Minor Counties Championship 1914

Suffolk in 1911 being the best. 1906 was his best season with Hertfordshire’s bowling being a two man show. With Harry White they took 174 of the 206 wickets to fall of which Bill Coleman took 89. His final tally was 620 wickets at an average of 18.10 runs per wicket with best bowling of 8 for 33 against Buckinghamshire in 1906. On 23 occasions he scored over 50 with his highest score of 107 against Northamptonshire in 1902 when Hertfordshire followed on. Eleven of these 50s were scored when batting number seven or lower. In total he scored 3,885 runs for Hertfordshire. He was coach at St George’s School, Harpenden from 1900 to 1902 before spending ten years on the ground-staff at Lord’s. In one innings for the MCC he scored 184 in an hour and a quarter. For 23 years afterwards he was appointed coach and custodian of the Tuck Shop at Aldenham School. He then took up his father’s smallholding and poultry farm in Kimpton until 1943. He died in Radlett in January 1960 but his body was returned home and he is buried along with many of his family in Kimpton churchyard. T Davies – Devon 1901-1914 (born 1878; died 17 November 1923) Thomas Davies was born in Llanelli in Wales and was one of up to five professionals employed at any one time by Devon in the period leading up to the Great War. He played 112 matches for the county scoring 1,944 runs at an average of 14.83 with 5 fifties. He was the county’s wicket-keeper and took 162 catches and 68 stumpings in that position, a record in the Minor Counties championship before the First World War. As with most professionals on the club circuit at the time they were shared property. Davies was shared with Newton College, where he acted as a coach and/or umpire. He was earning around £4/10s a week split equally between club and college. His club South Devon were paid £10 for allowing him to play for the county. In 1908 Davies was awarded a benefit gate at a Devon match that earned him £4/17/9d. He died at Wolborough in Devon on 17th November 1923. H Dearing – Staffordshire 1902-1914 (born 3Q 1882; died 3Q 1934) Harry Dearing was born, second of five brothers, in the third quarter of 1882 in Stoke-on-Trent. Harry played for Staffordshire between the seasons 1902 and 1914. He was one of three wicket keepers that Staffordshire used regularly in this period and a lower order batsman with a highest score of 31 not out against Lincolnshire at Stoke in 1911. In his 49 matches for the County he took 42 catches with an additional 28 stumpings. He was called upon to captain the side 3 times and finished with a 100% winning record. Outside cricket he became the Company Secretary of Colclough Fine China, which later became part of the Royal Doulton group. Harry died in the 3rd quarter of 1934 in Stoke. G Deyes – Staffordshire 1910-1914 (born 11 February 1879; died 11 January 1963) George Deyes was a right-arm fast bowler, born in Southcoates, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. Deyes played seventeen matches for Yorkshire between 1905 and 1907 and took 41 wickets at an average of 23.02. He had a best of 6 for 62 against Ireland and took 5 for 75 in a County Championship game against Somerset. In Minor County Championship matches for Yorkshire II, Deyes played 16 times in the seasons from 1903 to 1907. Deyes took 63 wickets at an average of 14.97. His best was against Staffordshire at Harrogate in 1905, with 6-31 finishing with 10-75 for the match. After Deyes was released from Yorkshire, he played as a professional in the North Staffordshire league for Fenton. From his league performances for Fenton, Staffordshire signed him to play for them as a professional in the 1910 season. In the five seasons prior to the war, Deyes played a total of 42 Championship matches for Staffordshire taking 125 wickets at an average of 15.13. He took five wickets in an innings 10 times and had a ten-wicket match twice. His best return was a 7-32 against local rivals Cheshire at Stoke in 1911. Deyes died on 11 January 1963 in Tipperlinn, Edinburgh. 14