Written by Peter Hartland
Introduction
The digitisation of publications such as Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game (1882-1913), The World of Cricket (1914) and The Cricketer (1921-84), together with that of local newspapers, has shone new light on the history of cricket clubs such as Sussex Martlets.
These publications covered club cricket in great detail, offering a wealth of full scorecards, potted scores, match reports, notable achievements and season averages. For example, Cricket published the full playing records, batting and bowling, of all 91 cricketers to turn out for the Martlets in 1911. The Sportsman newspaper had done the same for three previous seasons: 1907, 1909 and 1910. There were over 400 members by 1911, including CB Fry and Ranjitsinhji who both supported the Club, though Ranji played only once and Fry not at all. Public school cricket also enjoyed full coverage, which can be cross-referenced with the wandering clubs the schools all faced.
Another boost was the discovery in Chichester of a full set of Sussex Martlets scorebooks running from 1926 to 1953. Considerable care was taken to record matches in those days. With the fine anniversary histories produced by Geoffrey Bolton (1955) and David Gibbs (2005), and Sandy Ross’s comprehensive appendices incorporated in the latter; the various Sussex cricket annuals; Cricket Archive‘s scorecard database; and a miscellany of internal Martlet material, both online and at the Sussex CCC Museum archive at Hove, there is now a reasonably complete statistical record of the Club.
Early History
The Club was founded in 1905 as the Hove Long Vacation Club. It sounds an odd name but accurately describes the original purpose, which was to provide good cricket during the summer holidays for schoolmasters, undergraduates and officers in the armed services who were on the fringe of the county side. Hove was the best batting pitch in the country, and Fry and Ranji among the leading batsmen, but there was no comparable bowling.
Neighbours Kent and Surrey had their own long-standing wandering clubs, respectively Band of Brothers (established 1858) and Wanderers (1878), and Surrey had been much more successful in the county championship. To the west Hampshire Hogs dated back to 1887. A Sussex-based equivalent was overdue. The Club was renamed Sussex Martlets in 1907.
The most famous founding member was Arthur Conan Doyle. The first outstanding performer was Australian-born fast bowler Harry Simms, who took 80 wickets in 1907 and 92 the following year. Only one bowler has captured more wickets in a season for the Martlets. In 1911 Harry’s younger brother Roy scored 860 runs.
29 fixtures were completed that year, of which seven survive today: Cuckfield, Eastbourne, Horsham and the public schools at Brighton, Eastbourne, Lancing and Christ’s Hospital. Lancing Old Boys (now Rovers) came on board the following year. When war was declared in early August 1914, all Martlets cricket was immediately cancelled and did not restart until July 1919.
Records Overview
The first thing to bear in mind when looking at the records is the change in the size of the fixture list. During the initial ten seasons from the formation of the Club to the First World War, the average number of matches played per year was in the mid twenties. A similar level was maintained during the 1920s and 1930s. The immediate post-war years 1945-49 saw a slight reduction as the Club found its feet again. There was then an explosive rise to 51 matches a year in the 1950s, before an average all-time high of 87 during the 1960s, when two or occasionally three games might be staged on the same day. The high water mark was 1966 when 99 matches were played out of 113 arranged. Since then, lifestyle changes and the introduction of league cricket in the south have progressively trimmed back the fixture list. Matches played per annum in the twenty-first century lie around the thirty mark.
Broadly speaking victories outnumbered defeats during the first half of the Club’s history, apart from the 1920s. Cricketers with first-class experience were often in the ranks, which was a factor. The Cricketer‘s opinion in 1935 was that there was no stronger club in Sussex. During the past fifty years or so results have been the other way round, though the gap is narrowing. A sharp fall in the proportion of drawn matches since the turn of the millennium no doubt owes something to the philosophy engendered by T20.
Leading Bowlers
When David Gibbs said that three Sussex Martlets bowlers stood above all others he was not exaggerating. Gerry Campbell, Eddie Harrison and Sandy Ross each took more than 800 wickets for the Club. All three delivered on the brisk side of medium pace. Such career aggregates are rare among wandering clubs, which tend to have a lot of members playing relatively few games. Campbell’s tally was concentrated into a tighter timeframe: 23 seasons excluding 1915-18. He is the only man to claim over a hundred wickets in a season, a feat he achieved twice.
Harrison’s career spanned more than fifty years and Ross’s over forty, the former also being interrupted by war. Lying fourth and fifth in the wickets table are the South African leg-spinner Basil Woods (450+) and off-spinning all-rounder Brian O’Gorman. 42 bowlers have taken a hundred or more wickets for the Club. It is a reflection of today’s reduced fixture list that only four of them, Michael Murray, Mark Trubshaw, Paul Walker and Johnny Wills, are still playing.
Batting Feats
Runs have been more evenly spread around at the top end, with 39 batsmen registering over 2,000. Only two have scored a thousand in a season, Reginald Pinfield in 1921 and the Irishman Robin Waters in 1959. Both were hot summers. Waters was also one of the best wicket-keepers on the circuit.
Martlets matches have generally been played on good pitches and a lot of centuries have been scored. 333 different batsmen have reached three figures for the Club and all are listed here. Three innings in excess of 200 have been registered, the most recent by Sam Cooper against Old Hurstjohnians in 2015. The highest score is 330 not out by Ken Fry (CB’s cousin) in a two-day match against Cuckfield in 1907. It is likely to remain so.
A near miss on a double century was recorded by perhaps the most distinguished Martlet centurion, when KS Duleepsinhji carried his bat for 195 not out against Old Malvernians at Hove in 1924. Duleep was leading Martlet runscorer that year, as was another future England batsman David Sheppard in 1947. Each year’s leading run-scorer and wicket-taker are shown on the next page.
Finally, spare a thought for RAM Stradling in another two-day two-innings affair against United Services at Portsmouth in 1930. In Sussex Martlets’ first innings he carried his bat for 103. Opening again in the second, he made 142 as the visitors were dismissed for 251. Somehow Stradling managed to end up on the losing side as Martlets were defeated by seven wickets!
RESULTS
1905-14: Played 238, Won 105, Lost 87, Drawn 46, Tied 0, Matches/Year 24
1919-29: Played 272, Won 77, Lost 127, Drawn 68, Tied 0, Matches/Year 25
1930-39: Played 261, Won 98, Lost 65, Drawn 98, Tied 0, Matches/Year 26
1945-49: Played 108, Won 49, Lost 32, Drawn 27, Tied 0, Matches/Year 22
1950-59: Played 509, Won 186, Lost 166, Drawn 156, Tied 1, Matches/Year 51
1960-69: Played 871, Won 243, Lost 346, Drawn 280, Tied 2, Matches/Year 87
1970-79: Played 694, Won 202, Lost 254, Drawn 234, Tied 4, Matches/Year 69
1980-89: Played 486, Won 139, Lost 147, Drawn 200, Tied 0, Matches/Year 49
1990-99: Played 376, Won 117, Lost 120, Drawn 138, Tied 1, Matches/Year 38
2000-09: Played 285, Won 95, Lost 112, Drawn 77, Tied 1, Matches/Year 29
2010-19: Played 313, Won 131, Lost 132, Drawn 45, Tied 5, Matches/Year 31
2020-24: Played 173, Won 62, Lost 71, Drawn 40, Tied 0, Matches/Year 35
Total: Played 4586, Won 1504, Lost 1659, Drawn 1409, Tied 14, Matches/Year 41
BATTING
MOST RUNS IN CAREER
8,000+ Brian O’Gorman (1954-2004), 7,500+ Derek Semmence (1978-2013), 7,000+ Eddie Harrison (1929-81), 6,000+ Adrian Ford (1974-2013), 5,500+ Derek Corbett (1946-61), Keith Jenkin (1948-91), 4,500+ David Gibbs (1966-94), 4,400+ Michael Murray (1999- ), 4,200+ Gerry Campbell (1913-39), 4,100+ Sam Carter (1999- ), 3,823+ Andy Meads (1969-96), 3,500+ Arthur PFC Somerset (1906-54), 3,100+ Johnny Wills (1984- ), 3,025 Alfred Pewtress (1929-37), 3,000+ Richard Gutteridge (1989-2000), David Mordaunt (1953-67), Colin Oliver-Redgate (1960-2013), Edward Snell (1925-53), 2,600+ John Farmer (1955-60), Ed McGregor (2001-09), 2,500+ Bertie Chaplin (1905-36), 2,400+ Darryl Rebbetts (2014- ), Jonathan Watt (1958-74), 2,304 HMO Holman (1927-33), 2,300+ MP Atkinson (1920-35) 2,250+ Dave Peacock (1990-2000), 2,200+ LG Morey (1935-54), Mark Semmence (1990-2009), Robin Waters (1959-63), Basil Woods (1952-72), 2,100+ Reginald Pinfield (1920-33), 2,000+ Chris Bidwell (1963-69), Peter Collymore (1950-88), Adam Davies (2011-16), Charlie Hartridge (1981-2000), DE Ironside (1959-67), JK Mathews (1905-54), Nick Seager (2006-13), Dale Vargas (1958-72)
MOST CENTURIES
Fourteen: Andy Meads; Ten: Adam Davies; Nine: Dave Peacock; Eight: Sam Carter, MR Hutchinson, Brian O’Gorman, Alfred Pewtress, Derek Semmence; Seven: Toby Pullan, Darryl Rebbetts, Mark Semmence; Six: Ed McGregor, Jack Malden; Five: MP Atkinson, Bob Gale, Andrew Hartridge, Keith Jenkin, David Mordaunt, Jens Richardson, Nick Seager, Richard Seager, Greg West
MOST RUNS IN SEASON
1021 Robin Waters (1959), 1000+ Reginald Pinfield (1921), 922 John Farmer (1957), 910 D Peacock (1992), 895 Jano Moller (2017), 860 Roy Simms (1911), 838 Derek Corbett (1955), 811 Ian Thwaites (1962), 810 Adam Davies ( 2011), 804 Jordan Shaw (2021)
HIGHEST INNINGS
Ken Fry 330* v Cuckfield, 1907
Darsie Watson 216 v Butterflies, 1919
Sam Cooper 203* v Old Hurstjohnians, 2015
KS Duleepsinhji 195* v Old Malvernians, Hove, 1924 (Carried bat)
Toby Pullan 188* v The Hurlingham Club, Arundel Castle, 2021
Edward Snell 183 v Hampstead, Hove, 1932
Derek Lattey 176* v Old Brightonians, 1955
HMO Holman 172 v Sussex Clergy, Hove, 1929
Ben Davies 171 v Old Hurstjohnians, 2016
CENTURY IN EACH INNINGS
JO Wick 141 and 100 v Old Rossallians, Hove, 1928
RAM Stradling 103* and 142 v United Services, Portsmouth, 1930 (Carried bat in first innings)
BOWLING
MOST WICKETS IN CAREER
870+ Gerry Campbell (1913-39), 840+ Eddie Harrison (1929-81), 838 Sandy Ross (1964-2009), 450+ Basil Woods (1952-72), 400+ Brian O’Gorman (1954-2004), 350+ David Dickinson (1947-66), 300+ Keith Jenkin (1948-91), 270+ Geoffrey Bolton (1914-53), 260+ Michael Murray (1999- ), 250+ John Farrar (1947-63), Arthur PFC Somerset (1906-54), 220+ Bill Stewart (1946-59), Alan Wadey (1971-83), 210+ JR Blanchard (1963-74), 200+ John Bushell (1979-91), JIL Lattey (1948-62), Larry O’Callaghan (1963-82), Colin Oliver-Redgate (1960-2013), Harry Simms (1905-12), Paul Walker (2001- ), 190+ Wilfrid Lord (1921-36), HT Wickham (1926-37), 166 MD Neligan (1925-53), 160+ TD Pickard-Cambridge (1925-39), 150+ John Flowers (1905-29), David Mordaunt (1953-67), 140+ Mark Trubshaw (2009- ), 130+ Sandy Farrar (1949-62), Johnny Wills (1984- ), 120+ Mike Bozman (1976-90), Sid Ledlie (1973-89), 110+ DE Ironside (1959-67), Philip Morris (1925-33), JV Pollard (1947-61), 100+ David Beams (1959-76), FRH Beven (1933-38), Bertie Chaplin (1905-36), LWA Raven (1933-51), Nigel Russell (1988-2015), Derek Semmence (1978-2013), Roy Simms (1909-13), Walter Sundius-Smith (1906-24)
MOST WICKETS IN SEASON
107 Gerry Campbell in 1929, 101 Gerry Campbell in 1927, 92 Harry Simms in 1908, 91 Gerry Campbell in 1930, 80 Harry Simms in 1907, 76 Alan Wadey in 1972 (includes tour to Southern Africa), 75 Gerry Campbell in 1924, 70 Gerry Campbell in 1931
BEST BOWLING
John Farrar 10-26 v Hampstead, Hove, 1949, JF Robinson 10-56 v Brasenose College, Hove, 1934 (12 a side), Sandy Ross 9-21 v Brighton College, 1975, Eddie Harrison 9-26 v Royal Sussex Regiment, Chichester, 1937, MD Neligan 9-28 v Junior Martlets, Hove, 1935 (12 a side), Sandy Farrar 9-31 v Incogniti, Hove, 1950, Derek Horsham 9-36 v Lancing College, 2011, Robin Frean 9-43 v Stragglers of Asia, Fletching, 2003, WL Kenning 9-44 v Lancing College, 1948, Gerry Campbell 9-47 v Dawlish, 1930 (12 a side), Gerry Campbell 9-60 v Eastbourne College, 1919, Wilfrid Lord 9-60 v United Services, Devonport, 1922, JIL Lattey 9-67 v Middleton, 1950, Philip Morris 9-74 v Old Rossallians, Hove, 1932
ALL-ROUND CRICKET
3,000 RUNS & 200 WICKETS IN CAREER
Gerry Campbell (1913-39) 4,200+ runs and 870+ wickets, Eddie Harrison (1929-81) 7,000+ runs and 840+ wickets, Keith Jenkin (1948-91) 5,500+ runs and 300+ wickets, Brian O’Gorman (1954-2004) 8,000+ runs and 400+ wickets, Colin Oliver-Redgate (1960-2013) 4,400+ runs and 260+ wickets, Michael Murray (1999- ) 4,300+ runs and 250+ wickets, Arthur PFC Somerset (1906-54) 3,500+ runs and 250+ wickets
500 RUNS & 50 WICKETS IN SEASON
Harry Simms 687 runs & 80 wickets in 1907, Gerry Campbell 504 runs & 101 wickets in 1927, Gerry Campbell 554 runs & 64 wickets in 1928, Gerry Campbell 542 runs & 107 wickets in 1929, MKS Shatrushalyasinhji 643 runs & 65 wickets in 1959, Basil Woods 614 runs & 65 wickets in 1962
CENTURY & FIVE WICKETS IN INNINGS
Stanley Harris 104 and 6-44 v Lewes Priory, 1913, RCEM Greene 103 and 6-55 v Eastbourne, 1937, David Mordaunt 138* and 8-60 v Worcester College, Oxford, 1962, Jano Moller 101 and 6-14 v Eastbourne, 2017
WICKET-KEEPING
MOST DISMISSALS IN INNINGS
Six
H Asa Thomas (5 ct, 1 st) v Signal Training Centre, Maresfield, 1925, Richard Seager (3 ct, 3 st) v Old Hurstjohnians, 2000, Joe Akers-Douglas (6 ct) v Yellowhammers, 2018
CENTURY SCORERS 1905-2024
(dates in brackets indicate years of first and last century)
14 – Andy Meads (1969-96)
10 – Adam Davies (2011-15)
9 – Dave Peacock (1990-95)
8 – Sam Carter (2003-24), MR Hutchinson (1961-66), Brian O’Gorman (1960-72), Alfred Pewtress (1929-35), Derek Semmence (1978-93)
7 – Toby Pullan (2015-21), Darryl Rebbetts (2014-20), Mark Semmence (1990-2009)
6 – Ed McGregor (2001-07), Jack Malden (1910-35)
5 – MP Atkinson (1920-28), Bob Gale (1969-77), Andrew Hartridge (2010-13), Keith Jenkin (1955-89), David Mordaunt (1958-67), Jens Richardson (2015-22), Nick Seager (2006-12), Richard Seager (1990-2002), Greg West (1989-2011)
4 – Chris Bidwell (1963-69), Marcus Campopiano (2013-21), AL Corbett (1908-14), David Gibbs (1968-78), Frank Gresson (1907-11), David Gutteridge (1984-97), Charlie Hartridge (1987-96), Jules Hunt (2017-23), Hector Loughton (2015-23), Jordan Shaw (2021-24), Robin Waters (1959-62)
3 – Mike Barford (1968-75), Bertie Chaplin (1909-31), Andrew Clarke (1971-75), Sam Cooper (2015-18), THW Curtis (1911), Alan Duff (1968-75), John Farmer (1957), Mike Griffith (1972-83), Richard Gutteridge (1995-99), Stanley Harris (1907-13), Matthew Hastwell (1990-96), DE Ironside (1959-65), CAR Lawrence (1929-32), Sid Ledlie (1974-77), Ian Lock (1965-74), Jano Moller (2017-19), LG Morey (1936-39), John Neal (1954-59), David Nicholson (1971-90), FA Phillips (1907-10), FE Rowe (1911-14), Jon Roycroft (1999-2002), TH Russell (1930-33), Edward Snell (1931-47), Philip Somerville (1964-84), Bob Stainton (1936-52), Ashton Turner (2013), Jonathan Watt (1962-73), JDH Whittome (1955-64)
2 – Andy Barnes (1969-73), J Collinson (1938-39), Derek Corbett (1953-56), RG Davies (1987-91), PM Davy (1992), Tom Drake-Brockman (2022), MA Fisher (1992), Ken Fry (1907-08), Hugo Gillespie (2021-24), HM Gorringe (1927), Peter Hall (1977), David Hole (1961-62), HMO Holman (1929), R Houldsworth (1989-90), Richard Iago (2006-10), Derek Lattey (1949-55), Les Lenham (1971-73), John Lock (1954-55), KPA Mathews (1950-54), MM Mathews (1945-49), EG Oldham (1937), Toby Peirce (2005-07), R Pine (1976-77), Reginald Pinfield (1921-25), Steven Rae (2014-15), PC Rushton (1953-63), J Sadler (1992-98), RC Shaw (1924-28), David Sheppard (1947-54), Harry Simms (1907-12), Krishna Singh (2006-09), Richard Smyth (1968-69), Arthur PFC Somerset (1931-37), Ben Speake (2014), RAM Stradling (1930), DG Sundius-Smith (1911), Ian Thwaites (1962-68), Stanley Trick (1924), David Walsh (1969-72), Tim Wergan (2023), John Whittaker (1968-75), JO Wick (1928), Johnny Wills (1990), HL Wilson (1923-24), Nick Wisdom (1981-92)
1 – P Addinsell (1937), Will Adkin (2022), JW Alderman (1927), Patrick Allen (1988), EL Armitage (1924), Arslan Khan (2023), MT Baines (1928), Matt Banes (2010), J Barnes (1989), Redding Barnes (2023), AH Beadles (1969), J Beale (1995), Sir William Becher (1937), C Bell (1934), FRH Beven (1930), Z Bhettay (2009), Henry Blackwell (2019), DJ Boon (1989), KHE Bowen (1948), G Bowman (1966), GJ Boxall (1969), Olly Bradley (2018), A Brand (2001), David Buck (1984), EAC Buckmaster (1930), G Bull (1933), Bob Burdon (1962), Jeremy Bushell (2015), Ben Caldera (2017), DJ Callaghan (1992), FSG Calthorpe (1911), Leo Cammish (2017), Gerry Campbell (1924), GG Campbell (1921), CIA Carr (1932), Ben Cartwright (2017), J Chaffer (1957), J Chaplin (1996), Michael Chapman (2010), S Chettleburgh (1992), RD Cochrane (1911), Geoff Cole (2006), GAK Collins (1931), Bruce Cumming (1935), P d’Abo (1962), James Dahl (2006), Ben Davies (2016), John Davies (1975), Cristian Davis (2018), T Deacon (2009), Simon Doggart (1988), KS Duleepsinhji (1924), Archie Durrant (2023), M Ellis (1992), M Emerson (1973), Sandy Farrar (1951), Freddie Ferro (2024), Josh Fisher (2021), Adrian Ford (1995), David Foster (1962), P Fowler-Tutt (1955), AW Fox (1909), G Galloway (1988), RR Garton (1962), C Gates (2007), H Gauntlett (1962), Brad Gayler (2017), J Gibson (1994), Martin Goff (2018), P Gogin (1989), KO Goldie (1907), John Goodacre (1997), Charles Grave (2003), RCEM Greene (1937), JRC Hale (1950), A Halliday (2001), G Halliday (1959), A Ham (2006), FM Hamerton (1928), Chris Hammond (2006), Tom Harris (2010), Eddie Harrison (1952), Mike Harrison (2010), E Hart (1995), Tom Haynes (2020), Johnny Heaven (2017), Simon Hoadley (2004), BH Holloway (1913), T Holt (1989), N Hordern (1959), RG Hunt (1947), Padmanan Jadeja (2014), Oscar Jago-Lewis (2021), Jimmy James (1986), R Jenner (1921), R Kingsford (1960), Chris Kirkham (2007), David Kirtley (2011), William Knowles (1913), Peter Lamb (2019), AWE Lapham (1909), Percy Latham (1908), Peter Ledden (1970), Archie Leon (2010), JO Lintott (1948), PH Lloyd (1961), David Lock (1965), Michael Loveday (2015), J Ludlow (2015), JA Lush (1967), ACG Luther (1920), A Lutwyche (1995), GP McConnell (1933), Stuart Maddock (2003), Goodwill Mamhiyo (2013), David Mann (2016), NBJ Mann (1938), RJ Martin (1935), JK Mathews (1930), CA Merriman (1939), David Miller (1970), Jacob Montgomery (2016), Anju Mudkavi (1985), Steve Murdock (2007), Michael Murray (2019), Tim Mynott (1976), Tom Naish (2023), RWC Nethercoat (1937), James Newman (2014), PJ Newton (1993), PJ Norris (1964), RF Norris (1909), Mike O’Brien (1961), WFT O’Byrne (1934), Joe O’Gorman (2018), Tim O’Gorman (2000), R Oliphant-Callum (1993), CJ Parham (1970), John Peacey (1922), PR Perfect (1969), Paul Phillipson (1975), A Polack (1962), Marno Pretorius (2015), Abi Raut (2019), George Read (2020), Stuart Ritchie (2004), ARG Robertson (1914), D Robertson (1914), P Robins (1998), C Robinson (1996), KM Robinson (1926), O Rogers (2006), Harry Rollings (2018), Philip Roper (2010), M Rowland (1991), Rohan Ryan (2021), R Rydon (2011), GD Saddington (1984), Dhiren Salvi (2018), JG Saunders (1983), TA Scaramanga (1933), Osmund Scott (1914), RSG Scott (1929), N Searls (1972), Geoff Seaton (1963), R Senneck (1989), C Sharman (1958), MKS Shatrushalyasinhji (1959), Toby Shepperson (2019), H Shiffner (1929), Simon Shivnarain (2021), B Shoebridge (1994), Roy Simms (1911), AB Skinner (1913), ALD Skinner (1909), Dan Smith (2019), CLA Smith (1908), Ernest Smith (1912), MHW Smithers (1928), AWF Somerset (1909), Martin Speight (1987), Howard Spencer (1965), G Springer (1980), JH Stallibrass (1971), Alistair Stanley (2014), FMR Stephenson (1927), D Stewart (1989), GV Sturgeon (1924), Brad Taylor (2017), RCA Terdre (1961), Rupert Thacker (1990), AL Tharkara (1970), R Thelwell (1995), Jamie Thompson (2010), M Thompson (1996), SL Thompson (1909), JR Tozer (1958), Adam Trees (2024), Mark Trubshaw (2015), Matt Tucker (2022), David Twine (2021), RJA Wade (1936), Rob Wakeford (2006), Simon Warrender (2018), AC Watson (1921), Darsie Watson (1919), FH Watson (1913), CJB Webb (1913), MJ Webb-Bowen (1948), Daniel Wells (2012), D West (1983), Max Wheatley (2022), Ben Whelpton (2024), AAH White (1972), TR White (1928), GGB Wilkes (1958), AC Wilkinson (1910), G Wilkinson (1959), Peter Williams (1924), TH Williams (1907), Geoff Wills (1976), J Withers (1993), CJ Woodhouse (1958), EB Woollan (1927), R Wyatt (1979), Charlie Wycherley (1982)