Cricket 1914

No. 9, V o l. I. SATURDAY, MAY 30, 1914. P r ic e 3 d. A Talk with George Cox. A t the Horsham bookstall, on my way up to town on a bright Monday morning, I found myself standing side b y side w ith a familiar figure. Slightly more rotund than it used to be— but Cox was never one of the lean kine— th at figure ; the face a trifle less bronzed than I have seen it, the tw inkling eyes as bright as ever. Everyone who knows George Cox likes him. A very capable cricketer indeed, he is the soul of modesty and good humour. " Going up to Lord’s, Cox ? ” I asked. “ I should like to travel w ith you, and interview you on the w ay .” " Well, I don’t know. W hat do you w ant to interview me for ? ” came the reply. “ I won’t say No, but there are lots of more important people, aren’t there ? ” “ Possibly. Bu t there’s no chance of m y spotting them at the present moment, and I have been intending for some little time past to put you through it.” " A ll right, sir. I can stand it. Here’s the train. Come along, S tre e t! ” So the three of us, for Street was in Cox’s company, got into the express for V icto ria ; and, refusing the offer of a cigarette— he doesn’t smoke the things— Cox filled a pipe that was obviously an old friend, and faced his ordeal like a man. W ithin five minutes he had forgotten th at he was being interviewed. I can claim at least one qualification necessary to a successful interviewer— th at of getting my victims to talk w ithout any cut-and-dried series of formal questions. Cox has been in Durban, coaching, and I happen to know several Durban people whom he also knows. “ Yes, I had a real good time there,” he said. “ I wouldn’t ask for a better billet or nicer people to deal with. The one thing against it, from my point of view, was the climate. John Gunn, who succeeded me there, enjoyed himself too, and would be quite willing to go back. He didn’t find the damp heat quite as trying as I did, I fancy. “ Matting wickets ? Can’t say I care much for them. I never could get going on them w ith the bat. Gunn did, as you know. Bu t I could get wickets all right. No, not b y spin— finger-spin, to m y mind, is of little use on the matting. A ll the bowlers who spin much do it b y wrist work. And not b y swing or swerve. I lost all th at the winter I was out in India, a t Kooch ^Behar. Anyw ay, Ho one can do much swerving in South Africa. The air’s G e o r g e Cox.