Cricket 1910

C R I C K E T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE G»ME. S E PT E M BE R 1 . 1910 . “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 8 5 3 . VOL. XXIX. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1910. ONE PENNY. A CHAT ABOUT ALLEN HILL. Allen Hill, one Of the finest bowlers Yorkshire ever produced, died on Monday last of cancer at Leyland, in Lancashire, where he had been engaged for many years by Mr. John Stanning. To the present generation he was little more than a name, but those who can recall him in his prime know that in him Freeman had a worthy successor and Emmett for many years a brilliant colleague. After ac­ cepting professional engage­ ments at Stonyhurst and with the Lancashire County C.C., at Manchester, he was given a place in the Yorkshire eleven in 1871 and almost at once established his posi­ tion in the side, continuing to play for the county until 1883, when he dropped out of the team. He was a straight, fast and accurate round­ armed bowler with a beautiful delivery, and, though he lacked Freeman’s sting and perhaps some of his pace, his bowling was faster than it looked. Just under six feet in height and of powerful build, he always appeared to bowl with the utmost comfort to himself, for, unlike so many fast bowlers, he took only a few steps before delivering tbe ball. Concerning his methods W. G. Grace has said “ In pace he was not quite so fast as Freeman or Tarrant; but he had a very easy delivery and beautiful style. He did not put much work on the ball, although now and then he would break from the off; but he bowled very straight and kept a good length, And I have had occa­ sional balls from him that required all my skill to get my bat in front of, and one or two that completely beat me. I forget the exact distance he took before delivering the ball; but I know it was much shorter than the average run of fast bowlers. . . . He was very keen, and tried all he knew to get wickets, no matter the quality of the batsman against him : but after I got well set I have seen him decline to bowl a third or fourth time.” In Scores and, Biographies the late Mr. Haygarth said of him, with perfect truth, “ Hill is very popular, and a worthy, honest and unassuming man, a hard worker in the field, keen about the game, and jealous in doing his duty as a cricketer.” He was also possessed of a distinct sense of From a portrait] ALLEN HILL. humour, and could tell many interesting and amusing stories concerning his cricket career. Hill was born at Kirkln aton. near Hud­ dersfield, on November 14th, 1845, aud was therefore in his sixty-fifth year at the time of bis death. It was the same village from which Hirst and Rhodes came, aud there is not much doubt that if the three players had been contemporaries Kirkheaton would have been able to put into the field three men who would have stood an ex­ cellent chance of beating any trio at single­ wicket that might have been brought against them. Hill afterwards removed to Lascelles Hall, having Ephraim Lockwood for his next- door neighbour, aud took part in many of the matches played by the famous club there. His first match for Yorkshire was against M.C.C. and Ground at Lord’s in May, 1871, when he failed to meet with much success, obtaining a pair of spectacles and taking a couple of wickets for 6B runs. Three months later, when Freeman had broken down, he was ac­ corded another trial, against Surrey at the Oval, aud then created something of a sensa­ tion by bowling unchanged through the match with Emmett and taking a dozen wiekets —all bowled down— at a cost of only 57 runs. He also made the highest score, 28, in the first innings of his side, and Yorkshire, set 84 to make, won by ten wickets, Rowbotham and Luke Greenwood making the runs without being separated. For his bowling on that occasion —his first inter-county match —he was presented with a silver cup. His career in first-class cricket was ended prematurely by an accident whereby he sustained a broken collar-bone, but during the twelve years or so that he flourished he did enough to make his name live in cricket history. His best season was perhaps that of 1874, in which he obtained eighty- nine wickets for a fraction over eleven runs each. In the Gentlemen v. Players matches at Lord’s and the Oval that year he took eighteen wickets, clean-bowling W. G. Grace for 22,14 and 48, and in the second innings of the Gentlemen at Lord’s dismissing I. D. Walker, A. W. Ridley and A. N. Hornby with three suc­ cessive balls without either of those great batsmen making a iun. Walker was bowled and the other two caught and-bowled. In [taken in 1876.