Mold’s Marvellous Feat

Martin Chandler | 8:54am BST 18 June 2023

Published: 2023
Pages: 12
Author: Tebay, K Martin
Publisher: Red Rose Books
Rating: 3 stars

I doubt we will ever see a biography of Arthur Mold, but maybe someday someone will produce an extended monograph of the man who remains, with 1,673, the third highest wicket taker in Lancashire’s history. Perhaps it will be Red Rose Books who publish it, and maybe even Martin Tebay who writes it, but in the meantime this modest booklet, the second in a series entitled Victorian Vagaries, serves to whet the appetite.

A fast bowler who was born and died in Northamptonshire Mold was a man who enjoyed great success for the Red Rose and, in 1893, performed reasonably well in his only three Tests for England. He deserves to be remembered for much more than there having been mutterings in the game about the legality of his action, and his career finally ending in 1901 three matches after he was no-balled 16 times by umpire Jim Phillips in a Championship fixture.

But for now we do at least have this interesting story, of a match in 1893 between Manchester Club and Ground and a side styled North & East Ridings of Yorkshire. The game was not a First Class fixture and was twelve a side, something which gives rise to how noteworthy Mold’s performance was. In short in the Ridings second innings Mold took all eleven wickets at a cost of 50, and his match figures were 16/100, and he needed the assistance of a fielder for just two of those dismissals.

As with most of Red Rose’s monographs this one consists of an introduction and afterword between which is an account of the match, assembled from contemporary reports. It won’t be a best seller, just as well as it appears in a limited edition of just 25 copies, but if its subject matter appeals it is a thoroughly worthwhile purchase, and one that is available directly from the publisher here.