Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

112 greater than the difference between the two clubs; Shotesham could only manage 48 and went down by 15 runs. Shortly afterwards, Raikes was available for a two innings match against the Norwich Comrades and again dominated; he scored more than half of the runs scored by Bergh Apton with innings of 33 (out of 75) and 24 not out (out of 37) and took eight wickets in the match as the Comrades subsided with scores of 17 and 58. As May passed into June, there took place the most ridiculous match in Raikes’ career. Encouraged by the chance to bat first on a decent wicket (at the Newmarket Road Ground in Norwich), he slaughtered the bowling of the Norwich Union Fire Office (NUFO) second XI), not being dismissed until he had run up a personal score of 152. This permitted a declaration at 235 for three. The by now thoroughly demoralised Union men collapsed for just 18, a minority of 217 runs. It would have been a Christian kindness if Raikes had grazed in the outfield, leaving the bowling to lesser mortals, but that was not his way and he returned figures of five for seven, including a hat-trick! John Chilvers informs me that showing no mercy was standard cricketing practice at least as late as the 1950s. Raikes then played crucial roles in two victories over Rockland St Mary; he was particularly dominant in the second when he scored more runs on his own (remaining unbeaten with 65 out of a total of 106) than all eleven opponents combined (they subsided for 63). No bowling figures were available. For reasons unknown, Raikes was unable to play after 13 June but the Club had gained momentum and continued to play successfully without him, finishing with 11 wins in 16 games. There only real failure was their inability to complete the double over NUFO seconds, who hung on grimly for a draw which would doubtless have given the Union much pleasure. Press coverage of the 1922 season was interrupted by six weeks of industrial (in)action in July and August and scores of only ten matches survive, eight being won and two lost. Raikes appeared only four times but recorded significant bowling figures in each of those matches. In his debut for the season he was particularly deadly, returning figures of nine for 19 (including another hat-trick) against Woodton; he then took five for 18 against his ‘whipping boys’ of NUFO second XI. At least the Union managed to dismiss Raikes for a score of 147 fewer than in their previous meeting. Six for ten against the Young Men’s Christian Association second XI was followed by a season’s swansong of seven for 17 against Shotesham. He does not appear to have had much success with the bat in 1922. In the following season it was decided that Bergh Apton should play competitive cricket and they entered the Falcon Cup, which was actually a league competition. This lead to an increase in the standard of their opponents and, consequently, a falling off in their results – of 12 results surviving, only two brought wins and seven saw defeats. Raikes found himself cut down to size somewhat, his only performances of note being an innings of 50 in a drawn game against Surlingham and an all-round performance against Haddiscoe in the Falcon Cup; he contributed 29 to Bergh Apton’s unpromising total of 56 and then had an analysis of eight The Rector of Bergh Apton - The End of a Muscular Christian