Lives in Cricket No 38 - Lionel Robinson

42 Putting Old Buckenham on the cricketing map which would have made the catering arrangements for the lavish lunches, for which Lionel was famous, much easier to organise. According to the Eastern Daily Press, it seems that Alec Hearne was called in for the second time in two years and set to build from scratch once again. A somewhat unhelpful account of proceedings is given in an article by Evelyn Metcalfe in The Cricketer in which the author claims the credit, not just for the idea of creating ‘a good cricket ground in the Park’ in the first place, but also for overseeing the whole process, claiming that his friend Robinson gave him carte blanche to organise proceedings. He makes no reference to the ‘first’ ground. This story is far from corroborated by Barry Wilson, writing in the Sunday Times many years later, who credits the lord of the manor with being well-informed on the matter of the construction of a satisfactory wicket and very much in charge of operations. Wilson states that Robinson, who had watched much cricket both at Melbourne and around England, was no fan of slow English wickets and wanted his own wicket to be hard and fast. There was a lagoon on his estate which he had dredged to obtain fine clay which would provide the foundation for the square and he had the soil stabilised with chicken netting. Although he was nothing more than an enthusiastic amateur, Robinson was successful in creating a fast wicket and further improved the playing surface after the Great War by importing soil from his native Australia. Even at the much later date when Wilson was writing (1977), the part of the Old Buckenham square which had been laid by Robinson that was still in use (known as the ‘Australian end’) remained quicker than the newer part of the square. 34 Wilson, like Metcalfe, completely ignores both the existence of the ‘first’ ground and the presence of MacLaren, who would surely have ‘stuck his oar in’ as an interested party. 1912: Archie’s debut as cricket manager Archie’s first season as Lionel Robinson’s cricket manager must be judged a highly successful one. He arranged a well-balanced programme of 12 matches (down from the rather chaotic 18 played in the previous year), all of which were played at home (presumably on the ‘second’ pitch) and no fewer than nine finished in victory for Lionel’s sides. The only setback was in the very first match of the season, when a virtually full-strength Norfolk county side defeated a not particularly strong Robinson’s XI by eight wickets. The home batting, which contained three Australians, failed twice against the county’s professional bowlers; both Harold Watson and Ted Gibson took six-wicket hauls as Robinson’s side were dismissed for 163 and 142. Only Philip Slater, who played one first-class game for Surrey, resisted for long as he made 64 at his first attempt. Norfolk’s first 34 The puzzle is made even more complex by the existence of a letter from Donald Sewell, who was bought up at Old Buckenham Hall, played cricket for the village during the 1940s and 1950s and who later became headmaster of the Old Buckenham Hall School when it had moved to Brettenham Park (see chapter seven). Sewell states categorically that the ‘fact’ that turf was imported from Australia is a myth and that, although high-quality marl was brought into Norfolk, it was merely from Nottinghamshire. This version of events is backed up by a contemporary report in the Australian press, which also refers to the addition of soil from Devon to the square. However, the Eastern Daily Press , in a 1921 article, talks of a ‘special mixture... imported from “down under” where the world’s best wickets are to be found’.