Clem Hill's Reminiscences

On our Australian wickets bowlers find that the way to get batsmen out is by skilful variation of pace and flight. The wicket gives no assistance to the bowler to turn the ball. Howell, however, could get batsmen out on such wickets by spinning the ball enough from the off to beat the bat. He bowled a good length, and the ball made pace off the pitch. On worn wickets he was almost unplayable. I remember his first appearance in England in 1899. He went through the Surrey team, capturing the whole of them for 28 runs. A son of his is playing for New South Wales, but is not in the same class as his father was. Bill was a bee farmer, and he had to stand a lot of barracking about it. His first big match was with New South Wales against the Englishmen. He was chosen for his batting. MacLaren and another batsman were making a stand. Howell went up to the captain and said, ‘Let me have a go at them, boss, I reckon I can get them out.’ He got them out. He was a firm-footed hitter. He made 90 odd against an English team on the Sydney Cricket Ground in less than an hour. On the English wickets he was not so successful, being unable to use his feet to jump out to the ball. Australia having won this match, England had to win the next to have a chance of the rubber. 9 Saved his side from disaster: Clem Hill’s greatest Test innings ‘A youth of 20 saves Australia.’ That was the headline in a Melbourne newspaper on 29 January 1898. The article which followed it reported the greatest of the many batting performances of Clem Hill. Hill went in first wicket down. Five of Australia’s best were out for 32. The sixth wicket fell at 50. Then Trumble came in, and played the rock while Hill scored. The game was gradually forced out of the grip of the Englishmen. The two added 165 runs and Hill never gave a semblance of a chance. At the close of the day he was unconquered with 182. Tom Horan, writing for the Australasian had this to say, ‘In the annals of Australian cricket there is no batting performance to surpass that by Clem Hill today. It was magnificent. Like Coriolanus he might fairly say “Alone I did it.” All the way in Clem was cheered, the climax being reached when he got inside the pavilion gate, borne by the joyous crowd. You can take my word for it that Clem Hill’s innings will be talked of when the smallest boy who saw it will be white with the snows of time.’ This article is the most difficult of this series to write, for we have now arrived at the fourth Test in Melbourne on January 29, 1898, when I achieved my greatest triumph as a batsman. It was a Saturday. Residents of Victoria who were following cricket in those days will remember that it was a very hot day. A pall of smoke from bushfires hung over the ground. Stoddart’s Tour of Australia 40