Lives in Cricket No 9 - JH King

catches held in the field (309). Even to-day, over eighty years later, he is second for 1,000- run seasons in all matches (after Berry), and third in Leicestershire matches only for matches played (after Astill and Berry) and runs scored (after Berry and Hallam), fourth for fifties (after Berry, Wood and Hallam), fifth for wickets taken (after Astill, Geary, Spencer and Walsh), 5-wicket innings and 10-wicket matches (both after Astill, Geary, Walsh and Haydon Smith), sixth equal for centuries (after Berry, Davison, Armstrong, Whitaker and Wood) and seventh for catches (after Hallam, Whitehead, Astill, Spencer, Geary and Steele). Of the players above him in one or more category Wood, Berry, Walsh, Davison, Whitaker and Steele were not Leicestershire-born. His pre-eminence as a left-hander is illustrated by the fact that he is still first in every category mentioned except for wickets taken, wherein the Australian Jack Walsh surpasses him by a mere 27 (but took fewer wickets in all first-class matches). John Steele held more catches, but while bowling left he batted right. Furthermore, given the drastic reduction in first-class matches, it is highly unlikely that in the future his position will drop in any of these categories apart possibly from centuries. Against individual counties he has scored the most runs for Leicestershire against Hampshire and Surrey and by a left-hander also against Derbyshire, Kent, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Sussex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire; the highest individual score against Hampshire and by a left-hander also against Derbyshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire. For most wickets he is usually behind the prolific Astill and Geary and sometimes Spencer, but as a left-hander, despite the large totals by Walsh, he has taken most of any bowler for Leicestershire against Derbyshire, Hampshire Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. His innings analyses against Derbyshire, Kent, Somerset and Yorkshire are still statistically the best by a left-hander. He was also the first Leicestershire player to play in a home Test (and the third over-all after Pougher and Knight); the first to perform the hat-trick in first-class cricket (Arnall-Thompson and Pougher had done so in second-class days), the first to perform this feat twice, the first to perform the season’s double (albeit with the help of some runs in non-County matches); the second (after Knight the previous year) to score a century in the Gentlemen v Players match and the only one ever to score two (in the same 124 His Place in Leicestershire’s Annals