Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

58 Playing Cricket At Oxford: A ‘Nearly’ Man with fellow opener ‘Plum’ Warner (who made 42) and 45 in 30 minutes with number three, Harry Foster. Not out overnight, he failed to add to his score and was fourth out with the score on 139. This was still not quite enough to ensure a ‘Blue’; the Eastern Daily Press reported that “Mr GB Raikes’ 58…will doubtless make his place in the Dark Blue team almost a certainty. It is stated, however, that he will only play in the event of the doctor ordering [allrounder] Bardswell to stand down” Bardswell, who had been awarded a ‘Blue’ the previous season, failed his ‘fitness test’ and Raikes duly made the final eleven. In the match itself he was badly served by his skipper, being under-bowled yet again. When Cambridge batted they accumulated 244 in 88 overs and, though Oxford’s opening pair bowled 33 overs without success, Raikes was only asked to send down six overs and took only one wicket. He then opened the batting, again alongside Warner – they added 34 before he was bowled by Horace Gray for ten. Despite fifties from Leveson-Gower and G.O.Smith, the centre-forward who had played alongside Raikes for the Corinthians and England, Oxford finished their first innings 42 runs behind and Cambridge began to accumulate a match-winning total. In an unhappy piece of captaincy, Mordaunt called on his ‘main’ bowlers (Arkwright, Cunliffe, Fry and Leveson-Gower) again and again, not turning to Raikes until Cambridge had reached 182 for five, already 224 to the good. Once again, Raikes dealt with the tail, taking three of the final five wickets to fall for just 48 runs, but it was too late and Oxford were set an unlikely 331 to win. They betrayed their status as favourites by collapsing for just 196; apart from Harry Foster who made his maiden first-class century (a brilliant knock of 121, made out of 159), only Raikes, who supported Foster with an unbeaten 23 at number eight, can have regarded his innings with any pride. The Daily Telegraph , observing the season at a whole, remarked of the bowling averages “the first place was filled by Raikes who was scarcely utilised enough”. The Eastern Daily Press agreed, making it two years in a row that critics had judged his captain at fault in neglecting to call on his services more often. 1896: Stood Down by ‘Shrimp’ on the Morning of the Match Starting his final year at Oxford, Raikes was at last part of the ‘in crowd’, featuring in two matches for the first XII against the XVIII Freshmen and for the first XI against the Next XVI. Although he was far from outstanding, he retained his place for the opening first-class match against A.J. Webbe’s XI and rewarded his skipper, H.D.G.Leveson-Gower (sometimes inaccurately referred to as ‘Shrimp’ in the press), with a fine spell of bowling when Oxford declared, leaving an ungenerous target of 380. For once Raikes was given a lengthy turn with the ball and he responded by returning excellent figures of 25-10-62-6; these remained his best figures in first-class cricket. The Eastern Daily Press reported that he ‘bowled finely’; among his victims were Sammy Woods (again), fellow Norfolcian Lawrence Bathurst and big- hitting Alberto Trott. His bowling was largely responsible for a victory by