1888-1914
1888 was a considerably less successful year with 6 wins and 11 defeats, including two by the old enemy Richmond, both unfortunately real thrashings by around 150 runs. Slade Lucas only played two games this year and in his absence no batsman could even average 20 or make a half-century. The professional bowler Samuel Chambers topped the averages with 31 wickets at 7.6. It seems at this distance as though the finances were in a particularly rocky state about this time. The deficit at the beginning of this year amounted to £71, clearly quite a substantial sum in those days. However, fairly stringent economy succeeded in reducing this to an estimated £25 by the end of the season. These included a large cut in expenditure on ‘cricket materials’ from £27 to £7 and a rather peremptory reduction in the wages of the aforementioned Chambers from £39 to £32. 2s. 3d.! Moreover of £81 collected in subscriptions, no less than £70 was paid by 9 of the Club’s 48 members. It was therefore agreed that the minimum subscription should be half a guinea.
1889 was a rather better year with 9 wins and 7 defeats. This included a gratifyingly decisive win over Richmond when Teddington replied to 155 with 170 for 3. This game highlighted the ability of J R Head, who took 4 for 31 and followed with 75 not out. He topped the batting averages with 151 runs at 30.1 and while the Minute Book is reticent on the subject of full bowling averages, he took 21 wickets for 137 runs in the games shown in the scorebook.
E Simms also had a very successful year with the ball, taking 7 wickets twice and 6 once, while the Club’s improved batting was highlighted by the large score of 267 against Hampton Wick.
In 1890 only 17 games were arranged and 4 of these did not take place. However the Club had an unbeaten season, winning 5 and drawing the remainder, mostly favourably. Once again the most notable victory was over Richmond, who were overcome by 2 runs (101 to 99), Slade Lucas shining as a bowler with 6 for 44, though it must be admitted that they had much the better of the return fixture.
This was the first of Slade Lucas’ really noteworthy seasons. He scored 450 runs at 75 and took 21 wickets at 15. Two notable performances were 102 not out in the 182 for 1 against St Thomas’ Hospital and 71 not out in 103 for 7 against Richmond. Head had another excellent all-round season and R E Yerburgh joined these two in scoring a century. It was evident how many more runs were being scored – the Minute Book credits this to the acquisition of a “heavy water roller” (anticipating nuclear fusion by a few years!) and the efforts of the “energetic ground man A J Smith”.
For no apparent reason, the Club’s activities declined further in 1891 when only 8 matches were played, 3 being won and 4 lost. Richmond were again narrowly overcome by 3 runs, R Winder taking 7 for 32, and there was an interesting scoreline against Wimbledon. Teddington made 329 from 103 5-ball overs with 144 from Slade Lucas, and Wimbledon did not bat – no notes further that the fixture was not renewed in 1892! In fairness to Teddington’s reputation however, it seems that declarations were not usually permitted at this time, except on the third day of a 3-day game. The Minute Book also reveals some impressive results in boys’ matches which were arranged for the first time.
Teddington made 185 for 6 and then dismissed Wimbledon for 14 and 39, while Richmond were dismissed for 7 (3 players being absent!). though they did manage 110 for 7 at the second attempt. Surbiton were also beaten by an innings and plenty, with A Crowder making 160 in Teddington’s 226. W Jeffery also made a century against Wimbledon and both he and Crowder got 22 wickets in 4 games.
At this time Slade Lucas’ work for Teddington was reminiscent of Pooh-Bah in the Mikado, and it was largely due to his enthusiasm that the Teddington Boys’ Club was founded. In the years ahead it was to be a tower of strength to the Club and a most fruitful source of players.
At the start of the 1892 season the retiring Treasurer C B Vertue lived up to his name by offering to make the Club a present of the balance of £14. 13s. 2d. owing to him, provided that a new Treasurer was forthcoming. Mr Slade Lucas agreed to take on this task, in addition to that of Secretary, provided that the Club’s £25 debt to the Bank was wiped out. A ‘whip-round’ among members (as it was undoubtedly not known in those days) produced this happy result, and so the decks were clear for the start of the season!
This was not a successful season, with only 2 wins and 5 defeats in 13 matches. One of the victories was in the final game with Richmond when Teddington won a very low-scoring game by 92 to 55 (Slade Lucas 5 for 21). The earlier fixture was a complete contrast in that Teddington amassed 345, with 184 from S G Wilkinson. Unlike Wimbledon in 1891 there was time for Richmond to bat, but they only progressed as far as 46 for 2! The other victory was over Wanstead when Slade Lucas scored 147 out of a total of 279 and then followed with 6 for 67.
A considerable milestone was reached in 1893 with the building of a thatched pavilion. Permission to erect a suitable building, which had previously been withheld, was finally granted and plans passed by H. M. Office of Works. The rent remained at a nominal 5 shillings per year. A member of the Club, Mr Collinson, kindly consented to undertake the contract at cost price (£260) and this was scheduled to be completed within a month!
The 1893 season turned out to be a highly successful one. Of 20 games, 9 were won and only 3 lost. Teddington gained a crushing win over Richmond, making 304 for 3 and then dismissing them for 92. In this match Slade Lucas took 9 for 33, of which 7 were clean bowled. The batting was clearly very strong and three other scores of over 290 were recorded – 321 against Sunbury (A Crowder 135), 296 against Old Yverdonians (Slade Lucas 154) and 292 for 7 against East Molesey (H Bowden-Smith 119). On the other side of the coin, the side fell heavily from grace against Mitcham, being dismissed for 47 and then fielding out to 273 for 9!
Slade Lucas had a wonderful all-round season with 762 runs at 54.6 and his best-ever bowling return of 60 wickets at 14.9. He was given excellent all-round support by the former Boys’ Club member A Crowder with 623 runs at 34.1 and 27 wickets, while S G Wilkinson and H Bowden-Smith both averaged over 40. This season was also noteworthy for the first appearance of the 15 year old B J T Bosanquet, who was to be such a revolutionary figure in the wider cricket world, with his invention of the googly.
Full records have not been traced for 1894 which is perhaps just as well. Of the games found in the scorebook there were two early wins but then 12 defeats subsequently, though a number of these were very narrow. Slade Lucas played less and the brightest feature was the batting of S R Bowden-Smith, who had a very good run early in the season culminating in 101 not out against Kensington Park, when Teddington previewed the famous game of 1896 by scoring 384. Against Hampstead, Teddington encountered the illustrious pair of A E Stoddart (who was to captain England in the famous Australian tour the following winter) and the distinguished former Australian bowler F R Spofforth (The Demon), who this season took 200 wickets at 5.9 runs each. They took 5 wickets between them, but were only able to manage three runs. One noteworthy feature of the 1894 season was the Club’s first encounter with MCC. This produced a splendid game in which Teddington lost by 1 run, after a gallant last-wicket stand. Appropriately enough Slade Lucas made 72 of Teddington’s 161.
In the winter of 1894-95 Slade Lucas went on two tours to distant parts – first he was a member of Lord Hawke’s team which visited the U S East Coast, including games against the then very famous Philadelphians, and then he captained the first-ever English team to tour the West Indies, results being rather more successful than on some recent visits!
For Teddington 1895 was another moderate season on results, 5 being won and 9 lost. We did however have the satisfaction of a favourable draw with MCC (Slade Lucas making 134), and a crushing performance against Kensington Park who were dispatched for 34 (J W Crawfurd 7 for 12) and 63, between which Teddington compiled 335. Slade Lucas played less this year, but was still leading run-getter, while Crawfurd topped the bowling. This season was particularly noteworthy for those Teddington players who achieved wider cricketing fame. In addition to Slade Lucas and Bosanquet, a few games were played by Sir Pelham Warner (who only managed 56 in 5 innings) and G J V Weighall, who was to become one of the game’s most notable “characters”. Also Crawfurd played for Surrey, A Crowder for Middlesex and H S Goodwin for Gloucestershire.
So to 1896, which can justly claim to be the most memorable year in Teddington’s history. Its most notable figure was of course Slade Lucas, who began a remarkable personal batting run with 98 on 30th April. This was against a team brought by the Surrey player Billy Brockwell, who had played in all 5 Tests on Stoddart’s Australian tour the previous year. Slade Lucas was dismissed by the great Tom Richardson, then at the very peak of his career and due to take 13 wickets against Australia in a famous Test Match at Old Trafford a few weeks later. Richardson only took 3 for 100 from 32 overs against Teddington, and even allowing for the early time of the year this does serve to indicate the very high standard of cricket the Club was playing at this time.
The following week Teddington played a high-scoring draw with Hampstead. They made 269 for 8, declarations by now being legal, and Teddington responded with 226 for 4, of which Slade Lucas scored 140 not out. For Hampstead the recent England captain A E Stoddart made 122.
All this however was but a warm-up for the famous game against Kensington Park the following week. Slade Lucas and F R Jeffrey (37) put on 173 for the first wicket and from 264 for 6 a further big stand followed to the declaration at 401 for 6, with Slade Lucas 280 not out, the only double century in the Club’s history before 1982. He hit 40 fours, a five and a six. The innings lasted “a little over 3 hours”, and in the bowling analysis only 43 overs (5-ball) are itemised from which 168 runs were scored. Whatever the cause of this reticence on the part of the scorers, one presumes that runs must have been scored at a healthy rate from the remaining overs! Slade Lucas then rounded off his day nicely with 3 wickets, as Kensington Park, probably by now rather sick of playing Teddington, were dismissed for 180!
Thus in 3 consecutive innings Slade Lucas had scored 518 runs for once out. He continued to score consistently, made another century against Oxford University Authentics, and for the season made 1,013 runs at an average of 84.4. To get this feat into perspective, the next Teddington player to score 1000 in a season was Josh Tyler in 1928! Slade Lucas also brought a team from the 1895 West Indian tour to Bushy Park for a 2-day game. Unfortunately they were a bit too strong, making 470 (probably the highest-ever score on the ground) to Teddington’s 95 and 121!
Though this year was of course dominated by Slade Lucas’ feats, H S Goodwin also had a really excellent season, making 723 runs at 72.3, including 181 against Surbiton and 100 against Hampstead four days later. In addition to the games already mentioned, Teddington gained their first win over MCC. On this occasion Slade Lucas was out for 2, but compensated by taking 8 for 70!
After this momentous year there is a considerable hiatus in the Club’s records, few scores or averages being available until 1906. It is noted in the Minute Book however, that a further financial crisis was staved off by an appeal to members which brought in £133. Furthermore the fixture list for 1902 shows only 11 games arranged, suggesting that the Club’s stature had declined considerably since the halcyon days of the Nineties. It is interesting that 1905 offered the first mention of a Captain of the Club, who could not hold the post for more than two consecutive seasons – one presumes that before this the side had perhaps been led on a “match manager” basis.
1906 appears to have been a passable season with 8 wins and 9 defeats. From in1896 there was clearly a completely new generation of players. In batting G B Crowder and Miles Townsend played innings of over 140 not out, but the undoubted star of the season was H V Townsend who set a Club record of 79 wickets, all the other bowlers taking only 108 between them. He also achieved the impressive total of 27 wides.
1907 was a similar season. The side now clearly lacked outstanding stars but appeared to possess reasonable depth. Skipper N C Jacks, who with his son was to play a large part in Teddington cricket, was leading batsman and bowler.
In 1908 the Club gained the services of a very good all-rounder in Captain H B Fawcus who scored 652 runs and took 40 wickets. The bowling averages were topped by J T Dixon with 62 wickets at 12. He was to be clearly Teddington’s best bowler for quite a few years and after the 1914-18 war was to break Townsend’s Club record. The highest individual score was 177 not out by Miles Townsend against Chiswick Park, when Teddington made 244 without loss in reply to 257. It is also of interest that one D L A Jephson took 11 for 87 in only three games – one wonders if this was the same Jephson who caused a sensation in 1898 by taking 6 for 21 with lobs for Gentlemen against Players, and if so, whether his success for Teddington was by the same means.
Also in the Minute Book for 1908, there appears to have been considerable discussion about the Club’s future, mainly as usual on the financial side! One innovation, which does not seem to have been universally popular, was a canteen in the pavilion, while the idea was floated of “canvassing for outside subscribers”, but there was disquiet that if Teddington were “to lose its existing status as a Gentlemen’s Club, and were thrown open to everybody, the whole aspect of sport in Teddington would change”.
1909 saw a sharp increase in the number of games to 33, and also the return of Slade Lucas, by now aged 41. However he resumed his customary place at the head of the batting averages with 64.33 from 8 innings. This included two centuries on consecutive days. Jacks again made most runs and Dixon contributed 558 runs and 42 wickets. One further famous cricketer made a few appearances this year in J N Crawford, the Surrey and England all-rounder.
1910 saw another reasonable season in which there was one innovation, a tour of Sussex. This saw a crushing defeat by an innings in a 2-day game with Eastbourne, and later a notable batting performance against Chichester – Teddington made 353 for 3 with Slade Lucas (103) and K E M Barker (156) adding an unbeaten 258. Over the season C P Mead was narrowly the leading run-getter and J T Dixon again dominated the bowling with 76 wickets. He was followed by G A T Darby, who the present author remembers as a great stalwart of the Oatlands Park Club.
In 1911 the mixture was very much as before with Jacks again narrowly the leading batsman, followed closely by J T Dixon and his brother Ken, who Josh Tyler also recalls as a very good wicket-keeper in his prime – however when he played with him once after the war, he was reluctant to reach for anything on the leg-side and 46 extras resulted! There were two notable batting performances. Teddington made 393 for 8 against Barnes who were than dismissed for 77 by Darby and J T Dixon. However MCC excelled this by replying to Teddington’s 162 with a crushing 443 for 3, made from only 54 (6-ball) overs.
1912 was a dreadfully wet summer in which the rather abortive experiment of a triangular Test Tournament was tried. Teddington suffered accordingly and only completed 11 games out of 22. However this proved a reasonably successful season, with only 4 defeats. The batting seems to have been quite dominated by Ken Dixon who made 738 runs at 52.7, more than twice as many as anybody else. In bowling
R B Lattimer duly celebrated his year as captain by topping the bowling averages.
Unfortunately the records are incomplete for 1913. From the evidence of the 1913 scorebook (which eccentrically includes one game from 1931!), plenty of runs were scored. For example, Teddington scored 312 for 3 against Surbiton, with Jacks scoring 142 not out and Mead 126, and 188 for 3 against Norbury Park Wanderers, Ken Dixon contributing 141.
The trend of batting strength continued unabated in 1914, with the “Golden Age” of Amateur batsmanship going out in style. In 15 games Teddington exceeded 300 on 4 occasions, notably scoring 387 against St Pancras after being 132 for 7. Another result that would have been highly satisfactory 60 years later was beating Brondesbury by 348 to 178! Fittingly Teddington made 319 to crush Byfleet on Bank Holiday Monday, 3rd August. With war declared the following day and not destined to be over by Christmas as expected, it was to be 1921 before a Teddington side once more took the field.