Charles Pilkington

Charles Pilkington, the second of three brothers who played for Eton, died at The Manor, South Warnborough, on January 8, aged 73. During four years in the Eton XI he scored 427 runs, average 32.84, in the matches with Harrow and Winchester, and when captain in 1895 he took five wickets for 30 runs in Harrow's second innings. Getting his Oxford Blue as a Freshman, he helped to beat Cambridge by four wickets in his only inter-University match, which made cricket history by influencing the change in the follow-on rule to optional. Cambridge, led by Frank Mitchell, copying the example set three years before when F. S. Jackson was captain, gave away twelve extras, three balls being bowled deliberately to the boundary, in order to prevent the follow-on. Cambridge began badly in their second innings after a tremendous uproar all round the ground and a critical demonstration by M.C.C. members in the pavilion. Oxford were set to score 330 in the last innings, and they won by accomplishing the heaviest task ever performed at that time in the University match. P. F. Warner, G. J. Mordaunt and H. K. Foster were out for 60 runs before Pilkington helped G. O. Smith to add 84; H. D. G. Leveson Gower, the Oxford captain, did still better by staying while 97 were put on, and the runs were obtained for the loss of six men, G. O. Smith, 132, leaving when only two were required for victory. Pilkington averaged over 36 for Oxford that season. He gave up first-class cricket when on the Stock Exchange, but in 1901 for Silwood Park he took all ten R.M.C. wickets for 25 runs at Sandhurst. I saw that 1896 game at Lord's and remember vividly all that happened..
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack