Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

rates, and it cannot go on much longer. Crowds are down, only Australia and South Africa draw large crowds. Today’s batting is nothing but siege mentality, players just dig in and try to wear bowling out, they seem to have forgotten the public pay to be entertained. He blamed the war, ‘as today’s players did not come into contact with their fathers and grandfathers and what they had done for the game. He was optimistic that the old style would come back and players would play in the true spirit of the game and that was to entertain.’ I wonder what he would have made of one-day cricket and T20. Attending the Gloucestershire dinner, Lionel made another speech. He complained about the number of drawn games, saying there was too much cricket being played. The Gloucestershire Echo also reported that his speech ‘was full of wit and anecdotes’. Despite the move, on September 9 his wife Caroline died; she was only 58. Lionel had only played two golf competitions that LCH putting during a competition held at Sidmouth (Western Morning News) December 7, 1928 The final years 115