Francis Lacey

While studying at Cambridge, Lacey made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire against Sussex at Hove in 1880.[5] He appeared for Hampshire during the summer break from university in 1881 and 1882, in addition playing first-class cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club three times in 1882, including in The University Match against Oxford University at Lord's.[5] He gained his cricket blue in cricket in 1882, in addition to gaining a blue in football the previous year.[1] After graduating from Cambridge, he continued to play county cricket for Hampshire until the club lost its first-class status following the 1885 season. During this period, Lacey made two first-class appearances for teams besides Hampshire; in 1884 he appeared for a Cambridge University Past and Present cricket team against the touring Australians at Hove and in 1885 he played for A. J. Webbe's XI against Cambridge University at Fenner's.[5] Prior to the loss of their first-class status, Lacey scored three centuries.[6] The first, a score of 157 came in 1882 against Sussex, while his next two centuries came in 1884, scores of 100 against Somerset and 211 against Kent, a match in which he also made an unbeaten 92.[3]

Despite the loss of their first-class status, Lacey continued his association with Hampshire. He was club captain from 1888 to 1894, succeeding Arthur Wood.[3] In 1887, in a minor match against Norfolk at Southampton, Lacey made 323 not out,[7] which remains as of 2023 the highest individual score in a second-class fixture in England.[3] At the time, it was the fifth-highest score in an inter-county match.[8] Although Hampshire had lost their first-class status, Lacey continued to play in first-class matches for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), debut for them in 1887 against Derbyshire; in that same year, he also played for the 'wandering' cricket club I Zingari in a first-class fixture against the Gentlemen of England at the Scarborough Festival. In 1890, he played for a Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present cricket team against the touring Australians in 1890 and for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture of 1892.[5] Hampshire regained first-class status in 1894, with Russell Bencraft succeeding Lacey as captain. The following season, when Hampshire were admitted to the County Championship, Lacey resumed his first-class career with the county. He played for Hampshire until 1897, having made 33 appearances for the county in first-class cricket.[5] Described by Wisden as a "stylish bat, hitting with plenty of power especially in front of the wicket",[3] he scored 2,028 runs for Hampshire in first-class matches at an average of 39.76, making four centuries and ten half centuries.[9] As a roundarm slow bowler, he was described by Wisden as bowling with deceptive flight. For Hampshire, he took 45 wickets at a bowling average of 20.93 and took a five wicket haul on three occasions, with best figures of 7 for 149.[10]

With the end of his first-class playing career in 1897, Lacey was nominated by Spencer Ponsonby-Fane to succeed the retiring Henry Perkins as MCC secretary, being appointed in 1898.[11] Upon becoming secretary, he instilled a business-based approach to the running of the MCC, which was in contrast to Perkins' easy-going approach.[3] Amongst his reforms were the remodelling of the MCC subcommittees and putting the business of the club on a more formal basis.[12] Under his leadership, the MCC formed the Advisory County Cricket Committee, the predecessor to the Test and County Cricket Board, which was designed to bring together representatives of the first-class counties and the minor counties under the chairmanship of the MCC president.[4] In June 1909, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Imperial Cricket Council, which had been the idea of the South African Abe Bailey and bought together the governing bodies of cricket in Australia and South Africa to form a global governing body.[13][12] At the start of the First World War, Lacey issued a statement to confirm the cessation of cricket during the conflict and the placing of Lord's at the disposal of the War Office.[14] In 1922, he protested the burden that the entertainment tax was having on county cricket.[15] He retired as secretary in 1926 and was succeeded by William Findlay. Upon his retirement, he was elected a trustee of the MCC,[3] which still afforded him great influence over the running of the club.[16] In December 1926, a presentation was made to Lacey following a meeting of the county secretaries, in which they gifted him a motor vehicle and an illuminated book containing appreciations from all the first-class and minor counties clubs for his time as secretary.[17] He enjoyed a good working relationship with Lord Harris, regarded as the dominant presence on the MCC committee.[4]

In addition to his administrative roles within the MCC, Lacey was also an administrator in county cricket. He was elected president of Hampshire County Cricket Club for a two-year term in 1928.[18] As president, in early 1929 he wanted the club to support calls for reforms to the leg before wicket rules to discourage pad play, wishing for "the laws of cricket to be a perfectly ethical code as well as a legal code".[19][20] He later served as president of Wiltshire County Cricket Club, guiding the club to become debt free for the first time in its history in 1932.[21] He remained club president until 1946, when ill health necessitated Sir Henry Everitt to deputise for him in a meeting to discuss the resumption of cricket following the Second World War.[22]