Lives in Cricket No 9 - JH King

contributed greatly to his county’s unexpectedly miserable record and the sharing of bottom place with Hampshire, so much had his colleagues come to rely on him. There were, nevertheless, a few bright spots. He increased his top score to 167 with a brilliant innings in four and a quarter hours against Derbyshire in which he gave only a single chance, in the deep upon reaching his century: and he twice cut Bestwick to the boundary the very next ball after being hit by him. An innings of 40 runs fewer and half an hour more against the ‘Lacemen’ at Trent Bridge was even more to be admired. With a score of 739 for seven, the home team acquired a first-innings lead of 508: Leicestershire followed on, but King, who very unusually had opened, and Knight then put on 241, a county record at the time for the second wicket. ‘Bowling changes, silly balls, good balls, tempting balls, were all unavailing, the two “K’s” treated them all with courtesy’; and Leicestershire in the end comfortably saved the game with eight wickets still to fall; it was perhaps after this stand that the screen-shifters presented him with a now lost commemorative miniature bat. In bowling he only once took five Championship wickets in an innings, five for 57, helped by his county’s first hat-trick in first-class cricket – H.T. Arnall-Thompson and A.D.Pougher had performed the feat prior to 1894 against Yorkshire and MCC respectively – when he took the last three Sussex wickets at Hove, Cox caught by the ‘’keeper running back’, Butt ‘smartly stumped’ and Bland caught at cover. But his outstanding performance was a ‘wonderful piece of bowling’ ( Wisden ), again against Sussex, for MCC 52 From Journeyman to Master Leicestershire’s scorebook, showing King’s hat-trick against Sussex at Hove in July 1903.