Clem Hill's Reminiscences

Still another 17 required and four more batsmen to get out. Excitement was intense. Jones and Howell, who were in the stands, told us afterwards that they felt the suspense terribly. Men leaned forward in their seats watching every ball and cheering only when there was a run. The Australian camp was a scene of jubilation. Braund was stumped off Trumble with two more runs added, and the tall Victorian then bowled Lockwood without any addition to the score. Eight for 109. Another 15 were wanted when Lilley and Rhodes got together. Singles carried the score to 116. Took catch, but didn’t know it Lilley had a hit. The ball went skimming between long on and square leg towards me. I raced after it with not the slightest intention of bringing off a catch, but with the determination, if possible, to stop a four. Almost on the boundary after having run the best part of 25 yards I threw everything to chance and made a dive for the ball. Nobody was more astonished than I was to find that the ball had stuck in my hand. For a fraction of a second I could hardly realise that I had brought off the catch. I was the proudest man on that ground, and if ever I wanted to keep a ball it was that one. Poor Lilley. Passing me on the way to the grandstand he called out, ‘Oh, Clem, what a bally fluke!’ For appearance sake I had to reply, ‘Never on your life, Dick’ but he knew the truth. And so did I. Nine for 116. Tate, the bowler, was next. He had not reached the wicket when down came the rain, and we had very reluctantly to walk off. How we did discuss the situation in the 30 minutes we were in the dressing room. It was decided that, as Trumble had to finish the over to Rhodes, and as that batsman looked like saving the game for England, we should concentrate not only on keeping him from scoring but on preventing him from getting to the other end off the last ball of the over. On resuming, Trumble arranged his field with the utmost deliberation. Everywhere around us was tense excitement, but we all maintained a splendid coolness and resolution. Not one player lost his head. The plan succeeded. Rhodes, the stolid Yorkshireman, was kept from getting the strike. When Tate faced Saunders only eight separated England from victory. The first ball just grazed Tate’s off stump. The second was snicked down to fine leg. I can still see Warwick Armstrong racing for it as he has never raced before or since trying to save the four. It was just as well he did not cut off the boundary for a three would have brought Rhodes opposite Saunders. The next ball from Saunders was a trimmer – his fast swinger, and might have bowled a man like Grace on his best day. 42 It knocked Tate’s off stump out of the ground. We had won by three runs. It is reported that Mrs Wardill, wife of our manager, and Mrs Trumble were so excited that they hugged each other and cried. Mrs Trumble found blood on her His Third English Tour 66 42 Saunders was sometimes accused of throwing and this might have been his suspect delivery.