Cricket 1914

A p r il , 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 69 More Great Bowlers. Peel and Briggs. B y A . C. M a c L a r e n . B o b b y P e e l has a lw ays seemed to me the greatest le ft­ hander of m y tim e ; p la yin g again st or w ith him , I held the sam e opinion. H is action was peculiar, in th a t he used to bring his arm w ell behind his b a ck w ith the suspicion of a flourish, and th en fa irly w h ip the ball down. If there was a n yth in g in the w ick et to help him , few batsm en indeed lived long a t th e crease again st him . No one spotted a batsm an ’s w eakness more q u ick ly th an he, and the batsm an thus found ou t go t sh ort shrift. B o b b y never wasted an y tim e. H e w as like a terrier on a rat. In th a t duel of brains, strategy, bluff— call it w h at you w ill— b etw een batsm an and bow ler, B o b b y seldom , if ever, came off second best. H e knew how to bow l under an y conditions, and of h ow few bow lers can th a t be said ? If the w ick et w as too slow he w ould speed up his action ; and, b y m akin g the b a ll tu rn more q u ick ly th an ninety-nine out of a hundred bow lers w ould do, he would cause th e b ats­ men to b elieve th e p itch a difficult one. If the w ick et was — from his p oin t of view — •“ real jam ,” or w as breakin g up, his a ccu racy of len gth and n atural spin w ould finish off most sides for som ethin g short of three figures. H e knew th a t a good b atsm an on a p erfect w icket w ould p la y his length and spin ball, so he would bow l instead a b all th a t swung in to th e b atsm an v ery q u ick ly a t th e last. Or, again, he w ould send along a higher ball, clev e rly held back. The h igh est in th e land had to confess them selves nonplussed b y th e Y o rk sh irem an ’s m an y wiles. It a lw ays am used me to w atch B o b b y ’s eve ry expression when he kn ew he w as there, and th a t the b atsm an had no chance again st him . A rare p lucked one, he cam e off w ith the b a t again st the best, when runs w ere w anted. A dd to th is th e fa c t th a t he was a clinkin g cover-point, and and his qualifications to be considered the greatest of all- rounders few w ould care to dispute. If there were more B o b b y Peels to -d ay some of the batsm en w ould n ’t be quite so tall. B o b b y th o u gh t n othin g of gettin g up a t five o ’clock in the m orning to w itness a gallop on th e racecourse, and later go to th e ground and bow l a side ou t, as he did more th an once or tw ice in A ustralia. A t shooting he is d istin ctly interesting. H e gen erally claim s everyth in g th a t falls. I rem em ber once how , a fter a m atch in w h ich he had assisted P rince R an jitsin h ji’s side in Y orksh ire, he was entertained b y the P rince to some shooting. A hare got up and had a v e ry th in tim e of it. A fter receiving a t least eight barrels from B o b b y and his brother pros., it m anaged to craw l— m inus a few legs and an ear or so— beyond the P rin ce’s boun d ary. T o th e keep er’s w arning of th a t fact, B ob b y, v a u ltin g over a stile, replied th a t th ey paid no heed to th a t sort of th in g in Y orksh ire. H e proceeded to entertain us w ith a com bin ation of hun tin g and shooting, the u ltim a te outcom e of which w as lu ck ily th e d eath of poor puss. T here w as alw ays som ething doing when B o b b y was about. H e had a keen sense of the ridiculous ; and as I write I can see him sw ayin g from side to side w ith laughter over th e capers of an old apple-w om an who had go t into the w a y of our coach and four as w e were d rivin g from the station a t S yd n ey. I really th ou gh t he w ould fall off his perch. I shall alw ays rem em ber B o b b y ’s k in d ly words of encouragem ent to me in A u stralia in 1894, when, before the second m atch, again st V ictoria a t Melbourne, he heard th at it w as n ot possible for the skipper to find a p lace for me, and replied th a t he w ould stand down then, for he considered th a t I w as b a ttin g b etter th an anyone else a t the nets. It w as in no sm all measure due to him th a t I got m y place, and had the good fortun e to be still in a t 6 o ’clock on the first d a y , w ith 220 n ot ou t to m y credit. W hen there was m ischief afoot, B o b b y was usually a t the bo ttom of it. On th e v o y ag e ou t in ’94 one of his brother pros, had a hamm ock th a t was th e e n v y of all. T he quarter-m aster used to rig it up n igh tly for its proud p os­ sessor. One night, after th e ladies had gone below , and the proud possessor snored sublim ely ’m id st the gentle zephyrs of the Indian O cean— behold ! a figure clad in striped p yjam as th a t crept nearer and y e t nearer to th e envied hamm ock ; then one vicious slash w ith the borrowed carving-knife, and down cam e H um p ty-D um p ty, hamm o ck and all ! T hen it was : “ B o b b y, where art th ou ? ” In those d ays it was n ot cu stom ary for our professionals to w ear dress clothes a t dinner. B u t the proud possessor of th e hamm ock had also dress clothes, and turned up in them a t the professionals’ table th e first night on board. On th e second night th e dress trousers were m issing. T h e owner, nothing daun ted, appeared in dress coat and w aistco at and grey flannel bags. O f course, he did not suspect B o b b y— oh, no ! B u t he entertained w rongful suspicion of an innocent in dividu al on a later occasion. F o r it w as B o b b y who did w ittin g ly lock up, w ith in ten t to burn, the sam e Mr. Owner, in th e engine-room (tem perature 300 in th e shade, or thereabouts) ; and it was the w riter who did rescue the v ictim , after a long struggle and alm ost on the p o in t of death— to get no th an ks w h atever, b u t to be held g u ilty of the locking-up ! B u t B o b b y had alw ays a w onderful w a y of covering up his foot-tracks. Peel and B riggs— the names go togeth er on the lips of m ost w h o sp eak them , for these tw o men were th e great left-hand bow lers of th eir d a y . F o r cheery, honest graft, comm end me to poor Johnny. E v e r m erry and bright, w o rth his w eigh t in gold on a dull d a y ; th e sun seemed alw ays shining when Jo h n n y was w ith u s. W hen a th un der­ storm stopped p la y in th e te st m atch a t A delaide in 1894-5, who, for the ho u r we had to spend in our dressing- room , entertained us w ith a fine rendering of M acbeth, bu t Johnn y ? H ow w e laughed ! B u t on he w ent, as if it w as going to rain until D oom sday, n ever pausing for a word or even to ta k e breath. W e told him he had m issed his vocatio n , and had th row n aw ay a C esarew itch. H e still w en t on. F or a long tim e it puzzled me w h y Johnn y should h ave comm itted to m em ory so m uch Shakespeare. D id he con tem p late chancing his arm on th e stage later, when it had lo st its cunning in th e cricket field ? P o or fellow ! H ow keen he was to p la y one more test m atch, ju st to m ake up a certain num ber to w h ich he a ttach ed great significance. I used m y in terest on his beh alf w ith th e Selection Comm ittee, and go t him chosen for the gam e a t Leeds in 1899 when he had alm ost given up hope ; and it is n ot p leasan t to th in k th at, how ever in­ directly, m y action had a result, th a t no one could have foreseen. T h e excitem en t proved too m uch for him and sent him off his head. T his w as on th e n igh t of th e first d a y of th e m atch. I w en t to see him before it was over ; and it stru ck me as v e ry odd th a t, th ou gh he had failed to recognise his brother, he kn ew me. I h ave alw ays th ou gh t th a t we should have w on th a t m atch on the second d a y b u t for the catastrophe of his breakdow n. A s it w as, rain on the last d a y m ade a draw of it. T here w as one m arked difference betw een Johnn y and P eel. W hen the w ick et w as plum b, especially, B riggs used to bow l up into the air, w hereas th e other great le ft­ hander w as alw ays w h ipping the b all down. A s w ill be read ily understood, on a good p itch John n y w as th e easier to hit. H it for four in to th e cou ntry, he w ould often send dow n an e x a c tly sim ilar b all— w ith a sim ilar result— to follow , and then, w ipin g his forehead w ith his handkerchief as he w alked to his place in th e field, w ould rem ark : “ I t’s a fine d a y , Mr. M acL aren .”