Lives in Cricket No 38 - Lionel Robinson

56 Robinson’s XI made 71 for five, the season at Old Buckenham came to a close. The Eastern Daily Press was kind to Lionel as usual, stating: ‘The cricketing public owe a great deal to Mr Robinson for arranging such an attractive match.’ However, the press omitted to mention that this match coincided exactly with the final of the Minor Counties Championship, between Norfolk and Glamorgan at the Lakenham County Ground; the date of Mason’s visit had probably been arranged long before Norfolk topped the Minor Counties Table but the ‘double-booking’ probably looked to be a little incompetent and crowds at both venues would have suffered. Only the most inattentive of readers can have failed to notice the name of Bernard Bosanquet cropping up again and again in the accounts of Lionel’s matches in 1913. He appeared in no fewer than seven of the ten games played that season, missing only the three least important matches against local opposition. Apart from captaining his own elevens against Robinson’s team twice (and winning both), he also represented the visiting Harlequins. Swapping sides, he played for Robinson against the Incogniti, Cambridge University, R.T.Fellowes’ XI and J.R.Mason’s XI. In his 12 innings he amassed 585 runs at an average of 48.75, scoring one century and four fifties. In a most successful season, he also took 15 wickets with his swervers, including a five-wicket haul against the Harlequins. He seems to have been one of Lionel’s favourite guests, being of the right social class (he was educated at Eton), and a sound leader of men; Archie appointed him to skipper Robinson’s teams in three of their six first-class matches. 1914: Sid Pegler takes the plaudits When Archie sat down to organise the fixture list for the summer of 1914 he would not have expected the season to be cut short by the Great War. Therefore, one has to suppose that he arranged for a full programme of visitors to Old Buckenham, intended as lambs to be slaughtered on the altar of his employer’s ambitions, only to be thwarted by the deterioration of the political scene during the summer. Whilst both the first-class and the Minor Counties Championship staggered on towards their scheduled conclusions, with a few fixtures being abandoned, country house cricket was more vulnerable and many matches were cancelled as the young men educated at public schools who provided the lifeblood of this form of the game hurried to enlist. In the end, Lionel Robinson found his season truncated so that he only had the chance to play host to six games; the final game that did take place as scheduled, against the locals of Garboldisham Manor, finished as early in the season as 25 July. The Eastern Daily Press noted that at least two fixtures (against the touring Philadelphians and the Oxford Harlequins) were cancelled and it is likely that further matches also went by the wayside, unrecorded. What remained of the 1914 season started disastrously with a not particularly strong Old Buckenham Hall side going down to a crushing defeat of 148 runs (in a one-day match) by CEYMS. The visitors were largely indebted to Roderick Falconer, the Norfolk professional who had played for Northamptonshire, for their victory. He struck 61 runs, having been asked to open the batting but, when he was given the new ball, the Further Successes At Old Buckenham