Buoyed by this success Fry continued in the same vein for the remainder of the season and duly led the first-class aggregates with 2801 runs at 70. That year additionally saw Fry be a part of forces with photographer George Beldam to provide Great Batsmen – Their Methods at a glance, one of the famous cricket books ever, providing the technical analysis to accompany what grew to become some of the game’s most immediately recognisable photographs. In consequence, nine of the team arrived late for the following day’s play and Fry, with the gang showing its displeasure at being saved waiting, may manage only 4. Fry then missed the rest of the season, main Cricket to level out that he had managed to avoid travelling to Gloucestershire since 1904 (when he had been upset by a fan) and Notts since 1905 when he had exchanged phrases with one of the game’s nice characters, Tom Wass – this avoidance of these two counties again hinted at his deeply delicate nature. Fry declined a suggestion to tour Australia that winter and, with Ranji now in India staking his declare to the throne of Nawanagar, he accepted the captaincy of Sussex for the 1904 season.
After overtaking Ranji (who was again in India for the yr) as Sussex’s highest ever run scorer, Fry hit a sparkling double century towards Notts which saw him change into only the third participant after Grace and Ranji to succeed in thirteen first-class double a whole lot. Legal issues involving his brother-in-legislation, who was concerned in a fraud case, necessitated Fry withdrawing from the second Test, and his return for the third Test was not a success as he could manage no higher than 1 and 7, with the outcome that he was dropped for the following Test. His century towards Yorkshire was promising, considering the third Test was to be played at Headingley, but alas within the Test he could not construct on two begins, being dismissed for 32 and 30 and then in the fourth Test contributed solely 17 to England’s total of 446 as they won by an innings. However, contemplating Wisden’s view that in the conditions England’s total of 282 was price four hundred on a very good wicket, Fry’s seventy three might well have been worthy of a century. Initially that season Fry had to play with an iron stanchion supporting his injured leg which understandably affected his performance, but he was nonetheless (and to the consternation of the press) chosen for the primary Test and contributed 33 to a total of 428, although the match was then washed out.
Coming in at 32-2 and surviving a close to-miss earlier than scoring, he went on to chop many balls to the off to render the leg-theory area toothless and reach his maiden Test century, his 144 coming in 213 minutes with 23 boundaries – Cricket wrote “No better innings has been performed in a Test match”, whereas Wisden enthused “Fry’s innings dwarfed every little thing else… The identical leg-theory tactics were then used by Kent with Fry again showing to point out some vulnerability as he was out for 9, but by the second innings when he scored 175 out of 255 in opposition to comparable field placements such fears have been laid to relaxation, his first innings woes being apparently the results of an arm injury. He very soon showed that he was snug sufficient and quite at residence with the bowling, however he could not get the ball away for the sphere was so admirably placed for him that the strokes by which he usually scored had been intercepted”. Requires his elimination from the Test aspect had been answered by Fry when Sussex met the Australians as he scored 70 out of 103 in even time, once again going through a leg-theory subject, and so he took his place for the final Test on the Oval, for what proved to be his coming-out get together.
Good type for Hampshire saw him reinstated for the ultimate Test and he as soon as once more displayed his liking for The Oval with a fantastic sixty two in the first innings, when he was run out by Rhodes, and an undefeated 35 because the match ended in a draw. Fry didn’t begin properly in the county matches, nonetheless he quickly found his toes and, after a collection of scores over 50, he made his maiden century for Hampshire on a wicket that nobody else could grasp. His type for Sussex was once once more very good, together with an unprecedented fourth match with a century in both innings, immediately following that with a close to-miss, ninety seven and 201 in his next match against Notts. On account of this upheaval Fry’s season was perhaps unsurprisingly somewhat inconsistent, the highs together with a sparkling 214 against Worcestershire and a century for the Gentlemen towards the Players. Despite some intervals of poor form he had topped the nationwide averages once once more, though surprisingly, given the absence of gamers of the calibre of Jackson, Foster, Hirst and Tyldesley, Fry was not invited to tour Australia that winter which, contemplating England lost 4-1, was probably a mistake, although there had been rumblings in Hove concerning Fry’s availability (or lack thereof) which some noticed as detrimental to a settled dressing-room.