A gem from 1923

 posted by John Winn

My mother in law died in January since when my wife and her brother have spent much time emptying the family home in Derbyshire. Liz's great grandfather was a printer, photographer and newsagent, his son and grandsons kept up the tradition,with a thriving business in Tideswell, near Buxton and clearance of the house that has been the family home since the 1960s has turned up some wonderful memorabilia in the form of old newspapers, some dating back to the Crimean War, photographs taken at a time when very few people had cameras and copies of items that were printed for customers. Amongst the things that have turned up and one which caught my eye very quickly was this scorecard from 1923. 

The GRAND CRICKET MATCH referred to is between Gentlemen of England and Players of England played over three days at Scarborough in September 1923. Until the abolition of the distinction between Amateurs and Professionals sixty years ago such matches were important events in the English cricketing summer, none the less so in 1923 when there were games at The Oval and Lord's in July, the first ending in victory for the paid ranks, the second drawn as was the Scarborough match. The sides were chosen by MCC and those picked released by their counties. 

I suspect this card was printed on the ground after the fall of the fourth wicket on the first day, a Thursday, for the score at stumps was Players 220 all out, Gentlemen 55 for 3 and the purchaser of the card had added in pencil the rest of the Players' batting but got a bit mixed up late in the day, perhaps Laughton's Ales took a hand, for the three wicket to fall before the six o'clock closure were those of Stevens, Chapman and Fender for 7, 8 and 2 respectively. Things got little better for the Gentlemen on the second day for they were bowled out 128, MacBryan top scoring with 33, 6 wickets for Maurice Tate (including his 200th of the season) and the Friday crowd were treated to a Hobbs' century and those there on Saturday, one from Hendren. Wisden tells us that 'Left to get 390, the Gentlemen had no possibility of winning in the time that remained, but by dint of consistently good batting they warded off defeat'. MacBryan and Gubby Allen top scored with 53 apiece. 

The reverse of the card is devoted to an advertisement for Boyes' department store, a company still with shops in Yorkshire and County Durham. They were pleased to announce that the men's department had purchased 6000 pairs of pants and vests retailing at a halfpenny under four shillings, (20p) and in Ladies' Glove Department a special purchase from London of about 500 pairs of Ladies' Fringed Gauntlet Gloves reduced from 6/11d to 4/11d. 

Back to the cricket and it worth noting that one of the umpires in 1923 was Frank Chester. Chester played first class cricket for Worcestershire when only 17 but lost an arm in WW1. He took up umpiring in 1922 and in this role he gave decisions 'without fear or favour'. He went on to officiate in over 1000 first class matches including 48 tests. 

The last Gentlemen v Players match was at Scarborough in 1962 and was won by the Players by seven wickets. Rain fell as the match ended, perhaps a fitting end to a tradition that had begun in 1806. Wisden lamented its passing for only four years earlier a committee consisting entirely of amateurs considered 'the distinctive status of the amateur cricketer was not obsolete, was of great value to the game and should be preserved.' Remarkable then that whilst in  Australia covering the 1962/63 Ashes EW Swanton, a staunch defender of the distinction, should receive a telegram simply stating 'Amateurs abolished". I would like to have been a fly on that wall, albeit one close to an open window.