Clem Hill's Reminiscences

Hobbs was batting. When he had made about 60, I noticed he was waving his bat and looking in our direction. I asked Mrs Hobbs what was wrong with her husband: he seemed to be rather pleased with himself. ‘Don’t you know, Mr Hill?’ she replied. ‘You should, if anybody should. He has just beaten your record in Tests.’ I confess I did not have the faintest idea how many he had made. I did not even know how many I had scored myself. Hobbs has compiled many runs in Test matches since then, and had 3,636 to his credit. Hobbs came to Australia for the first time with A.O.Jones’ team in 1907-08. He did not play in the first Test, but was selected for the second. When he was going out for a practice knock I wished him good luck. He records in his book that my good wishes cheered him greatly, as he had been rather despondent. He made 83 and has been a thorn in the side of Australia ever since. The most successful batsmen on the English side that season was George Gunn, and he was not chosen as a regular member of the team. He was sent to Australia by the Nottingham county committee for the benefit of his health, and an arrangement was made that he should be at the command of the captain if required. He practised at the nets, struck form, and was asked to play. He was the cheekiest and coolest man with a bat I ever saw. He used to just ‘mooch about’ near the wicket. He would often stroll up the pitch before the bowler had delivered the ball. He would go out to meet the fastest of bowlers, and there was nobody to equal him in his sureness when playing the ‘googly’. Whether he played forward or back, his feet were always in position when a stroke was to be made. The Englishmen on this tour met Harry Trott, who had played for Australia as far back as 1888, and had been captain of several Australian elevens. Due to illness, he had been out of the game for ten years. Although in his 43rd year, he secured 5 wickets for 116. In earlier articles I told some stories about Trott. Here is another. Trott fancied himself as a hypnotist. A young man decided to submit himself to a test of his hypnotic powers. He gradually closed his eyes and gave all the indications of having gone into a trance. When the time came to bring the patient back to consciousness he refused to move. Trott pricked him with a pin and slapped him. Still there was no response. Trott thought it was time to call a doctor, and went for one. The young man decided the joke had gone far enough, so he got up and walked off. A cricketer the Englishmen were opposed to for the first time on this tour was Minnett. He played for New South Wales. A thing unheard of in cricket occurred while he was playing for an Australian team in Brisbane against Warner’s 1911-12 eleven. J.W.Hearne was preparing to make a stroke off Minnett when he heard the words ‘No ball’. He went for a hit, skied the ball and was caught by Crawford. The umpire gave him out as he had not called no-ball. It was then ascertained that several players around the wicket heard the words. Hearne declared that he would not have hit the ball if he had known it was not a no-ball. A ventriloquist Jones’ Tour of Australia 82