Lives in Cricket No 39 - Alec Watson

47 nine wickets in the match including 19.1-10-25-5 in the second innings. Somerset then felt the full force of his resurgence as he had four for 32 and seven for 84, as well as scoring 28* in his only innings. Watson continued the southern tour with seven wickets against Gloucestershire, and had a similar performance at The Oval. In the return match of 1884 Somerset were again the victims as he took eleven wickets, including seven for 84 from 69 overs with 40 maidens. Watson’s batting in 1884 had generally followed his reasonable run in the previous few seasons. His 14 catches were also consistent with previous seasons. His flurry of wickets in the second half of the season took his total up to 87, but his average of 16.58, with only three ‘five-fors’, was below par. Wisden noted this comparative lack of success. It also noted that Nottinghamshire had refused to play Lancashire in 1884 because the latter ‘employed bowlers whose action was unfair’. It gives no names, but Lillywhite’s Companion observed that Crossland’s absence, through injury, at The Oval and elsewhere ‘was generally regarded as a relief’, as there was thus no cause for crowd trouble. Crossland was indeed no-balled by umpire Carpenter at Derby, but the reason for the call is not given. Again there was no direct reference to Watson’s action. As noted, he did play in three matches against the touring Australians. His four completed innings against them gave an average of 11.25 and he had nine wickets at 17.33. These performances and others in the earlier part of the season were hardly enough to force him into the reckoning for selection against them in the ‘Tests’, even though the first was played at Old Trafford, where the Lancashire authorities, who picked the England side for matches in Manchester, might have been expected to give him favourable consideration. Watson was actually the groundsman at Old Trafford at that time! Of interest is the fact that the Australians had another match against an ‘England XI’ and two against each of the North of England and The Players of England; for all of which Watson might have been selected, but was not. Nor was his late-season success able to get him into Shrewsbury’s side to tour Australia that following winter. Lancashire started 1885 with a twelve-a-side match, reckoned as first-class, against the University at Oxford, and Watson was on form right away, having a five-wicket haul (11.3-5-15-5) in Oxford’s second innings. In the match against Kent at Old Trafford Watson did well enough, but the match was more The anni mirabiles