Introducing a new feature! “Lowerhouse Then”, Paul Hargreaves will bring us “on this day” content every Sunday this season.
ON THIS DAY by Paul Hargreaves.
April 19th, 1902.
East Lancashire vs Lowerhouse
The Lancashire League was a decade old. It was an early start to the season and Lowerhouse were now playing their second game of the season having opened up the previous Saturday with a drawn match versus Church at home. The task this day was the formidable one of beating East Lancs at Alexandra Meadows. This they duly achieved in what developed into a really suspenseful game.
East Lancs batted first and were dismissed for 94 all out. The home team’s top scorer was Stell Haggas with 31. This Keighley-born player had celebrated his 46th birthday on the eve of the game. In his pomp he’d played 34 games for his native Yorkshire but was now reduced, for his sins, to playing as an amateur in the not quite city of Blackburn. Love the name Stell! Sad that it’s disappeared.
Lowerhouse’s consistent opening bowler, the Hall of Famer A.Pate, took 4-31 but the best figures belonged to Tommy Whittaker. The all-rounder taking 3-6 in his 5 overs.
In the ‘House reply Tommy’s namesake, Billy, got 36 valuable runs to top score on the day, adding to his own 2 wickets. That said there was almost zero help from the supporting cast. Lowerhouse pro’ Tom Poole only scored 1 after earlier going wicketless. Indeed in the entire season Poole only achieved a total of 50 runs! Come back Corrie Jordaan most is forgiven!
With Billy Whittaker gone and Lowerhouse at 62-9 many of the East Lancashire faithful would have been forgiven for going for an early tea with the game seemingly in the bag. For them no social media or mobile phones to inform them of the shock denouement.
They’d reckoned without the heroic Matthew Walker, Stan Heaton’s treasured grandfather, and J.H. Hartley (subject of an unsung heroes article). Walker led the way with 31 as an unbeaten partnership of 33 won the day for the plucky, never say die, visitors. It had been the epitome of the trademarked Lowerhouse ‘rally’.
It had been an uneventful day for Lowerhouse’s most talented ever amateur, young James Heap, who didn’t get called on to bowl. Almost exactly a year later, at this Alexandra Meadows ground, he bade his local team adieu, taking a match winning 5 wickets in his last ever game for Lowerhouse. Old Trafford and over 200 first class games beckoned!
Lowerhouse finished ninth in the League in 1902 which, considering they had to wait until 1906 for a top half finish, was very respectable. They could have finished quite a bit higher with a stronger performance on the season by the pro’.
Lowerhouse lost 11 games, drew 5 and won 10. None, though, was more dramatic than the one achieved on this day in that 1902 season.
EPIC