Lives in Cricket No 51 - Rev ES Carter

to bat at number eleven and did not bowl. This was also to be Iddison’s last first-class game. The Prince’s Club had their own considerable fixture list, and their ground was also used by the Household Brigade team. The playing area may well have been the most valuable cricketing estate in London and long before the end of the century had been built over by the Cadogan Estate. Nevertheless Middlesex played 37 first-class games there from 1872 to 1876. Yorkshire were captained by Ephraim Lockwood, these being in the days when it was not considered essential for an amateur to captain the county side. In conditions which the Wisden writer described as ‘showery, dismal, anti-cricketing weather and queer playing wickets’ Middlesex were bowled out for 82, Allen Hill taking six for 25. At the end of the first day Yorkshire were 110 for eight, with Carter batting at number four bowled out for 18. Hill hit out boldly the next day to reach 42 not out and his team made 167. When Middlesex in their second innings were all out for 118, Yorkshire only needed 34 to win. Perhaps they were over-confident, not least when Carter was chosen to open the batting – it perhaps being known that he would not be playing in Yorkshire’s next match, but Carter was out for nought, and five wickets were down for 15 runs before Lockwood rallied the side and Yorkshire won by three wickets. The next match was at Lord’s against MCC and Ground, and Carter was not to be playing. This was a match listed for three days but the teams and MCC agreed to terminate play as a draw at the end of the second day so they could watch The Derby on Epsom Downs! In June 1876 Carter was back in Yorkshire playing for Yorkshire Gentlemen, but in July he was playing again in Ealing, and he then, in August, played twice at Bolton’s Bench, Lyndhurst, Hampshire for Yorkshire United against New Forest Rangers. Bolton’s Bench was one of the estates of Lord Londesborough, and it may well have been through these matches that Carter and his Lordship became better acquainted and a friendship begun. 2: versus MCC at Scarborough, September 1876 The Scarborough Club had first hosted a Yorkshire versus MCC First-class matches 71