The Castle on the Hill, county cricket comes to Lancaster

By Mike Latham

Lune Road, Lancaster remains a splendid cricket ground and a step inside gives an immediate feeling of space and history. Tom Alderson wrote a detailed history of the Lancaster club, entitled Cricket by the Lune, in 1984. Mr Alderson details the formation of the club in 1841 and dates the first match at the Lune Road ground as 3 June 1882, Galgate the visitors.

In 1914 Lune Road staged its first, and only first-class game when Lancashire took the Warwickshire fixture to Lancaster, an effort to stimulate interest in the county club outside its traditional heartlands.

The Lune Road ground in more recent times

The Lancaster CC committee worked hard to ensure the spectators were well catered for and the game was well attended, newspaper reports suggesting 2,000 on the first day, 1,500 on the following two days, the ground in splendid condition.

Played against a backdrop of the worsening international situation, the peace and normality of life was soon to be shattered as three days after the game had finished Britain declared war on Germany.

A timeless scene- the old castle and church on the hill overlooking Lune Road

Visiting journalists were mostly impressed by Lune Road, though one placed emphasis on the ugly gasometers in the north-east corner, making similarities with the Oval, the noise of the railway track that ran behind the north end of the ground and of some of the boats on the river behind. Others concentrated on the wonderful sight of the old castle and church on the hill opposite, standing out clearly in the afternoon sun, while moving figures on the turrets watched the action below.

Winning the toss and batting on the first day, when the weather was glorious, Warwickshire amassed 335 for 9 with centuries of contrasting styles by Willie Quaife and Charles Baker.

Charles Baker: vigorous and vicarious

Willie Quaife: careful and watchful

Coming together at 96-4, the pair added 150 for the fifth wicket in only 125 minutes, the left-handed Baker (‘vigorous and vicarious’ according to one report) batting quite brilliantly for 103, while Quaife, initially careful and watchful played the supporting role.

Quaife was on 46 when Baker was dismissed but went on to play some fine shots, reaching his century with the last man, Frank Field, his batting partner. Quaife’s first 50 had taken 150 minutes, his second just 70 and he was undefeated on 111 when the Warwickshire innings ended at 346 early on the second day.

In reply Lancashire batted dismally against the Warwickshire opening pair, captain Frank Foster and Percy Jeeves. The latter was slightly the quicker of the two, breaking the ball back both ways while Foster’s left arm swing caused no end of problems. Only the Lancashire captain, Albert Hornby, who once defiantly hit Jeeves onto the railway line, provided much resistance, undefeated on 37 as Lancashire meekly mustered 128 in an hour and three-quarters. Nine of the ten wickets were bowled, Jeeves taking 6-51, Foster 4-58.

To the surprise of many spectators Foster elected not to enforce the follow-on, his reasoning being that he and Jeeves were fatigued after their strenuous bowling efforts while Field, a key member of the attack was suffering from lumbago. Foster was also concerned that the weather forecast was poor for that evening and night and, in the days of uncovered pitches, wanted to avoid batting last on a potential ‘sticky dog’ on the Saturday.

Warwickshire reached 142-4 before rain brought a premature close at 5pm, Baker again batting freely against his home-born county, his undefeated 45 including one huge six into the Lune off Bill Huddleston. Baker’s delightful, clean hitting was said to be a revelation and he was only denied a second six into the river when the ball struck a telegraph pole.

Heavy overnight rain delayed the start on the Saturday by 45 minutes, the ground drying quickly but the uncovered pitch decidedly ‘sticky’ as Foster had predicted. Warwickshire, after declaring, quickly made inroads into the home batting. Foster, again bowling brilliantly, captured the wickets of William Tyldesley, Harry Makepeace, Jack Sharp and Johnnie Tyldesley to leave Lancashire 50-4. Jeeves then came up with two more wickets, a vicious leg-break to bowl James Heap, Hornby caught behind and at 61-6 the red rose was wilting in the sun.  Their target of 361 runs was a forlorn task.

The headlines of the third day’s play

Only Ernest Tyldesley held up Warwickshire for long, batting with ‘style, vigour and confidence’ and, briefly, he found support forthcoming from wicketkeeper Harold Garnett to entertain the spectators.

Together the pair added 76 for the seventh wicket in only 35 minutes, before Garnett was caught at the wicket by Tiger Smith off Crowther Charlesworth for 37. Tyldesley twice hit Charlesworth over the railway embankment for six but after he was bowled by Cecil Hands for 74 the Lancashire’s innings quickly subsided, play on the final day lasting only two-and-a-half hours.

Taken overall, Lancashire’s first venture to the county town for a first-class game was a decided success and the venture may well have been repeated the following year had not the war intervened.

War casualties: Harold Garnett…

William Tyldesley…

and Percy Jeeves

Three of the players in the game- Lancashire’s Harold Garnett and William Tyldesley and the Warwickshire professional Percy Jeeves were to lose their lives in the conflict plus, doubtless, countless members of the spectators who enjoyed three fine days of cricket unaware of the horrors that would soon follow.

The fascinating story of Percy Jeeves is one I shall attempt in a future blog.

Scores: Lancashire v Warwickshire, County Championship at Lune Road, Lancaster, 30, 31 July, 1 Aug 1914. Warwickshire 346 (WG Quaife 111*, CS Baker 103, JS Heap 4-62) and 142-4 dec beat Lancashire 128 (P Jeeves 6-51, FR Foster 4-58) and 187 (GE Tyldesley 74, FR Foster 4-80) by 173 runs.