Lives in Cricket No 38 - Lionel Robinson

100 Epilogue: Robinson – ‘new money’ and cricket There have been several examples of individuals with huge fortunes, recently acquired, who have followed Lionel in deciding to spend large amounts on cricket in one way or another. As well as the aforementioned Sir Julien Cahn, the names of the abrasive Kerry Packer and the disgraced Allen Stanford spring to mind. Lionel and Sir Julien, though very different men, had much in common and were far removed from the profit driven megalomaniacs of more recent acquaintance. Both constructed their own grounds 70 and raised their own personal elevens who would play high quality matches in front of spectators who were admitted free. Cahn’s biographer, Miranda Rijks, states: ‘Cahn’s cricket was the epitome of “country house cricket”, although considerably more ambitious and competitive than any country house cricket seen up until then.’ but she is clearly unaware of the story of Old Buckenham which was over before Cahn’s tentative beginnings in 1923 but which was by no means eclipsed by the deeds of her grandfather. There were, however, significant differences between Lionel and Cahn. Although both were aware that they were personally inept as cricketers, only Lionel ‘stood down’ from playing in his own sides to avoid embarrassment. Cahn insisted on turning out for his own elevens; this led to him being described as the worst player to feature in first-class cricket and caused much awkwardness as his team mates and opponents had to collude in order to ensure that he at least got off the mark. It also led to moments of humiliation when Cahn came on to bowl for Rijks informs us that he purveyed such ‘flighted filth’ that the spectators would often jeer and he would occasionally respond by having the entire crowd evicted. Cahn also organised far more matches than Archie MacLaren arranged for Lionel; whilst Old Buckenham at its peak would never see more than 12 matches, Cahn’s side often played 40 matches in a calendar year. To ensure that he had sufficient players on hand, Cahn found jobs for many of his players in his business empire. 71 Given that many of Cahn’s cricketers were (sh) amateurs if not downright professionals one has to doubt whether his cricket can really be referred to as ‘the epitome of “country house cricket”’; indeed, did it qualify as country house cricket at all? Finally, whilst nearly all of Lionel’s matches were played at home, Cahn loved to travel and 70 Cahn’s ground was at West Bridgford, near Nottingham. 71 Writing of the match between Cahn’s Team and the New Zealanders of 1931, Peter Wynne-Thomas states that: ‘Eight of the Cahn team were wholly or partially employed by Cahn in his furniture or allied businesses. More generally, he also writes that: ‘Cahn employed (my emphasis) cricketers of all grades ...’