Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

81 Raikes’ Metamorphosis As A Bowler of the top-spinner. Writing for the Badminton Library as early as 1888, Allan Steel referred to ‘downward vertical spin’ which causes the ball to “make haste from the pitch” and stated that many bowlers could impart such spin (the term ‘top-spin’ was not used), but without being aware of it. Ten years on, Ranjitsinhji wrote of ‘trap’ and ‘hang’ but did not apply his thoughts to bowlers of the leg-break and it seems that the development of the wrist spinner’s top-spinner as a weapon in its own right may remain obscure. The Australian Test bowler, ‘Ranji’ Hordern, who first used the googly in 1905-06 claimed to have developed the top-spinner a couple of years later than that – which would make him roughly contemporary with Raikes. Bosanquet himself does not mention the ‘toppie’ although his control of the ball was so chaotic that he probably bowled a few by accident (note 5) and the references in the Dictionary of Cricket all post-date George Raikes by a few years: for instance the Daily Mail refers to ‘top-spin’ in 1913, while ‘Plum’ Warner refers to the ability of Arthur Litteljohn to bowl “an occasional top- spinner which came very quickly off the ground.” This fairly obscure bowler did not make his first-class debut until 1905 and it seems in all likelihood that, in his ability to bowl the leg-break, the ‘googly’, the ‘top-spinner’ and a quicker ball with an acceptable level of control and disguise, Raikes was something of a trail-blazer. The Eastern Daily Press of 19 July 1910, agreed with the Old County Player that Raikes had the ability to vary his length as well as his break and that this weapon alone could end up “completely nonplussing the batsmen.” Although there was some early doubt as to exactly how to bowl a top spinner – ‘Father’ Marriott being more than a little obscurantist in writing that he bowled it by thinking ‘top-spinner’ during his run up and “ overdoing the leg break” – my fellow historian of Norfolk and long-time tweaker, John Chilvers, tells me that the actions required to bowl a ‘pure’ leg-spinner, a ‘pure’ top-spinner and a ‘pure’ googly are part of a continuum and, by mixing elements of the three actions in differing amounts, a skilful bowler such as Raikes could generate a variety of deliveries with little detectable alteration in action. Peter Jordan, another Norfolcian who purveys mainly top-spinners and googlies, confirms this view and stresses that the effect of top-spin to “make the ball dip in the air” (surely what the Old County Player refers to as “the deceptive hog-backed dropping flight”) can play a major role in causing uncertainty in batsmen, especially those with slow feet. Whatever the theories behind Raikes’ new style of bowling, its effectiveness is evidenced in his bowling averages for Norfolk: as a trundler his wickets cost 18.52 runs each, whilst as a leg-spinner his victims came at 15.45 – over three runs apiece cheaper. Raikes’ Weaknesses Like most spinners who make use of the wrist, Raikes had days when his ‘radar’ was a little adrift and even lesser batsmen could ‘tuck in’. For instance, in 1905 he turned out for the Norfolk Club & Ground against Garboldisham Manor and, having tucked in himself to make 115 out of