Born On This Day: 8th November

Herbert Hake was born in Christchurch in 1894. He was an amateur batsman who played in 21 matches for Hampshire between 1920-1925, following his uncle SM Toyne who had played one match for Hampshire in 1905.

He was educated at Haileybury College and in 1914 played for Lord’s Schools and the Public Schools in representative matches at Lord’s During the war he was a captain in the Hampshire Regiment, mentioned in despatches, and immediately afterwards, while at Cambridge University, he played in five first-class matches without obtaining his ‘blue’ although he did win them for hockey and rackets.

For Hampshire he scored 478 runs at 17.70, with three half-centuries including a best of 94 opening the batting v Leicestershire at Hinckley in 1921, but perhaps most significantly he was a member of the Hampshire side that in 1920 recorded perhaps the finest victory in the county’s history when at Headingley they beat the powerful Yorkshire side by an innings, having lost just two wickets. Their captain Lionel Tennyson sent each member of the XI a mounted team photograph at the Christmas of that year.

Herbert did not play in 1924, and after three matches in late August 1925 his first-class career ended. His last recorded matches were on tours of Holland (Free Foresters) and Portugal (Cryptics). He became a Headmaster and died in Sydney, Australia in 1975.

Also John Kennard (1919).