Cricket 1900

“ io g e L h e r jo in e d in C r i c k e t ’ s m a n l y t o i l . ” — isynm . no. 546. v o i.. x 3 x . THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1900. p r i c e aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. ME. VERNON T. HILL. For a long time Mr. Hill has been one of the most useful players in the Somerset eleven; a man, who although he seldom stays in for long, is as likely as not to upset the bowlers to such an extent that they cannot recover them­ selves before the whole innings is over. Especially valuable is he on a sticky wicket. Possessed of great strength, he makes the most brilliant drives, using a bat much heavier than would seem good to most men, and if he stays in for more than a few overs the captain of the opposing side does not know where to place bis field. According to Mr. Hill’s own opinion he has only one stroke—a sort of swing—but as it is a stroke which enables him to place the ball to any part of the field, except behind point, which seems to offer the best opportunities for making runs, this is quite imma­ terial. If he had done nothing else, he would be remembered for his remark­ able innings of 114 for Oxford against Cambridge in 1892, the only year in which he represented his University. In explanation of the reason why he did not get his Blue at once, when he went to Oxford, Mr. Hill said, “ I wasn’t in residence in my first summer term, and in the second I lost my bowling, and although I was in pretty good form with the bat, other people made so many more runs in the trial matches that I had no chance. On the whole, I am inclined to think that I was well out of it, because I escaped ‘ Sammy ’ Woods, who used to have a rest for a match or two before the ’Varsity match, and then bowl like a wild cat at Lord’s. It was not a fortunate time for a man to be in the Oxford eleven. But in that year—this was 1891—I played for Somerset all through July and August and so got a certain experience of county cricket, as I occasionally made twenties and thirties. If I were captain of a ’Varsity team I would always play men who have previously played w iuh any success for a county, even if they did not seem in form, for they don’t bother about crowds or any nonsense of that kind when the big match comes. One might instance the case of Day in last year’ s match. In 1892, Lionel Palairet was captain, and he gave me my Blue, but in the following year I sprained my ankle a week before the match and was not able to play.” “ You made over a hundred in your only match against Oxford ? ” “ Y es; but Jardine made a bigger score for us, and E. C. Streatfeild beat my score by two for Cambridge. I fancy that there were several records in that match. The aggregate was the highest ever made—by about 180 runs. There were three innings of a hundred in the match, which wasa record. The Cambridge second innings of 388 tied with the highest total made in two previous matches, and there may have been other re­ cords.” Unlike most batsmen, Mr. Hill is happiest when he has to play on a difficult wicket. His reason for this is inter­ esting. “ A sticky wicket,” he said, “ brings the gentry who on fast wickets score their two or three hundred more on a level with those of us who don’t stay in for more than an hour on any wicket. There is nothing I like more than to be able to make a few runs on a beastly wicket, when men like Lockwood and Richard­ son are at their best; it is something worth living for, even if some of the news­ paper reports next morning, or more especially on the same evening, make you feel a little wild. Once, on a sticky wicket at the Oval when we beat Surrey, we were all out for about 70 or 80, and I was scratching about for some time for 40. One of my critics said that I either blocked with the consistency of a Scotton or hit wildly at balls which I ought to have left alone, and concluded by saying that he hoped he would never have the pain of seeing me play an innings like that again. And I had felt rather pleased with myself ! For Richardson and Lockwood were doing their very handsomest in their palmiest days. I think that Richardson was the best bowler by a long way that I ever played against. At his best he didn’t want any fieldsmen. It was only the other day that I was looking at the scores of one cfc MR. VKRNON T . H ILL. {From a Photo by R. W. Thomas , 41, Cheapside, London.)