Walter Read

81 Read, himself, was clearly satisfied with both his own and the team’s form. The Surrey eleven had a magnificent season in 1892, and richly deserved to retain the championship. Fine all-round cricket on the part of the whole team was the main cause of Surrey’s consistent success but two members of the eleven – Lockwood and Lohmann – had certainly a far larger share than any of their colleagues in winning the matches. I came back to something very like my best form. After one or two moderately good scores I played an innings of 75, not out, (sic) to win the match against Middlesex at the Oval, on the 14th of June, and from that time until the end of the season I was in good heart, scoring no fewer than four innings of over a hundred, includ- ing 196 not out against Sussex at the Oval, and 156 against Scotland at Edinburgh. 144 His 107 against Gloucestershire too was indicative of his dominance of Surrey’s batting that year. Mr Read was in his very best form and all the bowling came alike to him. Lohmann too was in a hitting vein, and while he was in with Mr Read 68 runs were put on in thirty minutes. Mr Read has rarely been seen to better advantage. He was only in 144 Annals of Cricket pp184-185. In fact he was dismissed Surrey and England 1888/97 The Surrey team in 1892. [Surrey County Cricket Club]