Cricket 1891

G . a . H E A R N E , (M EM B E R OF TH E K E N T COUN TY X I.) m a n u f a c t u r e r o f c r i c k e t b a t s a i v i > b a l l s Cricket, Football, and Lawn Tennis Outfitter (Wholesale, Retail, and for Exportation), 140. LEWISHAM HIGH ROAD , LONDON, S.E. “ To ge th e r jo ined in c r ick e t ’s m an ly toil.”— Byron . Begi^redto^ralamUsion-Abroad. THURSDAY, JUNE 18. 1891. PRICE 2d. M R . A R T H U R T W I S S K E M B L E . Though his introduction to County cricket only goes back for a period of seven years, it may be urged, and with some show of reason, that Mr. A. T. Kemble’s comparative brevity of his career is due to accident rather than to any lack of ability. It was, indeed, his m is­ fortune more than his fault that his appear­ ance in the Lancashire eleven was so long delayed. A wicket-keeper has obviously not the same chances, unless fortune should give him a favourable opportunity of display­ ing his capacity, as his fellows who are candidates for honours in the other departments of the game. A stumper, even if he t-hould be pos­ sessed of more than ordinary merit, often gets little or no chance of proving his ability unless occasion should arise in his role of under­ study to the regular occupant of the position. The responsibilities of the post are naturally so heavy that it is dangerous to entrust its care to any but experienced hands, except as a last resource. A Pilling, a Sherwin, a McGregor, a Philipson, or a Wood are not the growth of every year. On the contrary, wicket­ keepers of undoubted skill are so rare that there is a natural tendency not unfrequently to overtax their powers of endurance. In many in­ stances a player of promise is checked, or at least his progress is retarded, by the mere accident of the lack of suitable occasion. It was, unless we are mistaken, the com­ mencement of Richard Pilling’s ill­ ness which furnished Mr. Kemble with the first opportunity of assert­ ing his claims to succeed that great master in the Lancashire Eleven. He did not, of course, come as a stranger or without proper creden­ tials. On the contrary, he had already made himself a name in connection with the Liverpool C.C. as a wicket-keeper of exceptional promise. The programme under­ taken by that Club, too, as many are aware, is mainly composed of important fixtures, so that Mr. Kemble had at least the advantage of graduating in a good school of cricketers. Of early training he had little, none of any great value at all events. The cricket at Appleby Grammar School, where he went through the usual curriculum, was not of a very high class. Moreover, he was not lucky enough to get the advantage of the tuition from experts which falls to those who go through a Public School or a University, so that he can at least claim the credit of being in a great measure a self -made cricketer. Early in the eighties he had already made himself conspicuous in Liver­ pool by reason of his great promise in the double capacity of a cricketer and a footballer. It was not, though, until the summer of ltfp5 that he was able to get a trial in the County Eleven. His first match was against Sussex at Old Trafford on July 27 and 28, and though only fortunate enough to stump one batsman in the two innings, on the whole his all-round cricket was certainly more creditable than otherwise. Pilling’ s illness, as already stated, was the cause of more than one trial as a wicket-keeper, and wisely the executive of the Lancashire County C.C. used its best en­ deavours to secure a likely professional. The requirements of business in all probability, too, would have prevented Mr. Kemble at that time from devoting himself seriously to cricket. In any case he was only able to assist Lancashire twice in 1885, and Pilling’s return to the cricket field with even more than his old success limited Mr. Kemble’s ap­ pearance in the following season to one fixture, in which he did not take wicket. One match, too, was the extent of the assistance he rendered to Lancashire in 1887. It was not, indeed, until 1889 that he reappeared in the County Eleven. His interest in County cricket was fully proved by the amount of work he did for Lancashire last year. Out of twenty matches in which the eleven figured he took part in fifteen, and until the end of the season, when the constant strain of taking a bowler of Mold’s pace had told so severely on his hands that he had to give up, with marked success. His form was, at least, good enough to elicit from the compiler of “ Wis- den’s Almanack,” the high praise that Lancashire had been fortunate enough to find in him a remarkably efficient wicket-keeper as well as a useful batsman. A testimonial thoroughly warranted by the con­ sistently good form he had shown throughout the summer. On his performances of last year, Mr. Kemble was, indeed, well in the front rank of wicket-keepers. With any amount of pluck he stands well up to the wicket, and the ease and confidence with which he takes such a bowler as Mold, is a sufficient proof of his ability. Whether in catching or stumping, he is equally quick. Wicket­ keepers have of necessity good eyes, and Mr. Kemble is no exception to the rule. As a batsman, he is by no means easy to get out, and indeed he made several good scores for Lancashire last season. As an exponent of Rugby football, he had, a few years ago, very few if any superiors in the scrummage. He played for England in 18815and 1887, and was one of the best forwards in the Lancashire fifteen from 1884 to 1888. Few athletes, too, have earned a wider popu­ larity in the North of England. Mr. Kemble is 5ft. lOin. in height, and weighs 12st. lOlbs. Our portrait is from a photograph by Hawkins & Co 108, King’s Road, Brighton.