Tonbridge Free Press - Friday 15th May 1942
CRICKET:
Gover (4 for 0) Brings Quick End To Capel
COMPTON HITS OUT: LONDON COUNTIES WIN
R. Gover (Surrey) took four successive wickets, all of them clean bowled, while playing for London Counties against a Capel District XI at Five Oak Green on Saturday. The match was in aid of the Red Cross and Agricultural Fund.
Gover's bowling completely devasted the tail end of the Capel team, for the last five men followed each other from the wicket to the pavilion. Gover took his four wickets with the last four balls of an over, while a fifth and the last Capel wicket, fell to Young with the first ball of the next over.
Sunnucks, who opened with Day for Capel, played his usual reliable game, and only left the wicket when, after making 60, he was dismissed through a brilliant catch by Young off his own ball.
It was good to see W. F. Price (Middlesex and England) behind the sticks again. Although he kept well on the alert, he failed to whip off the bails and send a batsman back to the pavilion.
C. H. Knott was, unfortunately, bowled by Young when he looked like running up a score.
Gover's 4.5 Average
Gover's average of 4.5 was a particularly fine achievement on a strange wicket. He took eight wickets while the remaining three fell to Young, whose average was 16.6 runs per wicket.
At lunchtime Capel and District, who batted first, were three wickets down for 84 runs, with Young and Gover bowling.
F.S. Lee, W. F. Price, L. Compton and J. O'Connor made a fine opening quartet for London Counties, putting on 182 runs between them.
Leather-hunting began in earnest when Compton got the measure of the bowling and knocked up 79, including eleven 4's, three 6's and one 5.
Price was, unfortunately, run out when trying to sneak a quick one after raising 51 in a steady innings.
Alan ("Sixes on the Angel") Watt went down early when he was caught by Avis off Reynolds for seven.
As will be seen from the scores, the London Counties team had a fairly comfortable victory. Some good cricket was witnessed by a crowd that would have been larger had the weather been kinder.
Scores:-
CAPEL AND DISTRICT XI
F. Day b Gover....................................... 7
F. Sunnucks c and b Young............ 60
R. D. Bousfield b Young..................... 4
C. H. Knott b Young ...........................11
F. S. McDougal c and b Gover.........13
S. Levett b Gover................................ 4
R. D Webb b Gover............................. 3
G. McCarthy not out..........................0
H W. V. Levett c Young b Gover... 12
L. N. Reynolds b Gover.................... 0
F. Bridges b Gover............................ 0
S. Avis b Gover....................................0
Extras 21
Total 135 (all out)
Bowling: Gover 8 for 38. Young 3 for 32
LONDON COUNTIES XI
F. S. Lee b Levett..................................19
W. F. Price run out ..............................51
L. Compton c Knott b Reynolds......79
J. O'Connor b Bridges.........................33
J. Hulme lbw b Levett......................... 4
J. W. Lee not out................................... 5
A. E. Watt c Avis b Reynolds............. 7
Extras 2
Total (for 6 wickets) 200
F. A. Hawkins, J. Young. A. R. Cover and P. F. Judge did not bat.
Bowling - Reynolds 2 for 12, Webb 1 for 15, Bridges 1 for 36, Levett 1 for 34.
The umpires were Mr F. Chester and Capt. Rudd. Miss N. Tapsfield and Mr R. Wickens were the scorers.
All of the London Counties XI team and three of the Capel Cricket Club side had played cricket at County Championship level and some also for England. Profiles of all these players can be found by clicking on the following link: Cricket Players