RS Lucas' XI cricket team in West Indies in 1894-95
Encyclopedia
A team of Amateurs under the captaincy of Mr. R. Slade Lucas toured the West Indies in the 1894-95 season playing matches between January and April 1895. They played a total of 16 matches of which 8 are regarded as first-class.
The Royal Mail Packet Company gave special terms for the round trip and concessions were made with regard to the telegraphic transmission of news. The tourists were to be the guests of the clubs in the different islands. The idea was to take a side about the standard of a second-class County eleven.
A party of 13 was taken:
The standard of the team can be seen from the fact that only 5 of the tourists had played any first-class cricket prior to the tour and of these Bush, Sewell and Smith-Turberville had not played a first-class match since 1886. Only Lucas and Bromley-Davenport had played recently at first-class level. Lucas had played for Middlesex since 1891 and Bromley-Davenport for Cambridge University in 1892 and 1893. Indeed only these two players ever played a significant amount of first-class cricket in England. The standard of the matches was therefore well below that of first-class cricket in England. All the 13 played at least one first-class match on the tour.
The 13 left Southampton on the 'Medway' on January 16 1895 and reached Barbados on January 28 playing their first match the next day.
First-class matches are highlighted. A further match against Grenada in March was abandoned. The matches against Jamaica and Jamaica Born are recognised as the first first-class matches to take place in Jamaica.
Of the 8 first-class matches, 4 were won, 3 lost and 1 drawn. Overall 10 matches were won, 4 lost and 2 drawn.
Dawson headed the batting averages with an average of 26 in the first-class games. Sewell was leading run scorer in the first-class games with 269 although in all matches Bush lead with 406 runs. Just two centuries were scored by the tourists both in the second match against Barbados. These were 101 by Bush and 138 by Dawson.
The bowling for the tourists was largely in the hands of Bromley-Davenport and Bush who each took over 50 wickets in the first-class matches. Sewell was next amongst the wicket-takers with 11. In all matches Bromley-Davenport and Bush each took over 100 wickets.
Most of the matches were low scoring. The one exception was the second match against Barbados. Barbados scored 517 although no-one scored a century, George Learmond
top scoring with 86. Lucas's XI replied with 303 giving Barbados a first innings lead of 214. Following-on Lucas's XI then scored 396 and dismissed Barbados for 157 to win by 25 runs. Clifford Goodman
who had been successful in the first 3 innings against the tourists, taking 20 wickets, took just 1/121 in the tourists' second innings.
Touring team
The idea for the tour was mainly that of Dr. R.B. Anderson who had lived in Tobago for 23 years. Assistance was also provided by Lord Hawke, Lord Stamford and Mr. Neville Lubbock.The Royal Mail Packet Company gave special terms for the round trip and concessions were made with regard to the telegraphic transmission of news. The tourists were to be the guests of the clubs in the different islands. The idea was to take a side about the standard of a second-class County eleven.
A party of 13 was taken:
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Mr. R.S. Lucas Robert Slade Lucas Robert Slade Lucas was an English cricketer who played for Middlesex. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium paced bowler... (c Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... ) |
Middlesex |
| Mr. M.M. Barker | Radley, M.C.C. |
| Mr. L. Barratt | Norfolk |
| Mr. R. Berens | Westminster and Oxford |
| Mr. H.R. Bromley-Davenport Hugh Bromley-Davenport Hugh Richard Bromley-Davenport OBE was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University between 1892 and 1893 and Middlesex between 1896 and 1898... |
Cambridge University |
| Mr. F.W. Bush | Surrey |
| Mr. J.M. Dawson | Cambridge University and Yorkshire Gentlemen |
| Mr. R.L. Marshall | |
| Mr. A.A. Priestley Arthur Priestley Sir Arthur Alexander Priestley was an English Liberal Party politician and cricketer. After three unsuccessful candidacies he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1918... |
M.C.C. |
| Mr. R.P. Sewell | Essex |
| Mr. H. Smith-Turberville | M.C.C. |
| Mr. W.H. Wakefield | Oxford University and Liverpool |
| Mr. J.H. Weatherby | M.C.C. |
The standard of the team can be seen from the fact that only 5 of the tourists had played any first-class cricket prior to the tour and of these Bush, Sewell and Smith-Turberville had not played a first-class match since 1886. Only Lucas and Bromley-Davenport had played recently at first-class level. Lucas had played for Middlesex since 1891 and Bromley-Davenport for Cambridge University in 1892 and 1893. Indeed only these two players ever played a significant amount of first-class cricket in England. The standard of the matches was therefore well below that of first-class cricket in England. All the 13 played at least one first-class match on the tour.
The 13 left Southampton on the 'Medway' on January 16 1895 and reached Barbados on January 28 playing their first match the next day.
Matches
Matches played were:- January 29, 30 : v Barbados
- January 31, February 1 : v United Services (in Barbados), 13-a-side
- February 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 : v Barbados
- February 14, 15, 16 : v Antigua
- February 18, 19 : v St. Kitts
- February 22, 23 : v St. Lucia, 12-a-side
- February 25 : v St. Vincent, 12-a-side
- February 28, March 1 : v Queen's Park C.C. (in St. Vincent), 12-a-side
- March 4, 5 : v All Trinidad
- March 16, 18 : v Demerara
- March 19, 20 : v Demerara
- March 30, April 1 : v All Jamaica, 12-a-side
- April 2, 3 : Jamaica Born
- April 5, 6 : v West Jamaica
- April 8, 9 : v North Jamaica, 12-a-side
- April 11, 12 : v All Jamaica
First-class matches are highlighted. A further match against Grenada in March was abandoned. The matches against Jamaica and Jamaica Born are recognised as the first first-class matches to take place in Jamaica.
Of the 8 first-class matches, 4 were won, 3 lost and 1 drawn. Overall 10 matches were won, 4 lost and 2 drawn.
Dawson headed the batting averages with an average of 26 in the first-class games. Sewell was leading run scorer in the first-class games with 269 although in all matches Bush lead with 406 runs. Just two centuries were scored by the tourists both in the second match against Barbados. These were 101 by Bush and 138 by Dawson.
The bowling for the tourists was largely in the hands of Bromley-Davenport and Bush who each took over 50 wickets in the first-class matches. Sewell was next amongst the wicket-takers with 11. In all matches Bromley-Davenport and Bush each took over 100 wickets.
Most of the matches were low scoring. The one exception was the second match against Barbados. Barbados scored 517 although no-one scored a century, George Learmond
George Learmond
George Learmond was a Scottish Benedictine who was Prior of Pluscarden and almost Bishop of Aberdeen. He was probably born around 1478, graduated Master of Arts from the University of St Andrews in 1498 and maintained links with the university while holding benefices in St Andrews and Fordoun in...
top scoring with 86. Lucas's XI replied with 303 giving Barbados a first innings lead of 214. Following-on Lucas's XI then scored 396 and dismissed Barbados for 157 to win by 25 runs. Clifford Goodman
Clifford Goodman
Clifford Everard Goodman , was a cricketer. A right arm fast bowler, he was educated at The Lodge School, Barbados. He stood at 6 ft 4ins and took 126 wickets at 10.70 in his 15 match first class career...
who had been successful in the first 3 innings against the tourists, taking 20 wickets, took just 1/121 in the tourists' second innings.
Averages
The following averages are in the 8 first-class matches (Batting Bowling).Batting
| Player | P | I | NO | R | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | C/S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JM Dawson | 5 | 7 | 0 | 184 | 138 | 26.28 | 1 | - | 6 |
| RP Sewell | 8 | 12 | 1 | 269 | 77 | 24.45 | - | 3 | 9 |
| FW Bush | 7 | 10 | 0 | 242 | 101 | 24.20 | 1 | - | 3 |
| JH Weatherby | 8 | 11 | 0 | 248 | 56 | 22.54 | - | 1 | 4 |
| HT Smith-Turberville | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 20.00 | - | - | - |
| HR Bromley-Davenport Hugh Bromley-Davenport Hugh Richard Bromley-Davenport OBE was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University between 1892 and 1893 and Middlesex between 1896 and 1898... |
8 | 11 | 0 | 212 | 91 | 19.27 | - | 1 | 12 |
| RS Lucas Robert Slade Lucas Robert Slade Lucas was an English cricketer who played for Middlesex. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium paced bowler... |
8 | 13 | 1 | 209 | 64 | 17.41 | - | 1 | 7 |
| AA Priestley Arthur Priestley Sir Arthur Alexander Priestley was an English Liberal Party politician and cricketer. After three unsuccessful candidacies he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1918... |
8 | 11 | 1 | 144 | 36 | 14.40 | - | - | 5 |
| R Berens | 8 | 12 | 1 | 136 | 50 | 12.36 | - | 1 | 3 |
| L Barratt | 6 | 9 | 1 | 82 | 19 | 10.25 | - | - | 5 |
| MM Barker | 8 | 11 | 1 | 94 | 30 | 9.40 | - | - | 10 |
| RL Marshall | 8 | 11 | 5 | 55 | 19* | 9.16 | - | - | - |
| WH Wakefield | 6 | 9 | 2 | 30 | 16 | 4.28 | - | - | 10/5 |
Bowling
| Player | O | M | R | W | BB | Ave | 5i | 10m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR Bromley-Davenport Hugh Bromley-Davenport Hugh Richard Bromley-Davenport OBE was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University between 1892 and 1893 and Middlesex between 1896 and 1898... |
307.4 | 108 | 561 | 56 | 7/17 | 10.01 | 5 | 1 |
| FW Bush | 284.4 | 90 | 610 | 51 | 7/25 | 11.96 | 5 | 2 |
| RP Sewell | 62.3 | 15 | 189 | 11 | 4/29 | 17.18 | - | - |
| HT Smith-Turberville | 5 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 1/28 | 28.00 | - | - |
| L Barratt | 33 | 8 | 89 | 3 | 3/75 | 29.66 | - | - |
| RL Marshall | 46 | 6 | 163 | 5 | 3/71 | 32.60 | - | - |
| RS Lucas Robert Slade Lucas Robert Slade Lucas was an English cricketer who played for Middlesex. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium paced bowler... |
28.4 | 0 | 153 | 3 | 2/111 | 51.00 | - | - |
| MM Barker | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||
External sources
Annual reviews
- James Lillywhite's Cricketers' AnnualJames Lillywhite's Cricketers' AnnualJames Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual was a cricket annual edited by Charles W Alcock the secretary of Surrey County Cricket Club between 1872 and 1900. It is generally referred to as Red Lillywhite because of colour of the cover. It was published by James Lillywhite, Frowd & Co...
1896, pages 39 to 56 - Wisden Cricketers' AlmanackWisden Cricketers' AlmanackWisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
1896, pages 400 to 402
Further reading
- Peter Wynne-Thomas, The Complete History of Cricket Tours at Home & Abroad, Guild, 1989