Lives in Cricket No 26 - HV Hesketh-Prichard

70 out sides that far outclassed the rural opposition. One side that played in a Longford week included R.E.Foster, F.S.Jackson, B.J.T.Bosanquet, Teddy Wynyard and Hex. Reading Raffles gives a perspective on this: if you were in you were ‘in’, and could spend all summer on the cricket circuit. But many of the younger ‘freeloaders’ would not have had very much of their own money or, at least, their income tended not to reach their expenditure. A.G.Macdonell 41 lamented the fact that after the war, country-house weekends, which had once run from Friday to Monday, were now truncated as most people had to go to work, but a cricket week was different. If you had to go to work you might not have managed the circuit. Many people, though, had quite long or flexible holiday arrangements: schoolteachers in the summer holidays, soldiers, senior civil servants. And many could afford to play cricket for a few years after university before reality intruded too much – usually living on family goodwill or unpaid tailor’s bills. And of course this was networking, even if the word had not been invented: you would meet people who might be able to do you a bit of good. Hex’s rise through the English class system could not have been managed without the cricket, whatever his achievements as an explorer or writer. Macdonell of course was writing about the post-war years, and his cricket match has a thinly disguised version of J.C.Squire’s team, who were very much the spiritual successors to the Allahakbarries. From our perspective, the big question could have been whether Hex could gain Test selection against Australia this year. That is not entirely speculative, as the Manchester Guardian was to remark that England’s bowling selections looked thin and to ask ‘who could select a team that would suit all the critics? One wonders what the new bowlers, men like Hesketh-Prichard, for instance, think of it all?’ C.B.Fry, writing in 1904 after the Gentlemen v Players match, had suggested he might be useful: As amateur bowling is always something of a problem, Hesketh Prichard’s success at Lord’s is quite a notable event. It is some years since an amateur fast bowler was able to disturb the equanimity of our best professional batsmen as he did. I do not think there was much the matter with the wicket, although it was distinctly full of life, especially on the first day. The manner in which Prichard’s good- length balls rose abruptly from the pitch was due more to the devil in the bowler’s swing and the fine height of his delivery then to anything else. Hampshire must be unfortunate in other respects not to do better with so fine a bowler available. Bowlers who can compass a ‘high riser’ without bowling short are not common nowadays, or there would be fewer runs made. Next year, when the Australians are over here, the selectors will no doubt be looking around for a fast right-hand bowler, at any rate for the Lord’s match, and it is not impossible that Prichard may have a chance of testing Trumper’s ability to flick the quick-rising ball without being caught at the wicket. 41 A.G.Macdonell, England, their England, Macmillan, 1949. One of the Gentlemen