Lives in Cricket No 39 - Alec Watson

83 Chapter Eight Beyond First-Class Cricket When his first-class career was over, Alec Watson had not done with the sport of cricket. He was, of course, still engaged in his sports outfitter’s business in the city of Manchester, but could still be seen on the field of play. However, although he had appeared for various local clubs against the United South and United North Elevens in the 1870s, he now played but seldom in local cricket. His main interest now was in coaching. However, Gwynne in his History of Denton Cricket Club tells us that Watson, immediately on his retirement from Lancashire, became Denton’s professional for 1893; Denton being to the south-east of Manchester. Then in 1895 he is known to have coached in the early part of the season at Cambridge University, and thereafter at Shrewsbury School. In July of that year, however, he did play in one match, when he returned to Scotland with A.N. Hornby who was leading a ‘Lancashire’ side against ‘Scotland’. In From the Stretford End Brian Bearshaw stated that Watson coached at Marlborough and that it was on his recommendation that R.H.Spooner played for Lancashire after he left school in 1899. (Spooner was qualified by birth anyway). The 1895 match was not the first time that Watson had been seen on a Scottish ground since he left there for Manchester. In 1877 he had returned to Coatbridge to play for a Drumpellier XXII against the United South of England XI led by W.G. Grace. The Scots won by 116 runs, Watson having taken seven wickets for 51 and seven for 33, while scoring nine runs in all. In 1880 Watson turned out for XVIII of Clydesdale in Glasgow against the touring Australians. He scored 36 and took 5 for 38 to make the visitors follow on, but the match was drawn. In 1882 the elderly Sands brought an England XI to Drumpellier, for his final appearance there before retirement. In the England XI’s first innings of 26 Watson took five for 7. They were in danger of defeat, but Arthur Shrewsbury then held his end up against Watson, who was moved to remark: ‘Come on now, Arthur, enliven the game a bit.’ Replied Arthur: ‘Chuck them up a bit, Alec, and I’ll soon hit them.’ Was Shrewsbury implying that Alec was a ‘chucker’, or merely speaking