Cricket 1895

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. THURSDAY, M AY 30, 1895. MR. CLEMENT HILL. There are two fields of fame, and perhaps two only, in which extreme youth is no bar to the summit of success, and in both of these, as is no doubt natural, the physical faculties play an important part as a factor of triumph. One is the field of arms, the other the cricket field. In each of these history has its gro.it young men as well as its grand old men, and an Edward of Cressy equally with a Grace of Gloucester, a John of Lepanto, as signally as a Clement Hill of Adelaide, have won their laurel wreath at an age when scarcely freed from the routine and subjection of boyhood. To write the biography of a lad of eighteen would in general be as brief a task as the famous chapter in the oft-quoted volume of Natural History, “ On Icelandic Snakes,” and with the similarly familiar and needy knife- grinder one might commence and finishwith the trite saying: ‘ ‘ Story ? Lord bless you, sir, I have none to tell.” But the record of young Hill’s cricket achievements, though the volume is yet fresh, has even no v some well-filled pages, with not a few red letter items therein con­ tained. It has not been uncommon for our cousins in Australia to produce young cricketers who at a very early age —for perhaps they mature relatively more quicker than our youngsters in this colder- clime—have, at a single leap, attained to first-class rank. The names of Garrett and Allan, who at about the same age made their mark as first-class cricketers will occur to many. But these were bowlers, who perhaps are, as a rule, more of the born, not made, order than are batsmen. No other Aus­ tralian batsman, and perhaps no Englishman, except the inevitable Exception, has ever attained such celebrity on the cricket fieldwhilst so young as Hill. It was noted as a curious coincidence that on the occasion of Hill’s great exploit against Mr. Stoddart’s team at the end of last March, the famous South Aus­ tralian who ranks second amongst the cricketers of the world was exactly twice the age of the subject of this sketch, Giffen com­ pletinghis thirty-sixth andHill his eighteenth year during the progress of the game. Born on March 28th, 1877, Clem Hill at a very early age gave evidence of more than average skill as a batsman and as a wicket­ keeper, and when only fourteen years of age he made his first appearance on Adelaide Oval, in the Australian equivalent for one of our English public school games, playing for Prince Alfred’s College v. St. Peter’s College. In the following year, 1892, he distinguished himself in the same contest by scoring 36 and 38 not out, and followed up this performance by obtaining the respectable average of 34, the highest for his side, in a tour undertaken by his college team to Victoria, when the leading college teams of Melbourne were met. In the match against the Melbourne Grammar School he was of the utmost value to his side, and obtained 50 of the 108 runs in the total. But, in 1893, his achievement in the inter­ college match at Adelaide was far and away a record performance, and the St. Peter’s Collegians will no doubt long remember the leather hunting of that day, for Hill put on no fewer than 360 runs, and was not out at the close, a remarkable and unparalleled feat for a lad of sixteen, and a record for Aus­ tralia. The stamina required for the amount of hard sprinting in such an innings in itself is rarely to be found, even in men of much maturer growth. But during the season of 1894 a very much severer test was to be applied to our young batsman. The visit of Mr. Stoddarfc,s XI. happened most opportunely for him. For although he scored very consistently in the inter-colonial matches against New South Wales and Victoria, and in six innings, once not out, recorded a total of 109, average 21*8; and had in two club mitches, one against Hindmarsh in December, 1894, and the other against Norwood in March, 1895, registered not out innings of 217 and 106, yet it was not until the last match of the English tour that he accomplished the great feat of scoring 206 for once out against some of the best bowling in the world, and indisputably stamped himself as one of the leading batsmen of the time. In the match against the same opponents at the beginning of the tour Hill had made 20, but it was not assured that he would find a place in the eleven for the return game, until it was found that J. Noel was unable to play, but the absence of the latter afforded him the oppor­ tunity of which so full an advantage was taken. It may be remarked that in the nine first-class innings played by Hill during last season he was not out twice, and was bowled only once, an evidence of his strong and careful defence. He was run out once, and five times caught, his total score was 335 and his average, 47'85, second only to G. Giffen amongst the batsmen in first-class- matches in Australia. Up to the present Hill has not, as a wicket-keeper, attained equal ex­ cellence with his display as a bats­ man, nor indeed is such a result ossible. In the absence of A. H. arvis, through a most regrettable accident, Hill was called upon to keep wicket in the same match which witnessed his batting apotheosis. To keep wicket when George Giffen is bowling has been stated by Black­ ham, than whom no one should know better, to be one of the most severe tests that can be applied to the ability of even the best and most seasoned holder of the post. Yet, despite the mistakes he then made, by no means more than were to be expected, the general feeling in Australia is that when the time