Lives in Cricket No 39 - Alec Watson

58 June. He returned to the colours with scores of 22 and 17 and a five-wicket haul in Nottinghamshire’s first innings (35-17-47-5). Then followed seven matches in which Watson had only limited success. He also lacked success on the southern tour, where his bowling was not used much in any case. Altogether, quite apart from his month’s absence through illness, it had been a quiet season for Watson. He had done tolerably well with the bat, keeping his average in the range of 12-13, as he had often done, and taking 13 catches in his 14 matches. He bowled less than 400 five-ball overs and managed to take only 38 wickets, his lowest total in a season since 1879, when he bowled only the equivalent of 234 five-ball overs. However, his average at just over sixteen was in fact a slight improvement on his 1890 figure, but he had only two hauls of five wickets in an innings. Wisden acknowledged that ‘the hand of time’ had had its effect on Watson, while it made Mold one of its ‘Five Great Bowlers’ of the year, without mentioning his bowling action. Watson’s season may also have been affected by the illness and death, on 28 March, of his friend and business associate, Richard Pilling. Pilling, originally a stonemason, had first played for Lancashire as a wicketkeeper in 1877. Unlike Alec, he played in eight Tests. His continued success with Lancashire ensured that his benefit in 1889 raised £1,500. He used some of this to go into partnership with Watson in a sports-goods business in Manchester. Unfortunately his health then took a downturn, and a visit to Australia in the hope of some recovery was to no avail. While Watson must have felt the loss keenly, there was, however, to be one further good season for him. Lancashireplayeda full programmeofmatches in1892, andWatson played in them all except the return against Oxford University on 20 and 21 June, when he was kept out by a strain. He started his last full season with four wickets in an innings against MCC at Lord’s, and swung into top gear against Sussex at Manchester with five for 23 and five for 34 on a rain-affected pitch; it was to be his last ten-wicket haul. There was a good performance against Kent with an undefeated 46 in his only innings, plus six wickets for 46 from 25 overs with ten maidens and nine wickets in all; before scoring 24* in a rain-ruined match with Surrey, who were again champions. In his last ‘Roses’ match at Old Trafford Watson had another ‘five-for’ (42-26-55-5). He did little against Middlesex at Lord’s but, as earlier at Manchester, he faced Gregor MacGregor, a Scot who did win test caps for England. Indeed the Slow Decline and Sudden End