Clem Hill's Reminiscences

could no longer stand the strain of watching his men in their hard fight for victory. We are now on the famous Old Trafford ground at Manchester for the second Test in 1896. That match was a thriller, if ever there was one. Australia won by three wickets. But what excitement in our camp! What terrible suspense! We had to make 125 to win. Seven wickets had fallen for 100 when Jim Kelly joined Hughie Trumble. If one of them went we felt that the game would be lost as only T.R.McKibbin and Ernie Jones were to follow, and neither could be described as a batsman. Could Trumble and Kelly pull the game our way? Harry Trott, our captain, watched their battle with the cream of England’s bowlers until he could watch no longer. He left the ground, hailed a cab, and told the driver to go anywhere, so long as he kept away from the ground. About half an hour later he was back again. He felt sure that the worst must be known by this time but those two dogged batsmen were still keeping a straight bat to the terrible Tom Richardson. The gate keeper told him so. Off he went again. In our dressing-room R.G.Knowles 11 , an American comedian, who had been in Australia, tried to divert our thoughts from that struggle in the field by telling us funny stories and singing some of his patter songs. He had attached himself to the team. But time hung heavily and runs came slowly. It is much worse sitting in the grandstand when play is exciting than being the actual participant in it. Even the greatest players I have ever known feel that way. You feel pent up with excitement; all your nerves are strung up. Especially is this so when you are padded up waiting for the next wicket to fall. That is why some batsmen like to go in first. No sooner is a batsman out, however, and you feel the bat in your hand and walk to the wicket than that excitement or anxiety disappears, and from that moment onwards you are oblivious of the fact that the eyes of thousands are on you and your comrade at the other end – you are calm and collected. You are glad to open your score. I always made an effort to break my duck as soon as I could, and would steal a short one. The bowler, on the other hand, does his utmost to send you back to the pavilion before you can settle down. The longer you are at the wicket the bigger the ball becomes. Secret stimulant for Frank Iredale But I’m getting away from that stern fight. For one and a quarter hours it went on grimly, and then the winning hit was made. We were giving free play to our feelings in the dressing rooms, and showering our congratulations on Trumble and Kelly, when Harry Trott came in from his cab ride all smiles and very jubilant The luck of the game! Lilley, who had caught three of our batsmen His First English Tour 22 11 Richard George Knowles was a Canadian-born vaudeville star who had begun appearing on the London stage from the early 1890s and toured Australia in 1896-97. His usual stage act consisted of wearing a battered hat, big flapping boots, duck trousers and a black frock coat worn by Americans 100 years previously. He delivered his gags with a style described as a ‘whirlwind’ of words, ‘a gush of dialogue’ at ‘hurricane speed’.