Cricket Witness No 6 - His Captain's Hand on His Shoulder Smote

10 Introduction; It’s runs that count Call him on the deep sea; call him on the Sound Call him when ye sail to meet the foe When the old Trade’s plyin’ and the old flag’s flyin’, They shall find him, ware and wakin’, as they found him long ago. Once again the lesson is stickability in the common cause. Francis Drake, as Fred Trueman ruefully remarked, was at that point the only bowler who had ever been knighted, compared with a clutch of titled batsmen, but, like the young subaltern at the Battle of Abu Klea, the old sailor epitomised what Newbolt believed to be the essential national characteristics. Story – school – cricket – life ethic-cum-creed – patriotism: these are the key words of this book.