The Minor Counties Championship 1905

146 DEVON 1905 Championship matches: Played 10, won 6, lost none, drawn 4 (won on first innings 2, lost on first innings 1, no decision on first innings 1) Position: Third out of nineteen Won: v Dorset at Poole, v Berkshire at Exeter, v Glamorgan at Cardiff, v Monmouthshire at Devonport, v Cornwall at Penzance, and v Glamorgan at Exeter Lost: None Drawn – won on first innings: v Cornwall at Exeter, and v Dorset at Exeter Drawn – lost on first innings: v Monmouthshire at Newport Drawn – no decision on first innings: v Berkshire at Reading. Captain: H F Brunskill (10 matches) Wicket-keepers: T Davies (10 matches) Debutants: 11 (R T Arundell, R J Bamberger, E A Fulcher, B L Gerrish, H F Grahame, Lt G C Harrison, Lt A G Hotham, H S Jackson, R T H Mackenzie, A S Matthews and W F Sturt) Final season: 9 (R T Arundell, Rev J H H Copleston, H A Francis, B L Gerrish, H F Grahame, Lt A G Hotham, H S Jackson, Lt O E Leggett and A S Matthews) Hon Secretary: Rev S W Featherstone Professionals: 3 (W H Aston, T Davies and W F Light) Home grounds 2: The County Ground, Prince of Wales Road, Pennsylvania, Exeter (4 matches); and The United Services Ground, Mount Wise, Devonport (1 match). Notes: Devon had their most successful season since entering the competition in 1901. Their previous best season had been 1902 when they occupied ninth place. They were the ‘surprise packet’ whose record of six wins far exceeded the expectations of most observers based on their previous form. Their batsmen scored four runs an innings more than their opponents. The debutant Gerald Harrison scored 482 runs at an average of 37.07, Robert Cruwys one run less at 30.06, Billy Light 338 at 26.00 and Hubert Brunskill, the captain, 326 at 23.28. The two leading bowlers were Billy Light with 66 wickets at 16.13 and Harry Aston with 58 at 19.10. Career milestones reached during the season were one thousand runs by Harry Aston, Hubert Brunskill, and Billy Light and fifty dismissals by Tom Davies. Bertie Gerrish, who was playing his only season for Devon, had played 3 matches for Wiltshire in 1897. DEVON MINOR COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH AVERAGES 1905 In the averages below, + after the name denotes the 11 players who made their Championship debut for Devon during the season. Names in bold denote that 1905 was the last or only season that these 9 players appeared for Devon in the Championship. Player M I NO HS Runs Ave 100 50 0 Ct St Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Ave BB-I 10M 5I R T Arundell + 9 14 0 71 212 15.14 - 1 2 3 - - - - - - - - - Aston, W H 10 14 3 42 130 11.81 - - 5 9 - 415.4 96 1108 58 19.10 7-98 1 3 R J Bamberger + 7 9 2 36* 69 9.85 - - 3 - - 60 10 154 7 22.00 2-11 - - D C Boles 4 5 0 67 176 35.20 - 1 1 3 - 61 8 221 12 18.41 4-41 - - H F Brunskill 10 15 1 86 326 23.28 - 3 1 4 - 7 0 20 1 20.00 1-9 - - Rev J H H Copleston 1 2 0 6 11 5.50 - - - - - - - - - - - - - R G Cruwys 10 16 0 122 481 30.06 2 1 1 8 - 8 3 10 3 3.33 3-10 - - Davies, T 10 15 6 67 229 25.44 - 2 3 18 3 9 1 25 1 25.00 1-25 - - H A Francis 2 2 0 124 139 69.50 1 - - - - 7 4 10 1 10.00 1-0 - - E A Fulcher + 5 8 0 34 150 18.75 - - 1 3 - - - - - - - - - B L Gerrish + 1 1 0 53 53 53.00 - 1 - 3 - 39 10 119 4 29.75 4-119 - - H F Grahame + 1 1 0 45 45 45.00 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lt G C Harrison + 10 15 2 117 482 37.07 1 2 1 4 - - - - - - - - - Lt A G Hotham + 1 2 1 6* 8 8.00 - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - H S Jackson + 2 3 0 4 5 1.66 - - 1 - - 13 1 65 3 21.66 2-26 - - Lt O E Leggett 5 8 0 36 107 13.37 - - - 4 - - - - - - - - - Light, W F 10 15 2 101 338 26.00 1 1 1 11 - 447.4 136 1065 66 16.13 7-29 4 8 R T H Mackenzie + 1 1 1 7* 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A S Matthews + 1 2 0 8 8 4.00 - - 1 - - 3 0 14 0 - - - - Hon D Scott 4 5 1 24 36 9.00 - - 1 2 - 56 8 241 7 34.42 2-71 - - W F Sturt + 4 6 0 51 125 20.83 - 1 1 4 - 44.1 13 97 6 16.16 3-33 - - H V I Watts 2 4 0 52 60 15.00 - 1 - 1 - - - - - - - - - Extras/Sub/RO - - - - 211 - - - - - - - - 143 4 - - - - Total 110 163 19 124 3408 23.66 5 14 23 78 3 1170.3 290 3292 173 19.02 7-29 5 11 (22 players) (6 ball overs) FINAL SEASON FOR COUNTY – CHAMPIONSHIP CAREER AVERAGES These 9 players made their last appearance for Devon in the Championship in 1905. Player Debut M I NO HS Runs Ave 100 50 0 Ct St Balls Runs Wkts Ave BB-I 10M 5I R T Arundell 1905 9 14 0 71 212 15.14 - 1 2 3 - - - - - - - - Rev J H H Copleston 1901 15 26 1 85 396 15.84 - 2 - 13 - 96 62 3 20.66 2-0 - - H A Francis 1901 15 24 3 124 597 28.42 2 2 5 3 - 389 208 6 34.66 2-3 - - B L Gerrish 1905 1 1 0 53 53 53.00 - 1 - 3 - 234 119 4 29.75 4-119 - - H F Grahame 1905 1 1 0 45 45 45.00 - - - - - - - - - - - - Lt A G Hotham 1905 1 2 1 6* 8 8.00 - - - 1 - - - - - - - - H S Jackson 1905 2 3 0 4 5 1.66 - - 1 - - 78 65 3 21.66 2-26 - - Lt O E Leggett 1904 8 14 0 57 271 19.35 - 1 - 4 - - - - - - - - A S Matthews 1905 1 2 0 8 8 4.00 - - 1 - - 18 14 0 - - - - (9 players)