Lives in Cricket No 37 - William Clarke

62 terribly difficult, as his ball went off the pitch so quickly and one was very often too late for him when trying to cut near the wicket, as I generally used to do.’ Born at Leybourne, Kent in 1813, he played for Kent from 1835 to 1853 and for the Players from 1838 to 1851; he died at Maidstone in 1861. William Martingell played for the Players v Gentlemen at Lord’s from 1844 to 1858 – Fred Lillywhite in 1857 comments: ‘One among the best bowlers of the day; not only pretty often on the spot, but is clever in “dodging” or giving a ball the most difficult to play by his opponent. A steady bat.’ Caffyn is slightly critical: ‘An excellent fast-medium bowler, though he used, I thought, to allow rather too much for his leg-break, and was often a good deal punished by such players as George Parr in consequence. He was also a very decent bat against fast bowling, but generally too eager to hit when playing against slow.’ Martingell was engaged to play for Kent in the days before Surrey had a team, but latterly played for Surrey, being born in the county in 1818. He was a notable coach, being engaged at various times at Rugby, Eton and Bradfield. He died in 1897. Tom Sewell came from Mitcham, being born there in 1806. His county cricket was limited to a handful of games for Middlesex, Surrey and Kent, but he was on the groundstaff at Lord’s and most of his major matches were for MCC, or for matches arranged by the Club. Apart from Clarke himself, he was the oldest of the original AEE team and his time with Clarke’s team ended in 1848. He was a useful bat and bowled under-arm. In his later years he was a well-known and reliable umpire. His son Tom Sewell junior, played with success for Kent and Surrey. Sewell senior died in 1888. James ‘Jemmy’ Dean is lauded by Fred Lillywhite: ‘A very careful bat, and has a strong defence. As a bowler few can surpass him, and in the field you can scarcely put him out of his place. These abilities possessed by an individual are a sufficient proof that no match ought to be played without Leaving Trent Bridge Clarke recruited Alfred Mynn, William Hillyer and James Dean, big names all, for his first forays with the All-England Eleven at the end of the 1846 season.