Lives in Cricket No 21 - Walter Read

87 The well deserved recognition of the invaluable services rendered by Mr W W Read to Surrey cricket for over twenty years, rendered the selection of this particular fixture for his testimonial match especially fitting. 154 As a contest, the match was a non-event from the time that the Surrey openers, Abel and Lockwood were both dismissed without scoring. Although, thanks almost entirely to the bowling of Richardson, who had 6-105 in this match, Surrey were to reassume their accustomed position at the head of the Championship table, the days were long gone when they could expect to give ‘England’ a decent game. Surrey collapsed to the bowling of Arthur Pougher, who returned career best figures of 9-34, for 85; thanks in the main to Albert Ward’s century, England replied with 363. The county did rather better in their second innings, but could muster only 203 to lose by an innings and 75 runs. Read’s contribution was three and one, plus eleven wicketless overs; but in financial terms, he had no cause for complaint. The gate was £843 18s 6d which, after the deduction of expenses of £140 11s, left him with £703 7s 6d to which could be added £125 15s subscribed by members. He was later to have an influence on Surrey’s young batsmen, but it comes as a surprise to learn that he inspired a future bowler. Anthony Meredith alludes to Read’s interest in Digby Jephson and suggests that the elder man was something of a mentor to the younger and provided the initial encouragement to become a lobster. Read, of course, was an occasional lob bowler who was good enough to have taken a first-class hat-trick and had once dismissed Charles Kortright with a lob after he had hit Richardson, Lockwood and other Surrey bowlers all round the Oval. 155 Cricket ran a feature looking at first-class averages over the twelve seasons, 1882-93. For Surrey, it was no surprise that Read came out top and when the net was cast wider and his performance compared with other leading players of his generation, he came behind Shrewsbury and Grace, but ahead of Gunn and Stoddart. On the amateur side, he was, as the Surrey CCC minutes record, ‘second to but one’. There were, however, moves to terminate Read’s contract and negotiations on the terms of that went on over a couple of years. 154 Cricket 30 May 1895 155 Meredith The Demon and the Lobster p 50 Surrey and England 1888/97