Minor Counties Championship 1908

14 of the Norwich stockbroking firm, Barratt & Cooke and enjoyed landscape painting. Born at Altrincham, Cheshire, and educated at Rossall School, he died at Sheringham, Norfolk. J H Brain - Glamorgan 1897 to 1908 (born 11 September 1863; 26 June 1914) Played 94 matches for Glamorgan scoring 3291 runs at 25.12 in the Minor Counties Championship. He scored 3 centuries and 15 fifties and took 82 catches and 40 stumpings. Jack Brain was the man responsible for Glamorgan becoming a fully-fledged Minor County in 1897. Through his sterling efforts on and off the field, he helped to mould a more successful side, who shared the Minor County title in 1900, and on three later occasions reached the knock-out final of the Minor County competition. Brain had attended Clifton College, and soon displayed immense promise as a gifted right-handed batsman. In 1883 the youngster made his county debut for Gloucestershire, before going up to Oxford, where he won four Blues. Brain was also in the varsity eleven which defeated the 1884 Australians, and later that summer, he hit 108 for Gloucestershire against the tourists, to confirm his standing as one of the finest young batsmen in the West Country. After coming down from Oxford, Brain joined his family’s brewing business in Cardiff, and in 1890 he was promoted to oversee their successful operations at The Old Brewery. The following season, he duly made his Glamorgan debut, and took over the captaincy of the county club. Over the next two decades, he became their leading batsman, scoring over 5,000 runs, which included a career best 144 against the M.C.C. at Lord’s in 1896. He also kept wicket when other wicket-keepers, including his brother Sam, were unavailable. However, Brain’s efforts were not restricted to on the field, and as the club’s Secretary, he was the most influential figure as his adopted side sought first-class status and attempted to secure a Test match with Australia at Cardiff in 1905. The latter bid failed by one vote, but Jack was instrumental in elevating Glamorgan into the Minor County Championship in 1897 besides using his business contacts to secure money for the Club as well as securing decent job opportunities for some of the professionals. His business and social contacts also allowed Glamorgan to select some of the most talented amateurs from both sides of the Severn Estuary. Sadly, Brain died after a short illness in June 1914 before the fruits of his labours saw Glamorgan’s elevation to the first-class ranks in 1921. H F Fox – Oxfordshire 1902 and Suffolk 1904 to 1908 (born 1 August 1858; died 20 January 1926) Played 3 Minor County Championship matches for Oxfordshire and 14 for Suffolk. For Oxfordshire he made an unbeaten 115 in the second innings of his debut against Berkshire at Reading in 1902. Rain intervened in what might have also proved to be a match winning innings. He only made 2 further appearances for Oxfordshire that season but finished top of the batting averages with 253 runs at an average of 84.33. Although he appeared in a club and ground match for the county in 1903, he then transferred his allegiance to Suffolk. For Suffolk he played 14 matches scoring 429 runs at 20.42. He captained Suffolk in 1904 and 1905 but was not a well man. In both seasons he missed the final three matches having “gone to Bavaria to drink the waters”. In 1906 he was not well enough to play any cricket. Herbert Francis Fox was a classical scholar educated at Clifton and Oxford and he became a Fellow and Tutor of Brasenose College Oxford. He appeared in the Freshmen’s match of 1878. He first played for Somerset in pre first-class days in 1878 and played 10 first-class matches 1882-91 scoring 133 runs at 7.82. Writing in the Suffolk Cricket Annual of 1905 Fox states “I gave a good deal of offence to the Somerset authorities of those days by preferring club to county cricket ... It was, I think, in the year 1885 that I discovered Seaton, where many of my happiest cricket seasons were passed ... I enjoyed my cricket at Seaton a good deal more than I enjoyed the later years of my cricket for Somerset and I not seldom threw over a county match for a Seaton match, which not unnaturally led the county to drop me”. He served on the general committee and as a selector of the Suffolk County Cricket Association. Born at Brislington in Somerset, he died at Denmark Hill in London.