Clem Hill's Reminiscences

Preface Cricketers – even famous ones – before the Second World War rarely wrote autobiographies or were the subject of biographies. What they sometimes did was provide reminiscences of their playing days for the popular press. These reminiscences by Clem Hill appeared in 20 parts in the Adelaide afternoon newspaper The News from 23 February to 17 March 1933. It is not known whether the series was ghosted, but if so, the ghost is not intrusive. Hill is a strong narrator. The articles began on the first day of the Fifth Test of the notorious Bodyline series, which explains why there are occasional references to that series, when the subject under discussion is Hill’s own Test-playing career between 1896 and 1912. Hill turned 56 the day after the articles ended and it is curious why they appeared so long after his Test days and after he had ceased his major involvements in the game as first-class player and selector. Perhaps the reason was simply a marketing ploy. Bodyline provided unparalleled interest in cricket and sold lots of newspapers. When England reclaimed the Ashes by defeating Australia in the Fourth Test at Brisbane on 16 February 1933, the summer still had several weeks to run, so why not turn to an old hero to prevent too great a drop in sales? Hill’s account is uneven. Eight of the articles are devoted to his first tour of England (1896) and his first home series (1897-98) which cover just two of his sixteen years of international cricket. Sixteen articles advance the story only to 1902, which means the last ten years are dealt with in just four articles. Furthermore, Hill tells nothing of his two South African series (1902 and 1910-11 when he succeeded to the Australian captaincy), nor of his decision not to tour England in 1909, when he had selected the side. His refusal, along with Victor Trumper, Warwick Armstrong, Hanson Carter, Tibby Cotter and Vernon Ransford, to tour England in 1912 because of a dispute with the Board of Control over the players’ right to appoint their own manager, is described in just two paragraphs. These are the shortcomings. The reminiscences seem to be fairly accurate where the facts can be checked. The story is worth reviving, even if only in a limited edition, to give a personal voice to one of Australia’s most significant players. In the introduction which I originally wrote as ‘Clem Hill – An Appreciation’ in the English magazine Cricket Lore in November 2002, I make out a case for Hill’s significance. I have not tinkered with Hill’s text except in minor ways, omitting phrases such as ‘In my article tomorrow’ which are plainly repetitive and unnecessary when the articles are drawn together in book form. What I have done is order the 3