Lives in Cricket No 36 - WE Astill

98 the second day at a parlous 187 for four. By the time another wicket fell late the next day the score had reached 495, Holmes, who had had a long head-start, leading the way with 244 and Astill contributing 156. This was his highest score to date, and the partnership of 327 the largest in which he was ever involved. On this his first proper tour Astill found ‘the people … the most hospitable I have ever met’, and was captivated too by the beauties of the islands, to which he happily returned on three further occasions and which he extolled in later years. A correspondent in The Times for 26 February gave a taste of the delights of Trinidad: Fine scenery, noble trees, gorgeous flowers, generous spaces, first-rate roads, beautiful women, openhanded generosity, what more do you want? But there are other attractions. You can bathe on the west coast to your body’s content in the sea with water with the chill off, calm and placid; or on the east coast and be bowled over by a fight against the rollers coming in with foaming crests before the N.E.Trades blowing fresh and free. You can charter your boat and your fisherman and try for tarpon … And there is dancing, lawn tennis and bridge, and everywhere the insidious cocktail. Thus invigorated Astill returned to find his county’s finances also invigorated by a cheque for £1,115 (about £53,000 at 2013 prices) proceeds from a charity match played by the Leicester City Football Club in April against the Scottish club Airdrieonians. This was just as well since the expected bonanza of over £3,000 from the opening first- class game of the Australian tour did not materialize. A grand dinner was given for the players at the County Rooms, a guest of honour being Joseph Collier who had been in the Leicestershire team victorious over the Australians on their first tour in 1878. But now rain prevented play on the first day, May Day, and forced an abandonment on the third. A crowd of 10,000 on the intervening day showed how the coffers could have been filled. More ominous still for its financial implications was the beginning of the General Strike one minute before midnight on 3 May and, although it ended a week later, the underlying economic depression was of course to cause county secretaries headaches for many years to come. Leicestershire, nothwithstanding, though dropping one place to thirteenth in the Championship, retained a modicum of respectability on the pitch with five victories, and twice received a commendation from The Cricketer for their excellent wickets. Five of the first nine days of the 1926 season were rendered blank by inclement weather, and it was not until 27 May that Astill scored his first half-century, 50 on a poor wicket in only 70 minutes, to set his county on the way to a hard-earned and rare lead over Surrey in another rain- wrecked match. Two days later he scored a second (76) on the Garrison Ground at Colchester which had miraculously escaped recent rains only to crumble so badly that the next day Skelding and Geary skittled Essex once and allowed Astill to take five for 47 the second time round to complete an easy victory for the visitors. In the following game, the second of the The Tourist: ‘a Joy to Know’