Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

60 Playing Cricket At Oxford: A ‘Nearly’ Man still to be as a change bowler. To reinforce that thought, Raikes was rested for the return match against Surrey when Cunliffe, Hartley and Waddy sent down as many as 155.1 overs between them. Raikes returned to the side to play against Sussex but his bowling continued to be innocuous and ignored and it was as a batsman that he caught the eye. Following a stubborn 24 not out batting at number nine in Oxford’s first innings, he was appointed night watchman and batted at six in their second knock. Partnering Charles Pilkington, he helped add 74 for the fifth wicket and made 41 before falling lbw to medium pacer Fred Tate. Every run proved to be vital as Ranjitsinhji made a magnificent, unbeaten 171 and Sussex finished just ten runs short of victory with four wickets in hand. The Eastern Daily Press was clear that Raikes was still far from certain of his ‘Blue’ and the Daily Telegraph of 30 June reported that skipper Leveson- Gower had decided to rest many of the more certain ‘Blues’ for Oxford’s return game against the MCC, their last before the Varsity match, and that the final place to be filled for the match against Cambridge would go to one of Frederick Clayton, Raikes and G.O.Smith. The Sportsman stated that the final choice would probably be made after a pitch inspection on the morning of the match, it being implicit that good performances against the MCC would do the chances of any of the candidates a power of good. In truth, none of the three had an outstanding claim on the eleventh place: Raikes’ two five-wicket hauls were a distant memory whilst neither Clayton nor Smith had been able to force their way into the side very often (Clayton had appeared twice and Smith thrice) and neither had achieved much when they were selected. The match itself was a disaster for Oxford, who were unable to hold out for the two days allocated and lost by an innings. The MCC batsmen took advantage of the absence of the university’s bowling attack and racked up 583 for seven before declaring overnight and dismissing Oxford for 251 and 223. Neither Clayton (note 7) nor Raikes scored significantly nor did either bowl effectively (Clayton did take three wickets but they cost him 144 runs whilst Raikes conceded 78 runs without taking any wickets) but Smith batted effectively, making 41 and 85. The Daily Telegraph reported that, after the match, Clayton was stood down and that it was now a choice between Raikes and Smith – between a bits-and-pieces player and an out- and-out batsman. Writing in 1937, Leveson-Gower admitted that he had almost made up his mind to select Raikes, before making his inspection but changed his mind on doing so, stating that: “Experience has taught me that you can never have too much batting in a Varsity match. I took the risk of going into the field against a powerful Cambridge batting side with only four bowlers. It meant that I should have to work these extremely hard. Foster Cunliffe and John Hartley, my two chief bowlers, sent down no fewer than 88 and 92 overs in the match respectively. The last choice [Smith] won the match by a superb 132, when we were set 330 runs to win.” (note 8)