Paul Dyson (stats) and Nigel Pullan (text) look back at Somerset’s first visit to Headingley as well as two other games between these two counties in Leeds. The photo of David Denton comes courtesy of Mick Pope.
1895
July 22, 23: Yorkshire 73 (WC Hedley 8-18) & 163 (D Denton 60, WC Hedley 6-52, EJ Tyler 4-66); Somerset 69 (R Peel 9-22) & 64 (R Peel 6-28, FS Jackson 4-13). Yorkshire won by 103 runs.
We are going to look at three matches between Somerset and Yorkshire about 50 years apart from the first to the second, and the most recent. If we were social historians we might look at how cricket has changed over 150 years – as you might expect. In 1895 it was very wet in mid-July so runs were very difficult to get on a drying wicket. On the first day 21 wickets fell. Yorkshire made 78 of which Tunnicliffe scored 32 but most remarkable was the bowling performance of Walter Hedley who took eight for 18. Somerset could manage only 69 as Bobby Peel took nine for 22 so Geirge Hirst only took one and Ted Wainwright none at all. It was Yorkshire’s second innings 163 that made the difference with 60 from David Denton, Frank Mitchell 26 and FS Jackson 21. Again it was Hedley who did the damage with six for 52 and Edwin Tyler took four for 66. Somerset struggled on the second day when Peel took six for 28 and Jackson four for 18. Wainwright had a ‘Tony Lock at Old Trafford’ kind of match with none for 46 in 20 overs.
