Lives in Cricket No 7 - Richard Daft

operation of a scheme of points. In some years, there was no consensus as to which country was entitled to the crown. These days Wisden says ‘the title of champion county is unreliable before 1890.’ However, it then lists Notts as ‘the most generally selected’ champions in 1871, 1872, 1873 (shared with Gloucestershire), 1875, 1879 (shared with Lancashire) and 1880. This remarkable record demonstrates what a fine team the county had built up over 15 years or so. If we accept that Richard led Notts in six successful championship campaigns, then we can compare him to Lord Hawke, whose Yorkshire side won the competition eight times, and to John Shuter of Surrey and Brian Sellers of Yorkshire, both six. He stands ahead of Stuart Surridge who led Surrey to five championships and two more recent and formidable practitioners of the art, Brian Close and Mike Brearley, whose sides won it four times. Cricket has no doubt become more complicated since our subject’s time, but he still had to decide on strategy and tactics, motivate players, decide batting orders, change bowlers and set fields better than opposing captains. There can be little doubt that he did all those things well by the standards of his period. Richard was duly elected on to the committee and so was involved in one of the most unhappy situations which the county ever experienced, a situation to which he had unwittingly contributed. Reverting to amateur status, he played only twice for Notts in 1881. At the beginning of June, he journeyed to Old Trafford where the home side gave Notts a ten-wicket defeat. Richard made five and seven. It was eight weeks before he turned out again, this 102 Triumph and Tribulation Daft and five other professional Nottinghamshire captains are listed on this honours board at Trent Bridge.