 Hammond 's health remained poor at the start of the 1935 season . He developed septic tonsillitis which made it difficult for him to breathe , eat and sleep , and ultimately required an operation to remove his tonsils in early 1936 . Hammond 's form was indifferent and he believed it was his worst season . In first @-@ class matches , he scored 2 @,@ 616 runs ( average 49 @.@ 35 ) and took 60 wickets ( average 27 @.@ 26 ) . He became the ninth player to reach 100 first @-@ class centuries , emerging from a run of bad form against Somerset . Long a regular in the side , for the first time he captained the Players against the Gentlemen at Lord 's . In the five @-@ Test series against South Africa , a run of low scores again brought press speculation about his place in the national side . He did not pass fifty until the third Test , when he scored 63 and 87 not out , ending a run of 22 innings without a fifty , in which time he averaged 23 @.@ 47 over 14 Tests . Hammond made two more fifties in the last two Tests , although they were insufficient to prevent England from losing 1 – 0 , their third successive series defeat . He finished the series with 389 runs at an average of 64 @.@ 83 , but remained unsatisfied with his form . 
