Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

looked forward to their first season in the Championship. The club played a number of local sides to get themselves into form before the season; many of these proved one-sided affairs, but the club hoped this would mean the players would be as prepared as they could be. A notable player in the side was Herbert Hewett, the captain, an amateur who was a lawyer. He was a good and popular leader, though he was known for being short tempered and stubborn; this would lead to him later resigning the captaincy and quitting the club. Hewett though was a dashing and aggressive left-handed batsman, who by now was regarded as the best left-hander in the country. SamWoods had already played a couple of times against Lionel for Cambridge. An Australian, he was sent to England by his wealthy father; although he went to Cambridge he left without a degree. He was in his prime a very fast bowler, but by 1891 was already noticeably slowing down. He would become a local character and stayed in Somerset for the rest of his life; he became an accomplished batsman in time and a long-serving, popular captain. Another key player, Edwin (Ted) Tyler, originally from Worcestershire, was one of the few professionals at the club. He first played for the county in 1887; a slow left-arm bowler, he took 126 wickets in 1890. His wickets propelled the county to first class status; with Nichols (79 wickets) these two without doubt enabled the county to gain first-class status and should be remembered for their deeds of 1890. Other capable players included batsmen William Roe, John Challen, Vernon Hill and all-rounders Gerald Fowler and Walter Hedley, plus reliable wicketkeepers Arthur Newton and the Rev Archie Wickham. The average age of the side was only 25, so supporters of the club had reason to believe the team would perform well in the Championship and have a bright future. Before Lionel’s arrival the team had opened its season with a drawn game against Middlesex at Lord’s, badly affected by the weather. Then on June 1 at the Oval, Somerset fielded all day as Surrey rattled up 449, and by the close Somerset were already struggling on 17 for two. During the night it rained heavily and the following morning on resumption the wicket was almost University and plenty of sport 25