Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

innings by Essex’s Walter Mead for three and 36. Lionel finished 14th in the national averages having scored 969 runs at 29.36. At the end of the month he was elected as a vice-president of Taunton Cricket Club; also that month it was noted in the press that he enjoyed staghound meetings. In an interview in 1901 he was asked what his favourite sport was. Surprisingly he said foxhunting; however within a few years, golf took over his spare time and definitely became his main passion. It seems Lionel concentrated on his professional career, building a life for himself and his wife. By Christmas she was expecting their first child. A few changes during the winter affected the Championship. The method of deciding the Championship from 1895 to 1909, was changed on the basis of one point for each victory, one point deducted for each defeat, the final order being decided by the greatest proportion of points gained to games completed. Surrey were eventual champions winning 17 games and losing four, this gave them a net of 13 points or 61.9 per cent (13/21) of points obtained for completed matches; drawn games were ignored. Secondly having agreed in 1894 the Championship would be expanded to fourteen teams from 1895 Derbyshire, Hampshire, Essex, Leicestershire and Warwickshire were now admitted. For Somerset this meant an increase of two games to 18; it meant they would only play against Essex and Hampshire of the newcomers and they dropped the fixture with Nottinghamshire; the side would also play Oxford and Cambridge universities. Lionel started the 1895 season playing for the county against the Colts. He made a useful 36 and took five for 43 with his lobs. The first-class season started with a visit to Cambridge to play the undergraduates. Somerset were well beaten by seven wickets. During the first innings Lionel made 98, but it was Frank Mitchell’s 191 that stole the show along with Sam Woods hitting a brilliant 180 in the second innings in a losing cause. The first Championship match was to become part of history, as the team travelled to Bristol to play Gloucestershire, starting on May 16. Captain of Gloucestershire was the greatest all-rounder of his time WG Grace. Aged 46, his recent form over the past few years suggested that his best days were over. However he had started the season in fine form and he arrived at the match with 99 Marriage, family, work and Somerset 45