The Sussex Cricket Museum Quiz

Questions

1. Who, in 2025, was reported as the Warwickshire club’s reigning karaoke champion?
2. In recent seasons, Warwickshire have played almost their matches in Birmingham, at Edgbaston. Which Warwickshire city has hosted Championship matches at four grounds within its boundaries?
3. Brian Lara’s famous 501 for Warwickshire off Durham at Edgbaston in 1994 took away a Championship record previously held by a Sussex player. Which player and what record?
4. At Edgbaston, 130 years ago this year, Warwickshire sent down 264 five-ball overs in the course of two days trying to dismiss their opponents in a single innings. Who were those opponents?
5. Warwickshire have been official county champions eight times; Sussex just three. So, which of the counties has been last most often?
6. Which Warwickshire player, declared bankrupt in 1887, was released from prison to play in his last Championship match in 1895, his benefit, whose funds were then used to clear his debts?
7. How many Quaifes have played Championship cricket for Warwickshire and how many for Sussex?
8. Only three players have scored a triple century and taken nine wickets in an innings in Championship cricket matches. One of them played for Warwickshire: who was he?
9. Who was the long-serving Warwickshire player whose wickets taken in Championship cricket exceeded by 625 his total runs scored? It's the largest such gap for any player for any county.
10. How many players have Warwickshire fielded in Championship cricket who have been clergymen during their lives. Two, four or six?

Answers

1. Oliver Hannon-Dalby, according to The Cricketers' Who's Who.

2. Coventry, which had 80 matches at the Bull’s Head, The Butts, Courtauld’s and Morris Motors grounds, between 1905 and 1982.

3. In his innings Lara scored 390 runs in a day’s play; this surpassed the 333 scored by K.S. Duleepsinhji for Sussex against Northamptonshire in a day here at Hove in 1930.

4. Yorkshire, who were all out for 887, still the highest innings total in the Championship. (The match was drawn, by the way. At that time declarations were permitted only on the last day of a three-day match.)

5. Well, Warwickshire have achieved it only three times and Sussex eleven, but two of those were before Warwickshire were allowed in!

6. Jack Shilton, who had served as a Warwickshire professional for several seasons before the county achieved first-class status. Later researchers have found he had never qualified to play for Warwickshire; a bit of a rogue!

7. Three have played for Warwickshire, Walter from 1895 to 1901, his older brother Willie from 1895 to 1928, and Bernard (Willie’s son) from 1920 to 1937. Walter and Willie were born here in Sussex at Newhaven. Two have played for Sussex, Walter in 1890 and 1891, before scarpering to Warwickshire, and Frank, who played twice in 1928.

8. He was Frank Foster who scored 305* v Worcestershire at Dudley in 1914 and took nine for 118 v Yorkshire at Edgbaston in 1911.

9. Eric Hollies, who played in 452 Championship matches for Warwickshire from 1932 to 1957. In those matches he took 2,105 wickets but scored just 1,480 runs.

10. Six. These were C.H.A. ‘Tom’ Gaunt (who played in 1920-1922, also a hymnologist); the appropriately named Jack Parsons (1910 to 1934, 300 matches); Edward Pereira (1895 and 1896); William Rice (1920, ‘the only monk to play county cricket’); E.F. ‘Mick’ Waddy (1919-1922, an Australian who had also played for New South Wales); T.H. Watson (1904).