Lives in Cricket No 26 - HV Hesketh-Prichard

49 should handle Hesketh-Prichard. ‘The arrangement,’ Noble later recalled,’ succeeding admirably. Darling pasted Llewellyn and I hit the right-hander.’ In the remaining 40 minutes of play they added 107. 27 Trumble then whipped through the county again, bowling them out for 116. There would have been no third day in any case, as the Australians were off to see the coronation of King Edward VII. Then it was back to Portsmouth and back to the Championship on 14 August to play Worcestershire. Hampshire, deciding to bat, made 110. Hex and Llewellyn had Worcester at 46 for four, but they recovered to 210 (Hex four for 79). Hampshire’s second knock was 143, and Worcester got the 44 for four wickets – Hex taking two for 15 in five overs. All over, yet again, on the second day. On 18 August it was on to Leicester, but there was no play on the first day. On the second Hampshire declined from 149 for four to 169 all out. Leicester were 113 for three at the close but restricted to 189 and a small lead (Hex two for 67 and another six for Llewellyn). But Hampshire collapsed again for 112 against William Odell’s medium pace: Leicester lost four wickets getting the 94 they needed and Hex bowled only three overs for eight runs. The next game was at Southampton against Sussex on 21 August. Hampshire batted and made 95, Fred Tate taking eight wickets, but they responded well, bowling Sussex out for 72. Hex, who took six for 39, and Llewellyn bowled unchanged. By the close of the first day Hampshire were 58 for two in the second innings, but once again it all went wrong, all out for 124. Sussex needed 149 and lost only two wickets getting them. It was all over again in two days. Then to Bournemouth on 28 August for the last game of the season, at home to Warwickshire. Llewellyn bowled them out for 99 with Hex delivering 11 overs and taking one for 10. Hampshire replied with 131 (Llewellyn 53). At the end of the first day Warwickshire were none for one in their second innings and they got to 152 with a last-wicket stand of 36. But Hampshire, needing 121, could only manage 112. This time the game just crept into the third day with Hampshire overnight on 99 for eight. The Times saw this as an ‘extremely interesting position’ (needing 22 with two wickets in hand) but on the final morning 45 minutes brought only 13 runs, none of them from William Harrison, 12* overnight and 12* at the end. But it was the only first-class match he ever played: he had played two games for Hampshire in 1893 before the county achieved first-class status. This, then, was the end of a terrible season for the team. At the end of its review of 1902, noting that Hampshire had finished last in the table, Cricket said ‘there remain Hampshire and Gloucestershire, both of whom met with sad experiences. But there may be better times in store for both of them.’ Wisden was more encouraging, saying that ‘especial promise was 27 Lionel H.Brown, Victor Trumper and the 1902 Australians, Secker and Warburg, 1981. Portsmouth and Patagonia