Lives in Cricket No 38 - Lionel Robinson

96 The death of Lionel Robinson and the fate of his cricket ground score an almost impossible feat. With South Norfolk playing a full season in 1926, Len Hart had no need to ‘slum it’ by continuing to play for the village team, or even to raise his own sides. South Norfolk and Old Buckenham had drifted far apart, with the former team playing cricket of a much higher standard, both in terms of skill and of social class, than the latter, who returned to the lowly level bottom-feeding that marked their existence before the arrival of Lionel Robinson. By 1928 their results were no longer appearing in the Eastern Daily Press , which suggests that they had temporarily ceased to exist. The South Norfolk League carried on until the early 1930s when it, too, folded. Although results on the field of play were satisfactory in the following season, with 17 games out of a total of 30 being won, things seem to have started to go amiss with Gates’ grandiose plans as early as this year. First, he lost the services of Burnett Bullock, who participated in the first few matches of the season but then inexplicably vanished. Second, there was a depressing report in the Eastern Daily Press : ‘The Press Association states that the match arranged to be played at Old Buckenham Hall on August 29 and 30 between the New Zealanders and an eleven chosen by Mr Everard Gates has been cancelled.’ Again, no reason was given but perhaps the possibility of running into the French actor Maurice Chevalier (apparently a regular visitor to Old Buckenham Hall at that time) was too much of a risk for the MCC to take. The sole high point was that the Hall pitch continued to impress, there being a reference in the press to a ‘perfect wicket prepared by [groundsman] Harold Prince’. As regards individuals, the team continued to rely on the batting of the brothers Rought-Rought and the bowling of Rodney Rought-Rought and Len Hart. Gates himself took but seven expensive wickets and failed to score enough runs to merit inclusion in the batting averages. The 1928 season was very similar to the previous year in that there were 16 victories from 29 matches (as in the previous year there was no tour) and that the team’s successes depended very much on the same three players as the previous year. To add to the similarity, the wicket was again described as ‘plumb’ and Gates failed to shine once more, averaging less than double figures with the bat. In passing, it is of no little interest that the Eastern Daily Press made reference to ‘the first cricket ground’ laid down by Lionel Robinson during the 1928 season. Although it had long since ceased to function as a cricket ground, it was still serving as a sporting venue at that stage, being used to host the athletic sports meeting and fete organised by the Old Buckenham British Legion. It would again be noted as serving the same function in 1930. These brief references are the only explicit references surviving regarding Lionel’s original ground at Old Buckenham. The climax of the South Norfolk Club Whether Gates continued to hold the whip hand or not, the standard of a typical cricketer who turned out for South Norfolk took a significant turn for the better in 1929. No fewer than 12 players who had represented Norfolk, or who would soon do so, turned out for South Norfolk. The