Clem Hill's Reminiscences

fell away in the Test matches and his average of 27.60 left him occupying fourth place among the Australians behind Trumper, Noble and Duff. Hill made his customary good start to the 1904-05 season by top scoring in each innings (111 not out and 67) against Victoria at Adelaide Oval but his efforts in the remaining three Sheffield Shield games were only modest. On the way to England, Darling’s third Australian team played four low quality first-class games in New Zealand where Hill helped himself to centuries at Christchurch and Wellington. In England for the 1905 season, Hill’s tally of 1722 runs at 38.26 with four centuries was the highest of all his tours but he disappointed in the Tests. His highest score in the rubber was 54 in the first match and his average of 20.88 placed him sixth among the Australians. Two more domestic seasons elapsed before the next English tour. With South Australia continuing to languish at the bottom of the Sheffield Shield table, Hill was only available for home games. In both 1905-06 and 1906-07 he made just three appearances and, while he scored consistently, his sole century against New South Wales was unable to prevent an innings defeat. Hill faced some criticism for missing games and admitted to being tired of cricket. In 1905 he claimed he had not spent Christmas among family and friends for over ten years because of cricket commitments, and he dropped out of club cricket, as well, to relax playing tennis and bowls. Hill married Florence Mary Clewer on 17 January 1905 in Launceston, Tasmania, after which his new bride accompanied him to England on his fourth cricket tour. By the end of the year it seems reasonable to suppose that he might have wanted to enjoy his new marriage without the company of fellow cricketers. The break seemed to revive him, for he opened the 1907-08 season with another century against the MCC and scored consistently throughout the year. Hill’s 160 in the third match of the series was one of the most heroic innings in Test cricket, but his average of 36.00 placed him fifth among the Australians. In the 1908-09 season Hill appeared in four Sheffield Shield matches for South Australia, averaging just 27.50, and missed three end of season matches against Western Australia. It is not now possible to say whether disputes with the Australian Cricket Board hampered Hill’s concentration, but his only significant innings was his 141 against Victoria at Adelaide Oval in the first match of the year. After the main retirement of Monty Noble from first-class cricket, Hill was in outstanding form in three games in 1909-10, scoring 609 runs at an average of 152.25, and he led South Australia to Sheffield Shield success. This confirmed his status as a senior Australian player, and resulted in his appointment as Test captain. Hill led the way with his highest Test score of 191 on the first day of the First Test in Sydney when Australia reached the remarkable score of 6-494 at the end of five hours play. He made another century (exactly100) in the Fourth Test at Melbourne, but his aggregate of 425 runs at 53.12 placed him third behind Trumper (661 runs at 94.43) andWarren Bardsley (573 runs at 63.66). Hill’s 274 runs at 27.40 in 1911-12 was a poor return as captain against England and left him fifth in the Australian averages, although little below leader Armstrong with 32.40. The summer as a whole was disappointing but struggles Introducing Clem Hill 9