A History of Cricket at King Edward's School, BIrmingham

34 foundation with a substantial opening stand; KES then dismissed the OEs for 66 (Raine 6 wickets) and 74 (Cohen five). WE Sandbach became captain in 1927, and his side lost seven games but won six, including four in a row in the middle of the season. Several young players impressed, among them FL Bland, a batsman, and two all-rounders, NAM Plowright and WK Wyatt. Wyatt eventually became a record-breaking batsman, but it was as a bowler that he made an initial impression, with 6 for 19 in his second match, against Denstone: unfortunately, KES’s 59 fell a long way short of Denstone’s 142. Wyatt took another five wickets in the return game against Denstone, which was also lost. However, Wrekin were beaten: Goode, Elwood and PD Sadler all made solid contributions in a score of 199, and Plowright took four wickets as Wrekin were bowled out for 128. There followed a notable victory against Olton CC. Sandbach, winning the toss and electing to bat, was able to declare at 225 for two. He and Wyatt were out early, with only 17 on the board, but Elwood (141 not out) and Bland (69 not out) added 208 for the third wicket. Elwood went on to complete an outstanding all- round performance by taking five wickets as Olton were dismissed for 97. The partnership was at the time the highest made for the School for any wicket, but this record was destined to stand for only a few weeks. After KES had beaten HP Plowright’s XI (AF Goode 63, EJ Chapman five wickets) and the Old Edwardians (Elwood 54, NAM Plowright 6 for 30), Sandbach scored 105 not out and Bland 119 in a stand of 213 for the second wicket against Leamington CC. Sandbach eventually declared at 236 for two, but the School were only able to take four Leamington wickets, the match ending in a draw. Elwood and Bland’s partnership against Olton remained a record for the third wicket until 1952, and that of Sandbach and Bland stood as a record for the second wicket even longer, until 1992. Bland made 368 runs during the season, Elwood 342, and Goode 295. Sandbach did not achieve quite as much as he had in his record-breaking year in 1927, but still ended up with 280 runs. NAM Plowright, a much-improved bowler with a varied armoury, and EW Elwood took most of the wickets – 32 each. They were supported by Wyatt, who took 17 wickets with his leg-breaks (and made 184 runs). This was Sandbach’s last season: he left with 1,210 runs to his credit. ES Baker also left at the end of this year. While his batting in 1927 had disappointed, he had been an efficient wicket-keeper. He played 32 matches for Worcestershire in 1933 and 1934, and it is recorded that he once hit Harold Larwood for six. One other feature of this season should be noted – the formation of an under-15 XI. This gave a valuable stimulus to cricket lower down the School. In 1928 EW Elwood’s side won ten matches out of the 16 played, and for two seasons School cricket reached the heights. The batting was exceptionally strong; five times the two hundred was reached, the highest of these being the 286 for eight declared made against Denstone on 14 July – until 1993, the second highest innings total for KES. Plowright made 69, Wyatt 52, GE Arblaster 50, and there were useful contributions from Elwood, Bland and FN Bryan. However, KES were unable to take more than seven Denstone wickets and so the match was drawn. This was Wyatt’s fourth major score in a fortnight. In the match against Leamington on 27 June, after Leamington had been dismissed for 58 (G Hyde taking five wickets), Wyatt made 70 out of a KES total of 249 for seven. In the next two matches he created a record by scoring two centuries in successive innings. He made 103