Walter Mead (1 April 1868 – 18 March 1954) was the principal bowler for Essex during their first two decades as a first-class county. As a member of the Lord’s ground staff, he was also after J.T. Hearne the most important bowler for MCC and Ground, who in those days played quite a number of first-class matches. A right arm bowler of slow to medium pace, Walter Mead always maintained an excellent length and could spin back to deadly effect whenever wickets were affected by rain. He could vary his stock off break with a ball that turned the other way, but he lacked the deceptive flight that enabled such bowlers as Blythe, Dennett or J.C. White to do well on firm pitches. He rarely did much as a batsman, but when sent in as night-watchman against Leicestershire in 1902 he surprised the crowd so much by making 119 that there was a special collection for him as a reward. Even before Essex had been elevated to first-class status, Walter Mead already had a reputation as a bowler of class. Against the touring Australian in 1893 he took seventeen wickets, but the following year when Essex became first-class he was disappointing on pitches that should have helped him, taking only 41 wickets in eight inter-county matches for 21 each. In 1895, however, after a slow start, he became deadly when wickets became sticky during the middle of July. For the whole summer Mead obtained a record of 179 wickets for less than fifteen runs apiece, and his 17 for 119 against Hampshire is the second best bowling for a losing side in first-class cricket, behind William Mycroft in 1876 (also against Hampshire). Only Tich Freeman has since taken seventeen wickets twice in matches of comparable importance. 1896 and 1897, with most pitches unfavourable to him due to dry weather, were disappointing, but Mead gradually rebounded in the following years. An excellent performance against the Australians in 1899 saw Mead chosen for his only Test match at Lord's, but he was harmless on the hard pitch. He remained close to the top of the first-class averages for every season from 1899 to 1903 – though in 1901 he was helped by some very bad Lord's wickets when playing for the MCC – and in the last-named year was chosen as a Cricketer of the Year by Wisden after heading the first-class