Lives in Cricket No 26 - HV Hesketh-Prichard

72 After that he did not play again until the Derbyshire match starting at Southampton on 12 June. Hampshire made 263, with Hex making 22. Derbyshire’s first innings was 278 for a small lead. Hex took five for 46 in 15.2 overs as Derbyshire faded from 210 for two. Hampshire batted again and made 261. Then it was all Hex as he took eight for 32, his best analysis in his first-class cricket, to blow Derbyshire away for 58. Even The Times was impressed: ‘The outstanding feature of [Hampshire’s] display was the bowling of Mr Hesketh Prichard. Bowling unchanged throughout the Derbyshire second innings, he never sent down a really bad ball, while he bowled one or two that seemed practically unplayable.’ Wisden later said his record for the match, 13 wickets for 78, was ‘extraordinary’. The Derbyshire captain, A.E.Lawton, was quoted by Cricket as saying If anyone wishes a new kind of lion-rampant for his coat of arms, let him photograph Hesketh Prichard when he bowls as he did today. We don’t mind him turning from the off, or even swerving, but when he bowls very fast, with a perfect length, pitches the ball on the leg stump and knocks the off out of the ground, there is nothing for it but to bow politely and depart. The vagaries of cricket reporting are shown by Cricket which said he ‘hit very hard towards the end of the innings and drove Cadman onto the pavilion roof.’ It then said nothing about his second-innings bowling except ‘Derbyshire failed completely in their task of making 247 to win.’ The trouble was that he was only playing the odd top-class game. He turned out for example for the ECs against Herefordshire Club and Ground and had some success, taking seven wickets as they were bowled out for 200, then opening the batting and scoring 62, indulging in some big hitting. The ECs were, apparently, a mixed combination of amateurs who played annually under this title, a compliment to Lady Enid Chesterfield and Lady Evelyn Cotterell. The team was organised by G.A.Denny, the Herefordshire county skipper. On 19 June it was for Mr C.E.N.Charrington’s XI against the Army Corps, taking ten wickets in the match. Playing in the I Zingari cricket week at King’s Bromley Manor in Staffordshire from 26 June against Lichfield Garrison and the Gentlemen of Staffordshire may not have been much of a warm-up, though he did not have to travel far to play against Warwickshire at Leamington, starting on 29 June, where he bowled a long stint on the first day – 34-3-121-4 – with not all that much support as Warwickshire got to 357. Hex opened the batting as nightwatchman and was still there on the third morning as there was no play on the scheduled second day. When there was play on the third, the wicket had presumably suffered and Hampshire were put out for 95 in the first innings and by the end were 85 for three in the second. On 10 July, following the previous year’s heroics, he was picked again for the Gentlemen at Lord’s. The Players batted and made 356, but the heroic toiler this time was Walter Brearley, who took seven for 104. Hex took two for 75. But the Gentlemen’s batting folded against Ted Arnold and they were all out for 185. The Players declared at 293 for four, Hex bowling One of the Gentlemen