Minor Counties Championship 1908

13 100 matches (6) 109 Coleman, W E Hertfordshire 109 Creber, H Glamorgan 108 A Butcher Hertfordshire 107 Smith, W R R Wiltshire 107 Wright, M W Buckinghamshire 103 Golding, A J Hertfordshire Final Season A number of players making their final appearance for their county in 1908 deserve special mention A Baker - Surrey 2nd XI 1899 to 1908 (born 28 November 1872; died 17 April 1945) Played 60 matches for Surrey 2nd XI scoring 3086 runs at 35.47 with 4 centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 155 against Wiltshire at Swindon in 1900. He also took 28 catches. Albert Baker was born at Hale near Farnham. He was a successful opening batsman for the Farnham club and was a star player as, when he was playing, the prospect of winning was good. Scoring a century against the Surrey Club and Ground no doubt helped him on his way to becoming a professional cricketer. He first played for Surrey in 1900 but with opening batsmen such as Bobby Abel and Tom Hayward, soon to be joined by Jack Hobbs, it was difficult for a newcomer to establish himself. lndeed he only played in more than 20 matches in a season once. His connection with the county ended in 1908 and he returned to club cricket and was made captain of the Farnham Wednesday side. He did, however, play as a professional in Ireland and in particular in three first-class matches. One was against the Australians in 1909 and two against the South Africans in 1912. In all he played in 108 first-class matches scoring 3,863 runs at an average of 27.75 with 5 centuries, the highest being 155* for Surrey against Warwickshire at Edgbaston and once scoring 1,000 runs in a season. Had he played for a county with fewer Test Match batsmen he would probably have had a longer career at top level. He died at Hale Common. W Barker - Berkshire 1896 to 1908 (born 10 March 1869; date of death unknown) Played 95 matches for Berkshire scoring 1214 runs at 12.26 with a highest score of 69 not out against Dorset at Reading in 1906, holding 44 catches, and taking 418 wickets at 19.64. A left arm fast bowler, his best season was in 1906 when he took 49 wickets. His best bowling performance was 7-35 against Wiltshire at Trowbridge. William Barker was a professional with Reading Cricket Club and would later umpire 11 MCCA matches in the period 1922 - 1926 and also one Minor Counties North v Minor Counties South match in 1924 at Jesmond. He was born in Swallowfield, Berkshire but his date and place of death is unknown. L Barratt – Norfolk 1895 to 1908 (born 10 December 1870; died 14 December 1950) Played 58 matches for Norfolk scoring 1920 runs at 23.41, holding 29 catches and taking 31 wickets at 22.41. He scored two centuries, with 166 against Bedfordshire at Bedford School in 1908 being his top score. His most notable feat with the ball was to capture four wickets without conceding a run against Northumberland at Jesmond in 1899. He captained Norfolk in 1904, 1907 and 1908. Though he played no first-class cricket in England, he went on two tours to the West Indies (with R S Lucas's side in 1894/95 and with A Priestley's team in 1896/97) during which he played in fifteen matches given first-class status; however he did little of note in these games. His given name was “Legh Barratt” but contemporary sources frequently mis-spell it, adding an “i” to “Legh” or even hyphenating his two names and inventing a new initial “R”. He was a founder-member