Lives in Cricket No 5 - Rockley Wilson

the glorious strokeplay of one of the finest batsmen of cricket’s Golden Age. Rockley had a more satisfying match against London County at Crystal Palace. Not only did Cambridge win by five wickets with Rockley taking four for 15 off nine overs and four for 19 off 15 overs, he captured W.G.Grace’s wicket in both innings. Rockley Wilson had now taken Grace’s wicket five times in first-class matches, an achievement of which he was extremely proud. In later years, the feat was marked by the initials W.G. on the door of the toilet at his Winchester residence. Rockley Wilson’s captaincy led to controversy in the match against MCC at Lord’s that immediately preceded the University match. MCC scored 607 in their first innings, the first three batsmen, P.F.Warner, C.J.Burnup and J.R.Mason, all getting centuries, but this was in large part because Wilson chose to experiment with his bowlers in an effort to find some effective alternatives to himself and E.M.Dowson. The University were then dismissed for 190, with Wilson failing to score, and in their second innings for 271, leaving After Graduation 37 Between a rock and a hard place. Rockley wedged between Billy Murdoch and W.G.Grace for the match between London County and Cambridge University at Crystal Palace in June, 1902. Back row (l to r): E.F.Penn, J.Gilman, C.H.M.Ebden, C.E.Winter, P.R.May, J.H.Board, H.V.Hesketh-Prichard, L.Walker, W.Smith, A.E.Lawton, W.A.J.West (umpire). Middle row: R.N.R.Blaker, W.L.Murdoch, E.R.Wilson, W.G.Grace, E.M.Dowson, L.O.S.Poidevin, L.V.Harper, T.Mycroft (umpire). Front row: S.H.Day, F.B.Wilson, C.B.Llewellyn, G.Howard-Smith, R.M.Bell.