by Abhishek Mukherjee

"It was no uncommon occurrence in those days to see, out of an over of four balls, three shoot, and the other bump right over the batsman’s head," Alfred Lubbock had once written about the Lord's pitch. He was not exaggerating.

Similarly, Frederick Gale: "Had I been a wicket-keeper or batsman at Lord’s, I should have liked to have worn a single-stick mask, a Life Guardsman’s cuirass, and a tin stomach-warmer ... The place where the ball pitched was covered with rough grass and rolled down. It never had been, and never could be, good turf."

Lord's was definitely not a cricketers' favourite in the 19th century – so bad that Sussex once refused to play there in 1864.

It was not that MCC were short on money. In 1866 they paid £18,333 6s 8d – a substantial amount – to renew the lease at Lord's. There were plans for an extension of the pavilion and improvement of facilities.

For whatever reason, they did not seem to care about the pitch. Balls took off at various angles, often in a way that was nothing short of life-threatening.

When a mower was acquired in 1830, a senior member had immediately asked for "destruction of the infernal machine". It took another decade for mowers to return.

The Lord's pitch was, thus, in all probability unfit to host cricket when Nottinghamshire toured there to play in 1870.

Notts scored 267 in that match. MCC responded with 183. Following on (the margin used to be 80 in those days), MCC were bowled out for 240 at the stroke of stumps on Day 2. Notts had a full day to score 158.

The openers added 23 on Day 3 – June 15, 1870 – before fast bowler John Platts bowled Thomas Bignall. The clock ticked over to one o'clock when George Summers walked out.

The ball took off from a length and hit Summers on the left cheekbone. He collapsed on the spot. Versions vary regarding the exact spot where it had hit him.

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As per the accounts of the official scorer, it had hit Summers on the cheekbone.

Charles Green, who was playing for MCC, agreed: "I was fielding longstop, and somehow or other I was the first to pick him up. It was an awful blow on the cheek bone."

WG Grace was also playing for MCC that day. He wrote that it hit Summers on the head. Grace added that "Platts was in no way to blame, for the ball did not bump higher than many I had to play in the same match."

CI Thornton of MCC said that "it was a fearful crack on the temple and when struck he jumped up into the air, and then fell all of a heap."

MCC wicketkeeper Bill Yardley admitted that he “never saw a ball get up with such lightning rapidity. The pitch of the ball and the blow on Summers' head appeared to be simultaneous."

The Nottinghamshire Guardian reported that the ball “struck him a violent blow on his head, the ball missing his temple by about half an inch. Summers reeled backwards senseless."

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Cricket's most famous doctor read the pulse, took his time, then announced that Summers was alive.

Thornton and Yardley carried Summers off the ground. He spent the rest of the day in the Lord's Tavern. So far, so good.

Notts captain Richard Daft, the next man in, emerged with his head draped in a towel. It was supposed to be a form of protest, he later admitted. Against MCC, perhaps.

True to his fast bowler's nature, Platts unleashed a bouncer first ball. Daft escaped unscathed, then let go a barrage of the choicest of words.

Daft scored 53, but it seemed Notts would collapse when they were reduced to 114/7. The eighth wicket (ninth, technically) fell with two runs left, but they won.

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Summers stayed back. He watched a match between the MCC and the Civil Service next day, from an armchair just outside the Tavern. By afternoon, assisted by a companion, he walked slowly around Lord's.

He should not put himself under such stress, as WG and Green would lament later. It was a hot day.

He took the train to Nottingham next morning. It was a terrible idea. The tracks were rickety, the train notorious for inducing dizziness. And this was an unusually bumpy ride even by those standards.

Thankfully, his father managed Commercial Hotel, exactly opposite Nottingham Station. So Summers went to bed. He was prescribed "herb beer". Then the convulsions began.

George Summers passed away four days after the blow, two days before his 26th birthday.

MCC paid £30 for Summers’ gravestone. Wisden wrote a heartfelt obituary. But none of that mattered to Summers Sr, who could never come to terms to the shock. He passed away shortly afterwards.

Thankfully, MCC finally realised that something needed to be done. The Lord's pitch improved considerably with time.

As for Platts, the incident shook him so much that he never bowled fast again. He switched to a mixed bag of medium-pace and off-breaks.