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| 1955 |
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Played 12: Won 6, Lost 3, Drawn 3.
Sunday June 5 v Esher at Esher - Lost by 1 wicket
Saturday July 2 v The School at Sherborne - Drawn Pilgrims cricket this year was played throughout in uninterrupted sunshine, and although our record did not quite equal the weather in excellence, at least we can say that we had a year as enjoyable as any. In general our trouble was lack of bowling, and when we came to the later part of the tour the strain of prolonged spells began to have its effect even on the most stalwart of "trundlers". In spite of this, a record of six wins out of twelve matches, with three draws, was not a bad one. We had a great match with Esher, in which their last pair knocked off twelve vital runs. At Commem the usual object was achieved, and the players continued in the field until the hour appointed for close of play, to the buzz of garden party conversation from the pickets. At the beginning of the tour we assembled at Canford and decided to field - daring policy which paid off fully that day, as the Cygnets succumbed to J M Carter and the match was won with ease. From that moment on, however, we seldom won the toss, and we were sent out to field six days in succession! The Town batted slowly but made a generous declaration, and we won the match for the first time after being behind the clock at one point. The Stragglers and Rangers were defeated with comparative ease, mainly due to J S W Lush who bowled unchanged for the major part of the two innings. Against the Queries we crashed yet again, when our batting, save for C R Dawnay, showed few signs of competence. In one of our new fixtures, the Friars at Charterhouse, we managed to win a splendid game with a few minutes to spare, after J R Tozer and R F S Chignell had each played a fine innings; we also beat the Hogs comfortably. P J Topliss played a good innings in this match, and Lush's bowling on both these days was again our main hope in attack. We had a curious match with the Wykehamists, as each side seemed to have victory in its grasp, only to throw it away: owing to a good start by C R Dawnay and B D C Shields we were able to declare, and then wickets fell steadily until we had half of them out: our fielding practically expired at this point, and had they forced the pace earlier they would have won. As it was, they came quite close to doing so. At Tonbridge we compiled the largest total of the week, mainly owing to B H Lock and J R Tozer, but our bowling was by this time enfeebled, and in the absence of J S W Lush it was all we could do to contain our opponents until close of play. The Oundle Rovers match was a disappointing one for us, as we had particularly wanted to do well in this new fixture. But our bowling was handled severely, and our batting failed for only the second time this summer. On most occasions the batting had presented a solid front, but it must be remembered that it was not until we reached Salisbury that the lower batsmen in the order were actually brought to the crease. The most successful were J R Tozer, P M Lewis, C R Dawnay, B D C Shields and P J Topliss, while R F S Chignell played a good innings or two. In bowling J S W Lush stood high above the rest: he thinks about each ball and never allows the batsman to settle down. He was well supported throughout the week by P H Wakely and R F S Chignell, while J M Carter and H H Mainprice were successful at the beginning of the tour. In the field, P M Lewis and B D C Shields were the best. Some days our catching was good, as at Canford, but other days it was execrable, as at Winchester, and our bowling was not really strong enough to stand ill-fortune when it came. |