Clem Hill's Reminiscences

While at Portsmouth, Trumper, Kelly, Trumble and I accepted an invitation to look over the Victory . We were so interested we forgot the time. Somebody fortunately looked at his watch. It was near the hour for resuming play. We hastened to the ground, got into our clothes, and walked on to the field with nobody any the wiser. At the close of a day’s play against Surrey at Kennington Oval, McLeod and Kelly were not out and I had been instructed by Darling, the captain, to go in next. In the first over next morning Kelly was out. I was ready to go in, but there was not another Australian player in sight except Frank Laver, the player-manager, and he was not taking part in the game. Supposing McLeod or I were dismissed and there was nobody to fill the vacancy? I don’t knowwhat would have happened. Laver was in a terrible state. He did not know where the players were. As a matter of fact, most of them were in London or on their way back from there. It was near the end of the season, and they were buying presents. I told McLeod that there were no other batsmen in the dressing room, and that we had to keep our end up somehow. The third ball I got was a short one, which His Fourth English Tour 77 Hill and Monty Noble skipping with lady passengers, probably their wives, on board ship to England, 1905. Photographed by Frank Laver, a fellow tourist.