A HISTORY OF KENT 



and the Earl of Middlesex for ;Ci,ooo in 

 July 1735, the latter's winning side was 

 composed of Kentish men, whilst in 1744 

 there ' was played in the Artillery Ground 

 the greatest cricket match ever known, the 

 County of Kent playing against All England, 

 which was won by the former.' Sir Horatio 

 Mann was ' a batter of great might,' and the 

 Duke of Dorset was another keen amateur, 

 who when ambassador at Paris invited the 

 earliest touring team, but the outbreak of 

 the Revolution prevented this friendly 

 invasion of France. 



There is no record of Kent having played 

 a match during the Napoleonic wars, but 

 the county met, and was defeated by, England 

 a month after Waterloo. The West Kent 

 Club soon began its distinguished history, 

 and it is notable that Mr. John Willes of 

 Sutton Valence in Kent was the earliest 

 exponent of round-arm bowling. The club 

 was inaugurated at Town Mailing ; Fuller 

 Pilch became the ground-man and such 

 cricketers as Mr. Herbert Jenner and Mr. 

 A. Mynn played, while Wenman is the oldest 

 of the great wicket-keepers. The last sur- 

 vivor of the giants who took part in the four 

 matches that Kent played with England 

 in 1 841 was Lord Bessborough, who died 

 in 1895. 



In 1837 Fuller Pilch, one of the very 

 greatest of batsmen, scored 160 at Reigate 

 for Town Mailing. Felix, Hillyer, Mr. C. G. 

 Whittaker, Mr. Percyvall Hart-Dyke and 

 Mr. H. Norman belonged to this epoch. 

 Many mighty matches played at Gravesend 

 and at Tunbridge Wells, led to the formation 

 in 1859 of a county club, of which the sixth 

 Earl of Darnley became the first president. 

 After losing five out of six matches in the 

 first season, Kent was undefeated in i860, 

 and in 1861 twice beat England, Sussex 

 and Surrey, only losing to Cambridgeshire. 

 Willsher was the famous bowler of a rather 

 precarious period which was closed in 1870 

 by amalgamation with the Beverley Club at 

 Canterbury, Mr. de Chair Baker becoming 

 secretary. Long before this time the annual 

 Canterbury Festival had become the most 

 charming feature of each season. Mr. G. M. 

 Kelson shared with Willsher the burden of 

 the cricket and proved a very fine bat with 

 terrific hitting powers. 



What we may call the modern history 

 of Kent cricket begins with the appearance of 

 Lord Harris in 1 87 1. A fine bat who played 

 splendid cricket and an excellent captain, he 

 exercised remarkable influence over the game 

 to which he has been so devoted. Of those with 

 whom he first played Messrs. Yardle), C. L 



Thornton and Ottaway liave imperishable 

 names. Mr. M. A. Troughton was an excellent 

 bat, whose son showed much promise in 1907. 

 Henty was a good wicket-keeper; George Ben- 

 nett proved himself one of the earliest success- 

 ful slow round-arm bowlers ; and Tom Sewell 

 was a very fast bo\vler. A little later another 

 good bowler was discovered in Mr. Foord 

 Kelcey, whose pace was in marked contrast 

 to that of Mr. A. Penn or Mr. C. M. 

 Cunliffe. Mr. Frank Penn was a very 

 punishing bat gifted with great defensive 

 power, and Mr. C. A. Absolom played in 

 characteristic if erratic fashion. Mr. Renny- 

 Tailyour, a tremendous scorer in minor 

 matches, was never quite successful in county 

 cricket, but Mr. E. F. S. Tylecote was in the 

 forefront as a bat and behind the wicket. 

 Other useful run-getters were Mr. F. A. 

 Mackinnon and Mr. V. K. Shaw. Junior 

 to these was the Hon. Ivo Bligh, afterwards 

 Lord Darnley, whose career as a prominent 

 cricketer was shortened by ill-health. Few 

 even of old Etonians could cut more bril- 

 liantly, and if he had curbed undue eagerness 

 to score rapidly he might not have been so 

 delightful to watch. 



The Hearnes rendered yeoman service 

 to Kent cricket. George Gibbons Hearne, 

 one of the best young professionals of 

 his day, was a capital left-handed bat and 

 medium-paced bowler, but, good as he was, 

 he never perhaps attained to the full what 

 he promised. Frank Hearne, an aggressive 

 bat and fine field, eventually went to South 

 Africa where he had much to do with the 

 development of the game. Alec Hearne 

 appeared to possess the secret of never growing 

 old. He was a patient painstaking bat and 

 an admirable slow bowler who achieved the 

 Kentish aggregate in each department. lU- 

 health materially prejudiced the career of 

 that very clever medium-paced bowler 

 Walter Hearne. All the "Hearnes were ex- 

 ceptionally popular and universally respected. 



In 1873, Kent met Sussex at Lord's to play 

 the only Champion Cup match, the com- 

 petition initiated by M.C.C. happily proving 

 futile. When Kent and Gloucestershire 

 played England at Canterbury, Oscroft 

 received a blow in the face while batting 

 and in falling put out his thumb. In the 

 match against Sussex in 1876, 27 runs were 

 needed — and successfully obtained — when 

 the last man, Henty, joined Lord Harris. 

 Against Kent, Dr. W. G. Grace, playing 

 for M.C.C. in that year, scored his 

 famous 344 at Canterbury. In 1878 Mr. 

 A. Penn took six Sussex wickets for three 

 runs and Mr. C. F. Tufnell created a record 



