Somerset County Cricket Club in 1891

In the 1891 season, Somerset County Cricket Club returned to first-class cricket after a five-year absence. They played in the official County Championship, which had been founded the previous year, for the first time, finishing in joint fifth place.

Somerset County Cricket Club
1891 season
CaptainHerbie Hewett
County Championship5th (joint)
Most runsLionel Palairet (560)[1]
Most wicketsSammy Woods (72)[2]
Most catchesSammy Woods (10)[1]
Most wicket-keeping dismissalsArchie Wickham (15)[1]
← 1890 1892 →

During the season, Somerset played thirteen first-class matches, twelve against other county sides, and one against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). They finished with an equal number of wins and losses (six) and drew once. The county's two matches against Surrey were notable for antithetical reasons. When the two sides met in early June, Somerset suffered a heavy defeat, recording two of their lowest ever first-class totals. Just over two months later, when they faced each other again, Somerset won in the dying moments of the game, prompting a 133-line poem to be written in celebration of the victory.

Background

Having played what is generally considered their debut first-class match against Lancashire in 1882, Somerset were stripped of their first-class status following the 1885 season, after a string of heavy losses and matches in which they could not field eleven men.[3][4] Meetings were held at Somerset, and Henry Murray-Anderdon took over as secretary of the club. Under his leadership, the club acquired a ground in Taunton, variously known as the 'Athletic Ground' and 'Rack Field'. The land was extensively worked on until Murray-Anderdon announced that "opponents will want to come here and play".[5] In addition to improving the ground, the secretary targeted the universities to add talent to the team, and added two professional bowlers, George Nichols and Ted Tyler.[6]

In 1890, Somerset played thirteen fixtures against other county sides, winning twelve and tying the remaining one, against Middlesex. Tyler and Nichols claimed over 200 wickets between them, and Somerset won the 'Second-class' County Championship. In December 1890, a meeting of the county secretaries at Lord's unanimously voted for Somerset to be admitted to the first-class County Championship.[7]

Squad
Somerset were captained in 1891 by Herbie Hewett.

Murray-Anderdon's targeting of the universities for players yielded three players who finished near the top of Somerset’s batting and bowling averages in 1891. Brothers Lionel and Richard Palairet both appeared for Oxford University during the season,[8][9] while Sammy Woods played for Cambridge University.[10] Woods and the two professionals, Nichols and Tyler, bowled the majority of overs for Somerset, and between them claimed 169 of the county’s 179 wickets.[2]

Three of Somerset's players were chosen to play representative cricket during the season. Woods played two matches for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture, and also represented the South of England cricket team. Herbie Hewett and Woods also played for the Gentlemen of England and toured North America as part of Lord Hawke's XI at the end of the season.[10] Hewett and Gerald Fowler both appeared for the Marylebone Cricket Club.[11][12]

The following players made at least one appearance for Somerset in the County Championship. Age given is at the start of Somerset's first match of the season (18 May 1891).

Name Nationality Birth date Batting Style Bowling Style
Batsmen
John Challen England (1863-03-26)26 March 1863 (aged 28)Right-handedRight arm fast-medium
Albert Clapp England (1867-05-03)3 May 1867 (aged 24)Right-handedRight arm medium pace
Herbie Hewett (Captain) England (1864-05-25)25 May 1864 (aged 26)Left-handedUnknown arm medium pace
Lionel Palairet England (1870-05-27)27 May 1870 (aged 20)Right-handedRight arm medium pace / slow (underarm)
Richard Palairet England (1871-06-25)25 June 1871 (aged 19)Right-handed—
Crescens Robinson England (1864-05-21)21 May 1864 (aged 26)Right-handed—
Bill Roe England (1861-03-21)21 March 1861 (aged 30)Right-handedRight arm off break / medium pace
Lower-order Batsmen
Ernest Evans England (1861-08-21)21 August 1861 (aged 29)Unknown—
Herbert Fox England (1858-08-01)1 August 1858 (aged 32)Right-handedLeft arm (unknown style)
Joseph Gibbs England (1867-11-25)25 November 1867 (aged 23)Right-handed—
Vernon Hill England (1871-01-30)30 January 1871 (aged 20)Left-handedRight arm fast-medium
Edward Lock England (1868-11-21)21 November 1868 (aged 22)Unknown—
Frederick Poynton England (1869-06-26)26 June 1869 (aged 21)Right-handed—
Hamilton Ross England (1849-08-26)26 August 1849 (aged 41)Right-handed—
Thomas Spencer England (1850-06-10)10 June 1850 (aged 40)Unknown-handed—
Wilfrid Young England (1867-10-05)5 October 1867 (aged 23)Right-handedRight arm slow
All-rounders
Gerald Fowler England (1866-07-27)27 July 1866 (aged 24)Right-handedRight arm fast-medium
Wicket-keepers
Arthur Newton England (1862-09-12)12 September 1862 (aged 28)Right-handed—
Archie Wickham England (1855-11-09)9 November 1855 (aged 35)Right-handed—
Bowlers
George Nichols England (1862-06-14)14 June 1862 (aged 28)Right-handedRight arm fast-medium
Ted Tyler England (1864-10-13)13 October 1864 (aged 26)Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodox
Sammy Woods Australia/ England (1867-04-13)13 April 1867 (aged 24)Right-handedRight arm fast-medium

County Championship
Lionel Palairet led Somerset's batting averages in the County Championship, scoring 560 runs at 31.11.

Season standings

Note: Pld = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, D = Draws, T = Ties, A = Abandonments, Pts = Points.

Team Pld W L D T A Pts
Surrey (C) 1612220010
Lancashire 16843014
Middlesex 16853003
Nottinghamshire 14545001
Kent 1645601–1
Somerset 1256100–1
Sussex 1447300–3
Yorkshire 16510100–5
Gloucestershire 16210400–8
Source: CricketArchive[13]

Match log
No. Date Opponents Venue Result Ref
118–20 MayMiddlesexLord's, LondonDrawn[14]
21–2 JuneSurreyThe Oval, LondonLost by an innings and 375 runs[15]
39–10 JulyLancashireCounty Ground, TauntonLost by 9 wickets[16]
413–14 JulyKentMote Park, MaidstoneWon by 5 wickets[17]
520–22 JulyGloucestershireCounty Ground, TauntonWon by 10 wickets[18]
623–25 JulyYorkshireCounty Ground, TauntonLost by 262 runs[19]
730–31 JulyKentCounty Ground, TauntonLost by 4 wickets[20]
86–7 AugustYorkshirePark Avenue, BradfordWon by 6 wickets[21]
910–12 AugustLancashireOld Trafford, ManchesterLost by 8 wickets[22]
1013–15 AugustSurreyCounty Ground, TauntonWon by 130 runs[23]
1117–18 AugustGloucestershireCollege Ground, CheltenhamWon by an innings and 130 runs[24]
1224–26 AugustMiddlesexCounty Ground, TauntonLost by 9 wickets[25]

Batting averages
PlayerMatchesInningsRunsAverageHighest Score100s50s
Lionel Palairet101956031.1110015
John Challen91635425.288902
Richard Palairet101726619.007401
Herbie Hewett122238818.476502
Sammy Woods111933018.335001
Bill Roe71216815.273600
Crescens Robinson111719614.005501
Vernon Hill91518412.263100
George Nichols122121610.283700
Ted Tyler12201689.886201
Qualification: 150 runs. Source: CricketArchive[1]

Bowling averages
PlayerMatchesBallsWicketsAverageBBI5wi10wi
Sammy Woods1123297217.086/4971
George Nichols1226144918.165/3310
Lionel Palairet10282721.573/1300
Ted Tyler1221824822.315/1041
Qualification: 5 wickets. Source: CricketArchive[2]

Other first-class

Match log
No. Date Opponents Venue Result Ref
121–22 AugustMarylebone Cricket ClubCounty Ground, TauntonWon by 6 wickets[26]

References
  1. "Batting and Fielding for Somerset: County Championship 1891". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  2. "Bowling for Somerset: County Championship 1891". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  3. Foot (1986), p23.
  4. Roebuck (1991), pp29–32.
  5. Foot (1986), p26.
  6. Roebuck (1991), pp45–46.
  7. Foot (1986), pp27–28.
  8. "First-Class Matches played by Lionel Palairet (267)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  9. "First-Class Matches played by Richard Palairet (112)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  10. "First-Class Matches played by Sammy Woods (401)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  11. "First-Class Matches played by Herbie Hewett (106)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  12. "First-Class Matches played by Gerald Fowler (132)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  13. "County Championship 1891 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  14. "Middlesex v Somerset". CricketArchive. 1891-05-18. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  15. "Surrey v Somerset". CricketArchive. 1891-06-01. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  16. "Somerset v Lancashire". CricketArchive. 1891-07-09. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  17. "Kent v Somerset". CricketArchive. 1891-07-13. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  18. "Somerset v Gloucestershire". CricketArchive. 1891-07-20. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  19. "Somerset v Yorkshire". CricketArchive. 1891-07-23. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  20. "Somerset v Kent". CricketArchive. 1891-07-30. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  21. "Yorkshire v Somerset". CricketArchive. 1891-08-06. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  22. "Lancashire v Somerset". CricketArchive. 1891-08-10. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  23. "Somerset v Surrey". CricketArchive. 1891-08-13. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  24. "Gloucestershire v Somerset". CricketArchive. 1891-08-17. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  25. "Somerset v Middlesex". CricketArchive. 1891-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  26. "Somerset v Marylebone Cricket Club". CricketArchive. 1891-08-21. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
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