Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

the plans of the selectors. With a strong batting line up he was batting with CB Fry, Ranjitsinjhi, Len Braund, Plum Warner and the evergreen captain WG Grace. In good weather Grace won the toss and elected to bat. Fry and Lionel opened for the MCC. Since it had rained the day before, both openers decided to force the pace from the off (the players were unsure whether the pitch would deteriorate in the sun). Hitting well the fifty was posted in less than half an hour. Luck was on the openers’ side as Fry was badly missed on eight and Lionel was regularly beaten. The pair added 79 in 53 minutes before Fry fell lbw to Howell having made 36. Lionel was bowled at the same score by one of Trumper’s medium pacers for 39. The innings closed for 240 which was headed by the visitors who made 271, thanks largely to a brilliant 105 from Trumper in only two hours. Going in a second time, Fry and Lionel opened with a stand of 43; wickets fell regularly and Lionel watching from the other end played a cautious innings. At 105, having made 44, he was bowled by a shooter from Ernest Jones the Australian fast bowler. Afterwards with some steady batting the MCC declared on 280 for eight. Trumper made 86 in the second innings as the Australians fell 33 short of their target when time ran out. Lionel, though still without a major innings, had at least acquitted himself well. In Somerset’s next game the weather ruined a possible victory as with six wickets left Somerset required another 78 runs to win. Lionel with 19 and 31 was still looking for a major score. Thanks largely to the bowling of Cranfield, Braund and Gill, Somerset registered their second win of the season at Bath, with a ten wicket victory over Hampshire, Lionel making a good 36 but falling again when set. He again failed in defeats to Gloucestershire and Yorkshire. The return match with Yorkshire at Sheffield provided another surprising win. On a difficult wicket Somerset won by 34 runs, thanks largely to Braund who had match figures of 15 for 71. Lionel made 25 and 24, vital contributions in a low scoring game. For the second successive year this was Yorkshire’s only defeat in the Championship. By the time he travelled to Worcester, he had played 14 innings 1902 and one more good season 80