Lives in Cricket No 29 - AN Hornby

28 Kennington Oval on 25 May and took the field for the 47 th and final time as late as 17 October. There was a certain symmetry about their tour finale as that was also at Kennington Oval – against Gentlemen of Surrey – where it all began almost five months earlier. They took part in 36 two-day games and eleven fixtures scheduled for three days. Along the way the Aboriginals played a variety of sides, including the MCC (at Lord’s), the Gentlemen of Lewisham, the Gentlemen of Rochdale, Blackheath, Bootle, Bishop’s Stortford, Longsight, Richmond and Middlesbrough. They also played against the Sporting Press at Mote Park, Maidstone. In his second season for Lancashire, in 1868, Hornby played his second match for the county, opening the batting in the final match of the season in what was his first appearance at Old Trafford. He scored eight and seven in another Lancashire defeat. However, in 1869 he devoted far more time to cricket and played in three of Lancashire’s four matches, scoring six and 61 in the county’s defeat of Sussex at Old Trafford, and 18 and 42 in a win against Surrey. It was probably these performances that earned him selection on 28 June for the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’s in the second of the two fixtures between the sides played in that season. In the days before Test matches, recognition in this series was the highest honour in the game, although he scored only eight and two. But although he gave more of himself to Lancashire, only one of the games was away from home. The club captain Edmund Rowley wasn’t satisfied. He felt that the amateurs in the side were not playing in enough fixtures away from their Manchester headquarters. In August of the 1869 season, Rowley was moved to write a letter to Arthur Appleby, who at the time was probably the best amateur bowler in England: When Lancashire have such men in the county as yourself and Hornby and they will not play, I think it is only fair to expect that the matches will be lost. At the commencement of the season I was very glad to hear that you and Hornby had arranged to play with Lancashire in all the County matches and I certainly understood that Lancashire was to have the preference – but may I ask has this arrangement been kept? My own idea is that County Cricket is the best that can be played and I really think that you should throw over any engagement Born with a silver spoon