Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

first-class hundreds. The match started well for Somerset. Lionel with Gerald Fowler put on 205 for the first wicket; Lionel made a solid 80 while Fowler made 118 (his only first-class hundred). The batting broke down badly and the side collapsed to 303 all out; Grace bowled 45 overs taking five for 87. By the close of play Gloucestershire had reached 58 for two with WG on 32. The second day the Doctor went on to 288 without giving a chance, hitting 38 fours. Somerset went on to lose the match by nine wickets. Grace went onto score 1,000 runs in May, finishing the season with 2,346 runs at 51 with nine centuries. His performances were followed with great interest throughout the season. Before the next county game Somerset travelled to Oxford and the undergraduates enjoyed a close win in an exciting game by one wicket. However it was the start of Somerset’s second innings which caused a lot of comment in the press. With Somerset trailing by 85 runs after first innings, Sam Woods and Lionel opened the innings. They both batted like the game was a modern T20 match. The pair added 50 in only 14 minutes, eventually adding 73 in only 25 minutes; the hundred went up after 50 minutes. Lionel’s share of the stand was 28 whilst Woods (first out) made 48. The county’s first victory of the summer should have been against Hampshire, however after making Hampshire follow on they went on to lose by a narrow margin of 11 runs. Somerset’s first innings of 221 relied heavily on Lionel’s 96, made at almost a run a minute. Hampshire were then skittled by Tyler and Woods and followed on. Some solid Hampshire batting meant Somerset needed 188 runs and after reaching 166 for five victory seemed assured; however the last five wickets fell for only ten runs. The next game against Middlesex at Lord’s proved to be a personal triumph for the Palairet brothers, a match played for the benefit of Thomas Mycroft, a much esteemed member of the ground staff. Starting on June 3, with Somerset electing to bat, the innings opened with Lionel and Gerald Fowler; the pair put on 49 in half an hour before Fowler was bowled. The Palairet brothers then came together and soon showed complete mastery over the bowling. Lionel made many hits by clean driving along Marriage, family, work and Somerset 46