Lives in Cricket No 21 - Walter Read

83 second run. The wicket was put down with both men out of their creases. Both began to walk off until the umpire was appealed to and he decided that it was Read who was run out. 147 Read’s batting and Lohmann’s bowling were once again contributory factors to yet another County Championship, Surrey’s fifth in six seasons with a shared one in between. 1893 1893 saw only one century, but a batting average still over 30 and his highest first-class run aggregate for five seasons. His sole century that season was made at Old Trafford in a seven wicket victory over the red rose county. …Mr Read was able to carry out his bat. A better display of cricket than his 174 148 there could not be. From the first he was quite at home with the Lancashire bowling as he scored freely all round the wicket. Though he was batting for three and a half hours in all he hardly made a faulty stroke, none that could be called a chance. 149 Cricket being the great leveller that it is, he came down to earth in the second innings, bowled by Mold for a duck. It did not matter. By that stage victory was in sight. However, the following week on the other side of the Pennines at Bramall Lane, it was a different story. Surrey lost by 58 runs in an encounter in which the four completed innings totalled but 320, Richardson and Lockwood cleaning up for Surrey, Hirst and Wardall doing likewise for the home side, Read was the only Surrey batsman to twice reach double figures. Likewise, later in the season, Read demonstrated, by no means for the first time in his career, that his batting was not all about rapid scoring. He had the ability and the temperament to occupy the crease when required. Against Somerset at The Oval Key and W W Read were the first to make a stand but it was not until Brockwell came in at the fall of the fifth wicket that Surrey seemed to have an outside chance. WW was in two hours and a quarter for his 28. 150 147 David Kynaston Bobby Abel, Professional Batsman p 38 148 sic – actually 147 not out 149 Cricket 15 June 1893 150 Cricket 20 July 1893 Surrey and England 1888/97