Lives in Cricket No 37 - William Clarke

69 Incredible Success of the All-England Eleven in Leicester, the venue of the famous North v South match of 1836, on 12 August. England won by an innings and most significantly George Parr hit exactly 100 on this, his All-England debut. He, together with Nicholas Felix, both appeared for the first time after unavoidable absences in 1846. Parr and Felix were the obvious additions to Clarke’s team, but one curiosity of the 1847 All-England team was the inclusion of Oliver Claude Pell, who was the opposing captain to V.S.C.Smith in the 1847 University match at Lord’s. Pell played in the first seven of the ten 1847 AEE matches and in two matches the following year, after which he gave up serious cricket to concentrate on the law, qualifying as a barrister. Pell was notable for his fielding and his powerful throwing arm. Born in Middlesex in 1825, he was in the Rugby eleven and then four years in the Cambridge side. Residing near Ely he played a few games for Cambridge Town Club. More famous for his expertise in rifle-shooting, he was, for three years, a member of the England team in this sport. Joining the AEE for Pell’s final match of 1847 and appearing in the other three games was Pell’s colleague in the Cambridge side, T.M.Townley, who played under the alias of Mr England! He achieved little and soon disappeared from major cricket after the 1848 University game. William Lillywhite, whose name had been advertised in several papers as a member of the All-England Eleven in 1846, finally made his debut in the sixth match of 1847, versus Sheffield at Hyde Park. The Sheffield paper describes the match in great detail, including, in the morning prior to play, some apt comments on the principal players: Soon after eleven, an unusual bustle near the entrance gate betokened something of importance, and in few seconds the well-remembered forms of the All England players were seen in the distance, carrying their implements of war, the almost colossal figures of Mr Mynn and Pilch towering above the rest. We immediately recognized the immortal Lillywhite from his portrait, which almost every cricketer has seen; and a certain working of the shoulders and a bustling hurried step bespoke the indefatigable Jemmy Dean. The veteran Clarke too was easily distinguished by his well-known plodding gait. The whole of the All England players appeared in remarkably good health and spirits. Unfortunately for Clarke England were dismissed for 64, the wickets falling to Skelton and Barker who bowled unchanged. They owed even this modest total largely to Clarke, who went in at No.8 and was not out 11 when the last wicket, that of Lillywhite, fell. The Eighteen of Sheffield made 126, Lillywhite taking most of the early wickets and returning figures of six for 50; Martingell mopped up the tail with six for 14: Clarke only bowled five overs. Clarke chose to open the batting in the second innings. He performed the unusual feat of hitting a six, the report noting: ‘Clarke afterwards made a tremendous leg hit from Mr Barker, for which he was marked six, the ball going over the outer wall on the low side of the ground. A well-merited round of applause followed the performance of this feat.’ This emphasizes that to score a six without having to run, the ball had to be hit right out of the ground. Unless there was an agreement