Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

33 End each possess a set of forwards that know how to shoot, but Raikes was up to all their dodges, and in the four matches, notwithstanding that the men in front of him were outmatched at nearly every point, he only allowed a dozen goals to be registered against him. In each match the scribblers did not fail to mention his superior skill between the uprights … He is indeed a “knock out” but in order to retain his form the Oxonian should play for Norfolk a little oftener. He would be certain to receive a warm welcome from Mr Wiltshire [the solicitor from Great Yarmouth who was Norfolk’s skipper].” As far as one can be sure, Raikes’ form on this tour cemented his place in the University team for ‘the duration’. The Norfolk scribe’s plea that he should continue to represent his county smacks of desperation – Raikes was far too good to lurk in the provinces when he had both the skill and the social standing to represent both the Corinthians and the Casuals as well as Oxford University and Magdalen College. Indeed, he had already made his debut for the Casuals (in a 3-2 win over Old St Mark’s in October 1892) before participating in its Christmas tour. His second Northern tour of the season proved to be as beneficial to his career as the first. The trip began on Boxing Day, and Raikes featured over the next three days, playing in sides that lost to Leicester Fosse 1-4, contested a 1-1 draw against Lincoln City and then were defeated by Crewe Alexandra, 1-3. The Norfolk press reported that “G.B.Raikes was throughout a prominent figure in the ranks of the Casuals” whilst the Athletic News stated: “Raikes…gave on Tuesday the most marvellous exhibition of goalkeeping ever seen in Lincoln, and if this is his usual form he will quickly take precedence of any custodian we have. Not only can he stop any sort of shots, high, low, fast, or slow, but he does not care how thickly they come together, and he gets the ball away well. With a goalkeeper of ordinary calibre on Tuesday the ‘Cits’ [Lincoln City] would have scored heavily, but with Raikes they only got one through, and the forwards had to go in a line to within two feet of the goal.” One expects the Eastern Daily Press to boost the local boy but when an impartial observer such as the Athletic News starts to use words such as ‘marvellous’ it is an indication that here was a star in the making. Another outing for the Casuals saw Raikes revisiting his old school, who were too good for their guests. Then he claimed the first of his first four soccer Blues, taking his place between the sticks for the Varsity Match on 18 February 1893. The match was played at the Queen’s Club, in front of a crowd of circa 3,500; the weather was dull and the turf no more than fair. Oxford were strong favourites but found themselves playing against a strong wind and struggled to get the ball out of their own half. The situation worsened when half-back C.B.Fry collided with his splendidly named team mate, Farquhar Buzzard, who was obliged to leave the field. Before long, Perkins put Cambridge ahead and then a hard shot from Cooper made it 2-0. The Dark Blue forwards were still struggling in front of goal but, once the second half started, they perked up and began to dominate. Even so, they left things late; there were only 20 minutes left when G.O.Smith halved the deficit and, when Walker equalised shortly afterwards, Oxford’s supporters cheered loudly. Cambridge pulled Raikes’ Meteoric Rise as a Top Quality Footballer