Minor Counties Championship 1909

16 over 2,000 runs, including twelve centuries. In 1904 he refused a tempting offer to coach at Eton College preferring to remain where he was. As a bowler, he mixed them up, usually fast medium, and he could move the ball both ways off the wicket. He was also a complete batsman with a particularly powerful square cut and a safe slip fielder. His final season for Hertfordshire was possibly his finest – taking more wickets than anyone had before and heading the batting averages for good measure. One startling performance succeeded another: 103 not out v Bedfordshire at Elstow School, 8 for 40 and 6 for 41 v Suffolk at Watford, 57 not out 7 for 14 and 4 for 30 v Cambridgeshire at Bishop’s Stortford, 8 for 35 and 9 for 38 v Bedfordshire at St Albans (the only Hertfordshire player to have taken 17 wickets in a match), 51 not out v Suffolk at Felixstowe, 4 for 46 and 6 for 39 v Lincolnshire at Grimsby. No other Hertfordshire player has ever had a season to match it and Harry was 40 years old at the time. The failure of West Herts to re-engage him for 1910 must rank as one of the most stupendous blunders ever committed by a cricket club. From the opening of the ground in 1890, he had produced superb wickets and completely dominated the club batting and bowling. Anxious to retain his services for the County, H.M Harford, the captain, was prepared to pay his wages from his own pocket but MCC had heard of his ability and appointed him Head Groundsman at Lord’s where he remained for 26 years coping equally well with the plague of leather-jackets and the constant stream of instructions from the MCC committee. THE BOOK The Match Scores The scores are presented in the same format as in previous books. Scorebooks exist for Durham, Glamorgan, Staffordshire and Yorkshire 2nd XI. Yearbooks for Surrey (1909) and Yorkshire (1910) were also referenced. As in previous years, newspapers remain the main source of information, with over sixty being consulted in researching the scores. Missing Details For Match 73 (Suffolk v Hertfordshire at Felixstowe) it has proven impossible to obtain a batting card for Hertfordshire’s first innings that adds to 133; the ‘best possible’ version adds to 132. There are also two instances where bowling analyses did not add correctly. The matches concerned were:- Match 49 – Carmarthenshire v Devon v at Llandovery: Devon innings – no bowling analysis available for opening bowler, E Gee. Match 82 – Carmarthenshire v Cornwall at Llanelly: Cornwall first innings – Carmarthenshire runs conceded 16 runs over. The Averages As in previous years the averages are provided in two forms – by county and by player. In both cases they are listed in alphabetical order. 555 players took part in the season, a new record, compared with 515 in 1908 and 497 in 1907.