Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

morning for 72, made out of 99. Ernest Robson stole the show with a brilliant unbeaten 163, with five sixes out of the ground and 19 fours. Despite a brilliant hundred from EW Dillon, Somerset won by the end of the second day by 233 runs, a much needed win. The next game was at Taunton against the visiting South Africans, who although were not quite ready for Test matches were granted a first-class tour after a 1894 tour not first class. Somerset were reported in the press as having a ‘weak team’. Again after winning the toss, Lionel opened with another new promising undergraduate player Peter Johnson, who was qualifying for the county. Johnson was studying at Cambridge and would gain his blue that year. He was a tall stylish batsman who would play when he could for Somerset until 1927, scoring over 10,000 runs and hitting 17 centuries for the club. It appeared that Somerset were finding new younger players who would serve them well over the coming years. Winning the toss Lionel opened with Johnson, and the pair added 50 before Johnson fell to JJ Kotze for 11. Lionel was second to go at 114, having made 72. In three hours and forty minutes, Somerset ran up 313. Somerset bowled the visitors by 124 at the close of play, George Gill, bowling fast, bowled all five of his victims for 24. Against tradition Somerset did not enforce the follow-on. Lionel with Johnson this time added 83 in 45 minutes before Lionel was caught for 52. The onslaught continued and Somerset declared on 440 for nine, made in just four hours and 15 minutes. Lewis made his first hundred for the county, but it was Gill’s 85 that caused the most excitement. After reaching 50, he then hit EA Halliwell onto the shilling stand and then into the pavilion. GA Rowe then was brought on at the pavilion end; in one over Gill hit him on to the top of the pavilion, then into the shilling stand and twice onto the pavilion rails; the crowd, though not large, greeted these hits with great enthusiasm. Set an impossible task of 630 the South Africans went on to lose by 341 runs. At least these last two games meant many of the players were now in form. At the end of the tour the South African captain Murray Bisset was asked who was the best batsman they played against, and he stated without doubt Lionel A new century and 1901 70