The Minor Counties Championship 1903

11 Staffordshire Sentinel, he was lined up to qualify for Lancashire, acquiring a job with a leading firm of accountants in that county, but fell ill early in 1903 and he died of cancer shortly after the end of the 1903 season at the age of 22. Three of his brothers – E H (Teddy), H E (Herbert) and W E (Walter) also played for Staffordshire. T Grimshaw – Staffordshire (b 18 November 1873; d 6 May 1948) Played 33 matches for Staffordshire as a professional between 1897 and 1903, scoring 576 runs at 14.76 and taking 125 wickets at 17.69. Tom Grimshaw was a right-handed all-rounder who bowled fast-medium. He flattered to deceive as a batsman scoring 163 not out, the highest Championship score of the season, against Hertfordshire at Watford in the opening match of his second season, but he never got close again to an innings of fifty runs let alone a century. However, he was worth his place as a bowler. He did not play a first-class match. T Kersley – Surrey 2 nd XI (b 9 February 1879; d 4 December 1927) Played 33 matches as a professional between 1899 and 1903. He played as an opening bowler and lower-order batsman. He took 70 wickets at 17.94 and scored 571 runs at 14.64. Tom Kersley’s best bowling performance was to take 8 wickets for 38 runs against Devon at The Oval in 1901. He played 3 first-class matches for Surrey in 1899. W S Lees – Surrey 2 nd XI (b 25 December 1875; d 10 September 1924) Played 9 matches as a professional between 1901 and 1903 scoring 256 runs at 19.69 and taking 44 wickets at 11.29. His best bowling was 6 for 32 against Wiltshire at The Oval in 1902. He was an aggressive right-hand batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler. Walter Lees played 343 first-class matches for Surrey between 1896 and 1911. He was selected for the MCC tour of South Africa in 1905-06, playing in all 5 Test Matches for England, taking 26 wickets at 17.96. In all, he played in 364 first-class matches. He died of double pneumonia at the age of 48. E Wiltshire – Surrey 2 nd XI (b 25 September 1877; d 25 August 1912) Played 12 matches as an amateur in 1902 and 1903. He was a left-handed batsman, scoring 564 runs at 31.33. His highest score was 127 not out against Wiltshire – the county of his name – at The Oval in 1902. He was educated at Dulwich College and played in the XI in 1894 and 1895, being captain in the latter year. Edgar Wiltshire played thirteen first class-matches for Surrey in 1902 and 1903. His club cricket was with Addiscombe. He suffered a head injury which prevented him taking up a career in medicine. He died in 1912 at the young age of 34. H Myers – Yorkshire 2 nd XI (b 2 January 1875, d 12 June 1944) Played 14 matches as a professional between 1901 and 1903 as a right-hand bat and right-arm medium-fast bowler, scoring 475 runs at 21.59 and taking 14 wickets at 26.35. Hubert Myers became a regular in the Yorkshire first eleven team in 1904 and in all played 201 matches for Yorkshire between 1901 and 1910. He then emigrated to Tasmania, became their coach and played 4 first-class matches for their team between 1913-14 and 1924-25. THE BOOK The Match Scores The scores are presented in the same format as in previous seasons. For the 1903 season scorebooks exist for four counties – Devon, Durham, Staffordshire and Yorkshire 2 nd XI – the same counties as in 1902.