Lives in Cricket No 34 - Frank Mitchell

5 Introduction No one in the world can now be alive who has a clear recollection of watching Frank Mitchell play first-class cricket. There may be, though unlikely, one or two who as babes in arms were taken to his final first- class game at Fenner’s, Cambridge, in June 1914 when he played for MCC against his old university. So no direct personal observations remain to be given of his style of play. Accordingly this brief biography may best start with the recollections of two men, both giants of the game, who wrote about him with an interval between their words of more than twenty years. Their thoughts will give an early indication of how good a cricketer, as batsman and captain, Frank Mitchell was and how, but for the foibles of life, such a good player could have become a great player. The Book of Cricket: A Gallery of Famous Players by C.B.Fry 1899 ‘Altogether he must be regarded as one of the most notable all-round athletes of the day. ‘He is tall and powerful without being heavy or slow. No doubt his success in games is largely due to his combining size and strength with activity. As a batsman he hits with great force but without any strain or waste of strength. He is by nature a driver. When at Cambridge he held his bat at the very top, stood bolt upright, and shaped “throughout” in the long handle manner. Since he has joined the Yorkshire side he has altered his style somewhat; he holds his bat about halfway down the handle, and does not stand quite so full in playing. His best stroke is the straight drive, which he executes as well as anyone playing. He has a stylish forward drive on the off – a stroke played with swing. He cuts short bowling well with a short, thrusting wrist-stroke. He can both hit and glide to leg, and has some useful scoring strokes between mid-on and square leg. In fact he can move the ball in most directions, according as it is bowled.’ The Cricketer Magazine by Gilbert Jessop 1921 ‘In captaincy in the Varsity match [of 1896] he stands out as one of the ablest who have played their part in the historic encounter.... Mr Frank Mitchell remained quite unmoved throughout, and though complete success did not crown what, after all, was a disagreeable task, he succeeded in driving home to the authorities the urgent necessity of an alteration of the follow-on rule. He could indeed say “Flectere si nequeo superos acheronta movebo”’. [If I cannot move Heaven, I shall raise Hell –