Lives in Cricket No 51 - Rev ES Carter

match in September 1875. Thus had begun that long run of games between the two sides that lasted well into the second part of the 20th century. The instigators of that first and subsequent matches were Sir Charles Legard Bt., M.P., who in 1875 was President of MCC; and Lord Londesborough, the 1876 President of MCC and the greatest of the Victorian patrons of Yorkshire cricket. When Charles Legard nominated Lord Londesborough for the Presidency of MCC for 1876 he said that ‘no one possessed more love for the noble game, and no one supported it with more generosity’. It was against that background that Edmund Carter was to give his support to Yorkshire teams at the Festival in the years to come. As mentioned earlier, some distinction has to be drawn between these Scarborough matches, which though first- class had Yorkshire teams as the home side, though not always or fully selected by the Yorkshire County Committee. The matches were still recorded in county records, and inWisden, as Yorkshire games. Yorkshire CCC career averages today and for all past generations include the Scarborough first-class games. By September Carter was in Yorkshire again, and preparing to become curate at St Martin-cum-Gregory church in York. The Yorkshire Committee of ‘Eleven Gentlemen of the County’ ( Wisden 1877) and, possibly at Lord Londesborough’s own urging, picked him for the eleven to play MCC at Scarborough. Wisden tells us that Lord Londesborough was present: ‘Lord and Lady Londesborough, Sir Charles Legard and a little host of top- class society, then enjoying the season at ‘The Northern Queen of Watering Places’ visited the ground ...’. From 1877 Carter certainly became responsible for selection of players in some future Yorkshire elevens for Scarborough, but it may be doubtful if that was as early as 1876. Also chosen was the Reverend Herbert Sims, the then curate of Marton-in-Cleveland, considered to be an attacking batsman but whose contribution to this game was nought and two. He too was aYorkshire Gentleman and some years younger than Carter, and these two reverend gentlemen were the only amateurs in the Yorkshire side. In this match MCC scored 150, and then Yorkshire capitulated to 46 all out, Carter making four. Following on Yorkshire reached 134 of First-class matches 72