MInor Counties Championship 1912

Doxford, Alnwick, and South Northumberland until in 1905 the county club employed him as a professional and groundsman, a position he held until 1912. In his career as a groundsman he was responsible for laying out the new Morpeth ground in 1903, the new Blaydon ground in 1913, and the new Elswick Works ground in 1920. During World War I he looked after the Jesmond ground with Meshach Chambers. Elsey ran a Sports Outfitters shop in Newcastle from 1911 until the mid 1920s (with Meshach Chambers until his death). He then went to Tottenham in London to run a similar shop there with his son. He died in Palmers Green, London on 14 January 1941 aged 73. A Hollowood – Cheshire 1895, Staffordshire 1896-1912 (born Q1.1870; died 22 February 1949) Albert Hollowood, a right hand top order bat and off-break bowler was born in Nantwich, Cheshire in 1870 and played 3 matches for his native county in the inaugural championship in 1895. He then moved to the pottery town of Burslem where he worked as the County Clerk. He played for the town's club for many years and also switched counties from Cheshire to Staffordshire in 1896. In 115 Championship matches and 167 innings he scored 3756 runs at an average of 24.54 with 4 centuries and 10 fifties. His highest score was 132 against Northumberland in Newcastle in his first season for Staffordshire; his other centuries were against Yorkshire II and Northumberland again in 1900, and one against Cambridgeshire in Staffordshire's championship winning season of 1906. Albert also scored a century against the touring West Indian team at Stoke in 1900. With his occasional bowling, he also took 13 championship wickets, with a career best of 4 for 23 against Cambridgeshire in 1903. Albert had three sons whom all played for Burslem cricket club and Staffordshire, Roy, Albert Bernard and Thomas. His second son, Albert 'Hod' Bernard kept the Hollowood dynasty going at Burslem by captaining the side and playing for the county. He succeeded Malcolm Muggeridge as editor of the 'Punch' magazine as well as supplying several cartoons for national newspapers like the Times and Telegraph. Albert died on the 22nd February 1949 in Stoke-on-Trent. T Smart – Wiltshire 1895-1912 (born Q3.1866; died unknown) Thomas (Tom) Smart was a professional cricketer who played 132 matches for Wiltshire in the Minor Counties Championship over a period of 18 seasons. He scored 2033 runs at an average of 14.52 with one hundred and four fifties. His century was a score of 120 against Monmouthshire at Trowbridge in 1899. His main strength though was as a bowler and he took 453 wickets at 16.06 for the county. The style of his bowling was described as ‘very slow’! Smart’s best analysis was 8-33 against Worcestershire 2nd XI in 1907. He took 10 wickets in a match on 9 occasions, his most successful being 13-185 (7-89 & 6-96) against Oxfordshire in Oxford in 1899. Smart could also be categorised as a real all-rounder as on occasions he kept wicket for Wiltshire, taking 41 catches and 14 stumpings in this position. There were some matches in which he would both bowl and keep wicket. For many years Smart was the groundsman at the Trowbridge county ground and it was here that two of his sons learnt their cricket. Tom Smart was still playing for Wiltshire when his son Jack made his debut for the county in 1908. Jack Smart went on to become the Warwickshire wicket-keeper for many years in the 1920s and 30s. On retirement from playing he became a first class and Test umpire. His younger brother Cyril also had a long first class career, with Glamorgan. Tom Smart was very well regarded and on a number of occasions was given a benefit match by Trowbridge Cricket Club. In one of these in 1906 he was out first ball but then took 7-17 to win the match. In the 1920s Smart moved to become groundsman, coach, and player at the Courtauld’s ground in Coventry. He was born in Wootton Rivers, Marlborough in 1866 but his date and place of death is not known. 12