Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

20 Raikes’ Progress: From ‘Iron Gloves’ to Allrounder As will be described in chapter five, Raikes did not do himself justice in his first year at Oxford, in 1893, and failed to gain his ‘Blue’. However, he had a splendid season for Norfolk with the bat and, for the first time, received some real rewards for his efforts with the ball. He was available for the final five of Norfolk’s seven matches and amassed 294 runs at the highly laudable average of 42.00 – more than twice as much as second-placed George Rye. He was particularly severe on the attacks of Cambridgeshire, who conceded 85 runs at Fenner’s, and of Hertfordshire, who travelled to Lakenham only to be taken for 59 and 34 not out. The knock of 85 was described as “absolutely without a chance” and followed his first opportunity to take the new ball for Norfolk, which was also praised “Shore [with six for 22] and Raikes [three for 17] bowled splendidly throughout.” Alas, Cambridgeshire walloped over 400 in their second innings and saved the day. The rest of the season saw Raikes practicing the art of stonewalling to good ends. First came the rematch with Cambridgeshire, and Ranjitsinhji, observing a dead, wet wicket, invited Norfolk to have first use of the facilities. Norfolk batted abysmally; apart from Tom Morley, who reached 15, only Raikes could make anything of the wicket. Going in at number ‘three’, he was stranded on 27 not out when last man Charlie Shore was dismissed for his usual ‘cipher’. His innings may have taken as long as two hours but was a match-winner for the wicket failed to improve and Norfolk won by a single run. In the match against Lincolnshire at Lakenham, Raikes responded to the teams being level after one innings each by going “in for purely defensive play” and was justified when his 32 steered Norfolk to a win by 19 runs. To complete his trio of blocks, he found himself joined at the wicket by Fairfax Davies when the Hertfordshire attack had reduced Norfolk to 26 for four and the pair employed contrasting methods “Raikes was by far the slower scorer and played very steadily … but Davies, after commencing rather timidly, hit out brilliantly, and actually occupied an hour less in making his 92 than the Oxonian did to get his 59.” There was no more blocking in the final match of the season, the return against Hertfordshire, but Raikes did manage to obtain his first five-wicket haul, returning figures of 18-4-39-5, albeit in a losing cause. The Norfolk County Annual unsurprisingly waxed lyrical over Raikes’ 1893 season, highlighting his ability to ‘go carefully’ “Without doubt the feature of the season was the consistent and at times brilliant batting of G.B.Raikes, who it is hoped will this year get his Blue [which he duly did]. His bowling, too, has on occasion been most favourable … [Raikes] showed marked improvement, and looks like developing into a first rate cricketer; but though he gets a large number of runs, his style is not as attractive as it might be. He watches the ball, however, to an extent that is quite unusual in so young a cricketer.” Whilst Raikes gained little but bouquets with his county form and brickbats for his games at Oxford, he courted controversy on the club cricket scene by turning out for Wymondham against Norwich Union in the semi-final of the Norfolk Junior Cup (note 6) . Whilst Wymondham was the nearest town to George Raikes’ places of birth and childhood its club was most definitely