Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

played faultlessly and hitting ten fours, many superb drives. Somerset lost at the start of the final hour. Somerset then completed the double over Surrey by seven wickets at Taunton. Lionel made a useful 49 in the second innings. He added 59 in the innings defeat to Yorkshire. The final match of the season against Hampshire was a tame draw, with Lionel finishing the season making only nine. Lionel though had had a good season, scoring 1,277 runs at 37.55, the seventh and last time he would score a thousand runs in a season. He achieved this feat six times for Somerset. From a team perspective it had been a fairly poor season; although five matches were won, eleven were lost. Part of the reason was the falling off of Braund and Cranfield as bowlers; the batting was inconsistent and regularly collapsed; and poor team displays were becoming common. The county eventually finished twelfth, a drop of two places on 1903. As the season finished Lionel played a croquet doubles tournament in Bath, eventually losing in the third round. In November Somerset held its AGM. With Lionel sitting in the chair the club announced a loss again. Later in the month was possibly the first sign of him wanting to move as he travelled to Devon to attend a county ball. 1902 and one more good season 93