Lives in Cricket No 25 - Tom Richardson

68 Australia 1897/98 and although bowling averages may not be a wholly satisfactory test of ability a glance at the Sportsman list of last Monday is calculated to make Englishmen thoughtful. Richardson is fourth with an average of 16.10, Hearne tenth with 18.42, Hayward fifteenth with 19.30; the next in the list is Hirst who is no nearer the top than twenty-sixth , Wainwright is thirty-second and Mr Mason thirty-fifth . In other words, only one of the bowlers is in the first nine, and only two are in the first twenty-five. To use a colloquial expression: ‘What price this?’ ” 156 There were the expected inquests. In an article on the ‘Differences between English and Australian cricket’ Mr MacLaren, in the London Review gives various reasons for the failure of the Englishmen during their recent tour. They may be briefly summarised as follows:- 1. Climatic influences. Heat; kills bowlers, batsman get out from pure exhaustion. Prevents sleep at night. 2. Tremendous glare. Difficult to judge a high catch. 3. Extraordinary pace of wickets. Inability of man to alter strokes, which were useful at home; not quick enough for late cut or hook stroke. 4. Hot winds. Knock our bowlers out. 5. Playing against Local Eighteen on a matting wicket after a “test” match. Ball comes above your head, and when you return to turf wickets you feel strange. 6. Accidents; illness; hard work. 157 Whingeing Poms? Other English teams had faced similar conditions and had done better. The real reasons perhaps owed more to the fact that, beginning with the 1891/92 tour, interest in cricket in Australia had begun to revive and the interest raised by the Sheffield Shield, and then by the 1894/95 tour, had generated the momentum which had led to an improvement in standards. The situation was to change very little throughout the following century. Rather more philosophically, Ranjitsinhji commented: Cricketers of exceptional merit, and well-known authorities on the game, have often endeavoured to find out what is “form” and how it deteriorates and why it often does not come up to expectations. But although they have been able to ascertain the first two, they have never been satisfactorily able to give a true and reasonable explanation for the latter. Where better men than I have failed, I am not too proud to acknowledge my own total inability to explain the non-recovery of form of my comrades, who, with myself, on our present tour, tried hard and did our best to uphold the best traditions of English cricket – with but imperfect success… … The great misfortune to the team was the rheumatism which, at times, affected Tom Richardson’s right arm. Everyone in Australia is 156 24 February 1898 157 Cricket 18 May 1898