Cricket Witness No 1 - Class Peace

53 Clubs And County Clubs in the upper tier of the game in the 1890s would be 200, ten times more than the 1820s. The warning note ‘at any one time’ must be added for the turn-over was rapid; possibly two-fifths enjoyed just one season of county employment, with no more than a luckier or abler fifth playing county cricket for over ten years. Naturally, many of those not making the grade found cricket employment in the northern and midland leagues, while plenty of non-league clubs hired at least one professional. A common usage was to double up the playing side with groundsmanship, in some pleasing cases with the lure of a cottage beside the ground. The bowling stint of professionals at both county and club levels naturally evolved into a coaching element. As the years passed, this became more significant. Certainly most clubs had a groundsman whilst the country house pitches also needed expert attention. In this latter category the doubling up of duties was probably more on the gardening front. As well as masters and alumni coaching cricket at the public schools, the fashion quickly developed of employing resident professional coaches, such as H.H.Stephenson at Uppingham, Tom Emmett at Rugby and James Lillywhite at Marlborough among a string of other highly experienced and gifted players. Several schools had more than one coach and, as the school season began immediately after Easter, often as early as the closing days of March, players who were still active could sometimes find an extra outlet for their talents before the season proper began. As well as Fenner’s ground at Cambridge and the Parks at Oxford, it became common for the individual colleges to have cricket grounds. By the 1850s the Oxford colleges hired 25 pros for what was admittedly a shortish season while in 1895 the Cambridge University club took on no less than thirteen paid coaches. 7 A modicum of paid umpires might also be listed. The convention of an umpire from or on – or if folklore be believed – for each side was a lengthy one reaching back to the earliest of matches. This was coupled with the arbitration of the two gentlemen leading the teams, especially, of course, where money was at stake. That almost natural entitlement of the gentry continued to influence matters on occasion as the system of employing usually retired professionals as umpires in top-class cricket took hold. Occasional stories seep down to us on the friction this sometimes caused. In the 1880s Lord Harris complained to the umpire Robert Thoms about unfair bowling, to which that stalwart fellow replied ‘My Lord, we are going to do nothing. It is you gentlemen who have got to do it.’ That fairly summed up what, when there was a ticklish issue rather more than the occasional controversial decision, was the ongoing situation. It was down to the authorities to settle, maybe by legislation, a general disputatious matter. 8 The situation whereby working men sat in condign judgement of their betters is a curio – and it is curious, too, that little has been revealed about how this role change, almost amounting to a mischief night of old when monarchs and jesters exchanged places, operated. Gentlemen may