‘Shore Whipped In’ – A Jobbing Professional
Martin Chandler |Published: 2024
Pages: 92
Author: Musk, Stephen
Publisher: Red Rose Books
Rating: 3.5 stars
Whatever else he may or may not have, Stephen Musk certainly has a talent for picking obscure subjects to write about, but they are always interesting. Usually there is a link with Norfolk, and this one is no exception to that rule but, for once, there is a Lancashire connection, albeit a somewhat tenuous one.
As the sub-title suggests this one is biographical, and it’s subject is Charlie Shore. The young Shore, a left arm spinner, played professionally for Sefton, a club in Liverpool. Hailing from the remarkably fertile cricketing nursery of Sutton-in-Ashfield he had an eight match run for his native Nottinghamshire in 1881.
Shore enjoyed some success in 1881, but through no fault of his own he had no more opportunities to play for the county until 1885 when he was finally given a couple of further opportunities that he failed to grasp. In the next two seasons he played twice for a Liverpool and District XI, and a single match for Lancashire made up the rest of Shore’s First Class career.
At the end of 1888, still only 30, Shore was obliged by rheumatism to leave his position at Sefton and, on medical advice, he relocated to Norfolk. His doctor was clearly a wise man, as the drier climate Shore found in Norfolk allowed him to return to professional cricket with the county, and between 1889 and 1901 he took 582 wickets for the county at 13.19.
The bulk of ‘Shore Whipped In’, not unnaturally, is taken up with Shore’s Norfolk days and, concerned though Musk is with exactly what sort of deliveries were his stock in trade and his performances in individual matches, he also looks at some length at the life and times of a Minor County professional in this era and Shore’s duties other than playing for Norfolk. Equally important in that context are the arrangements for Shore’s remuneration, and the benefit he was granted in 1899.
One of the most interesting items in the text is, in an appendix, a transcript of an interview with Shore that appeared in the Norfolk Cricket Annual of 1898. The questions asked by the interviewer are, essentially, predictable, unlike some of the answers. There is no suggestion that Shore set out to mislead, but a remarkable number of his recollections are, as is highlighted in footnotes, either incorrect or confused.
As will all of Musk’s writings this project is a thoroughly worthwhile one, and the results of his research are well worth reading. As with many of this publisher’s books there is a standard paperback edition as well as a limited edition hardback. In the case of ‘Shore Whipped In’ those 15 hardbacks were all sold pre-publication, but the ordinary edition is still available, and can be bought through the publisher’s website or, in Australia from Roger Page.
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