Lives in Cricket No 26 - HV Hesketh-Prichard

18 against Loretto (postponed by a day because of the weather), but it was a disaster, with Fettes managing 43 – in which Prichard, it said ‘hit out for his seven’ and 91 to lose by an innings. Loretto scored 137, but Hex’s figures were a remarkable 42.3-22-38-7. The innings lasted 91.3 five-ball overs, so he had very little rest here – and remember, he was still only 16. On 15 July they drew with Lasswade, though 62 and 32 for three against 192, Hex three for 54, which The Fettesian reports a loss by 130 runs. Lillywhite’s gives one more game, against the Third Royal Scots on 20 July. The school scored 60 and their opponents 100 for seven. For 1893 there is a report of the season, submitted by the school, since exactly the same words appear in The Fettesian , in the 1894 Lillywhite. It says of Hex: ‘The best bowler in the team. On a wicket at all slow he is very dangerous, having a good breakback and keeping a good length: should be a fast bowler in a year or two. Poor, though improving bat: pitiable field.’ He also got his name into the 1894 Wisden , but without the criticism. It seems strange that an enthusiastic cricketer with the eye for shooting that Hex had would have been a poor fielder, but that was the judgement! As he had not been particularly tall as a boy and was to grow to six feet four, it may well be that he was in a growth spurt and clumsy with it, as many teenage boys are. But if we look at his averages for the season there is no doubt about the weakness of his batting; in 15 innings, 6 not out, he scored 57 runs, highest score 10*, at an average of 6.33. His bowling figures were 247 overs, 70 maidens, 471 runs, 40 wickets, average 11.75. He bowled far more overs than anyone else in the side: the next was 140. There are no figures which reflect his ‘pitiable’ fielding, though he did take a few catches. In 1894 he was likely to be even more crucial to the team. The first inter- school game was against Glenalmond and although he took six for 70, Glenalmond made 195 and dismissed Fettes for 122. Hex once more bowled through almost the whole innings (33 overs of a total of 69.2) and, intriguingly, though five of his wickets were clean bowled, one was stumped. Given the remark at the end of the previous year, it seems that although he always seems to have opened the bowling, he was not at this time a truly fast bowler. On 2 June came an away fixture at Merchiston and this produced a victory, the home side being bowled out for 86, with Hex taking three for 20 from 26.3 overs, and Fettes making 186. The Fettesian then records a game against Mr Currie’s XI, presumably largely members of staff, which was drawn, Mr Currie’s XI scoring 70 and 90, Fettes 65 and 67 for one. Hex took three for 20 in the first innings and four for 23 in the second. On 13 and 14 June Fettes played Loretto, according to The Fettesian and CricketArchive . As we shall see below, it appears it may have been actually 13 and 14 July, as given in Wisden . The Fettesian tells us that rain had been falling for two or three days before, and the wicket ‘was in rather a curious state’ at the start of the match. Indeed, it was curious enough for Loretto to send Fettes in first, a rare thing in those days. They would seem to India, Jersey and Edinburgh