Lives in Cricket No 18 - FR Foster

meet the opposing captain, G.A.T. (‘Tubby’) Vials. ‘Nice day.’ I said. ‘Stormy weather about,’ he replied. ‘It looks like it. Shall we toss?’ The walk to the middle seemed so long, but not so long as the walk back. We tossed, and I lost. My heart sank into my boots. A perfect wicket, a Saturday start, rain threatening, and certain by Monday, Northamptonshire a good batting side but with Syd Smith 10 a great wet-wicket bowler. Can you wonder at my dream of failure? We have to win, but how? I went round to speak to my boys. ‘You won the toss, skipper?’ they shouted. I shook my head. A deathly silence prevailed in the dressing-room for what seemed fully two minutes. ‘Lost it?’ enquired Frank Field, whose lion-hearted fast bowling had done so much to put us on top. ‘What good are you?’ he went on. ‘Never mind skipper, you leave ‘em to me. I’ll bowl ‘em out. YOU can’t bowl, you never could’. I walked away thinking the end of the world. To get so near, and yet so far. Is it fate or is it Providence? God must decide the issue, but then I do believe in God. Warwickshire took the field and commenced the first day’s play. Before lunch Northants were all out! Things could hardly have gone better. I started things off when William Denton missed my third ball of the match – a straight ‘un – and lost his middle stump, or his off stump. (Who cares? He was out.) Frank Field was our hero however, slicing through the Northants batting like a hot knife through butter. In no time at all they were 67 for six, four in succession to Frank, and our joy was unalloyed when Syd Smith ran out George Thompson since they were their best batters. Syd was still fuming with himself when Frank Field had him nicking to ‘my’ Tiger. 11 I had decided to rest myself, telling Willie Hands 12 to ‘do some work for a change’, but now sensed good figures. The last four batters surrendered to me and the home team were all out 73 in only 34.2 overs. The lads strolled off to lunch light of heart, and I telegraphed father with the news. We too started badly. George Thompson, 13 still smarting over his run out, quickly bowled ‘Tiger’ but then Frank Stephens and Crow Charlesworth added 82 and at the close we were 153 runs in front, and still four wickets left. Charlesworth, playing the innings of his life, was unbeaten with 113 but most of us did our bit – except me. Syd Smith could not forgive my running out Thompson. He bowled a terrible ball, I Warwick, thou art worthy 13 10 S.G.Smith, a left-handed all-rounder and an early West Indian import. 11 E.J. ‘Tiger’ Smith who, in a playing career extending to 1930, appeared in over 400 matches for Warwicks and eleven for England. Later a first-class umpire, standing in over 200 matches, including eight Tests, he became the county’s coach and was still attending matches at Edgbaston in 1979. 12 William Cecil Hands was known as ‘Cecil’ according to his family, but Foster always called him ‘Willie’. 13 George Thompson, fine allrounder, and Northamptonshire’s first Test cricketer.