Lives in Cricket No 38 - Lionel Robinson

28 Robinson comes to Norfolk Beginning to take over It was in the winter of 1909-1910 that Lionel Robinson hired the ex-Kent professional Alec Hearne to oversee the creation of top-class cricket facilities on the Old Buckenham Hall estate. This involved laying out two entirely separate grounds over the next three years. The first pitch was on a field adjacent to Lionel’s newly created stud farm, almost a mile from the hall. The new square was ready for use in July 1910, with the Eastern Daily Press stating that one of the Hearne family was to act as Robinson’s groundsman and the name ‘Hearne’ did indeed appear in the most of the teams put out by the Old Buckenham village in early 1910. Although only one Hearne ever appeared in any given side, a variety of initials were offered in match scorecards: T, A, T.G., F, J.T., T.J. and T.T. Dodgy handwriting or even mischievousness may have led to the apparent profusion of Hearnes, when only one was actually employed. Reference to JW Hearne’s history of the cricketing family Hearne , Wheelwrights to Wickets, (1996) indicates that many Hearnes with these initials did actually exist but also rules out the possibility that any significant member of the clan remained at Old Buckenham Hall over the 1910 season. Alas, the book is disappointing for historians of Norfolk cricket in that it makes absolutely no mention of the family’s link with Lionel Robinson. It was not until what was described as the ‘cricket week’ at Old Buckenham Hall in late July 1910 that the new ground was referred to in the Eastern Daily Press . Both before and after this, the village side was active but the Old Buckenham locations.