Clem Hill's Reminiscences

out to save Australia from defeat and succeeded. Eight bowlers were tried against him, but he went on his determined way, never faltering. He began on Tuesday morning, and when the side was dismissed was 60 not out. n the follow on he opened the innings and continued until ednesday afternoon, when he was caught and bowled for 89. Clem Hill makes a feature of this very stubborn fight in this article on the Test matches in which he played. ‘One minute you have these Australians fighting for their existence, and the next they are cheeky enough to reckon they have a chance of winning by declaring.’ That comment was heard in the grandstand at Manchester. Australia had won the only completed Test for the season and was determined that England would not equalise the scores. At first this match became a stubborn fight by Australia to avoid defeat, but on the third day the outlook changed, and England was scratching to make it a draw. Noble played the most determined innings of his life, and the most stubborn I have seen. England had first use of the wicket and compiled 372, Hayward (130) and Lilley (58) saved the side. At one stage it looked as if the home side would not reach that total as four were down for 47. One of the batsmen dismissed was Fry. At the first Test at Nottingham, Jones had knocked his leg stump out with a no-ball. A few balls later he repeated the dose, but it was not a no-ball that time. Jones had also secured his wicket in both innings of the Test at Lord’s. And now he did it at Manchester. To the Englishmen’s total of 372 we replied with 196, Noble being top scorer with 60 not out. As we were 176 behind we had to follow on. Noble, at his own request, and although he had been batting hours for his 60, went in to open the innings. He decided to stay there. And he did. As he went out to bat he said, ‘Goodbye boys, you won’t see me back here for some time.’ The Lancashire lads barracked him, but he went along unperturbed fighting for a draw. In one stretch of 75 minutes he never scored a run. ‘Put a rope around his neck and pull him out,’ yelled one barracker. ‘Haven’t you got another home, Noble?’ asked another. Mr Bensilum, a cricket enthusiast of Melbourne, who was in the crowd, told them that there was only one man who could take Noble. ‘Who’s that?’ they called out. ‘Why, the blooming photographer, of course.’ The laugh was on them. But Noble kept pegging away, meeting every ball with a straight bat and scoring off only loose deliveries. There were many that he might have hit safely, but he would not take the risk. He had great control of himself. He had trained himself to concentrate, and he concentrated now much to the despair of the English bowlers. For eight and a half hours he stood up to the fury of the attack, and in that time made 149, 60 not out in the first innings and 89 in the second. I don’t know how long he was on the field exactly. He was there while the Englishmen were batting nearly all the first day and he bowled 28 overs. He went in to bat early in His Second English Tour 52