Lives in Cricket No 36 - WE Astill

161 The Coach Clifton College. We should add that Astill was naturally and exuberantly delighted with his young pupil’s success and declared that he bowled like Freeman and batted like Hobbs. 282 Even Ben Wrightson who, as we have seen, found Astill a little aloof, 283 had this to say about his relationship with Cowdrey: In my opinion the greatest service that Ewart performed for the school that summer lay in his support for and encouragement of Colin Cowdrey. They shared one great thing in common. Neither of them was familiar with the strict traditions and overtones which pervaded – even stifled – life at Tonbridge in those days. Convention dictated that such a precocious genius as the young thirteen-year-old Colin possessed should be regarded with the utmost suspicion and reserve. The First XI had never been for ‘Novis’; there they would be interlopers in a world of older and more respected heads. I have no doubt that, had it not been for Ewart’s presence, Colin would have found the pressures on him that term far more weighty than, in the end, they turned out to be. Ewart, too, was an innocent abroad when it came to the rubrics of a place like Tonbridge. He saw in Colin a naked ability and it was his job to encourage and develop it. Anything that stood in its way was either unjustifiable or perverse. Together the young new boy and the old pro welded a special and common interest. Colin tried his damnest and Ewart made as sure as he could that it counted. The results were there for us all to see. Almost off his own bat and out of his own hand Colin won Tonbridge its famous victory against Clifton at Lord’s that year. Ewart grinned from ear to ear. When the press approached him he described Colin’s batting as like ‘looking at a pro through the wrong end of a telescope’. There never was any doubt that they were very good for each other. If there is to be any memorial to Ewart’s brief time at Tonbridge it should rightly be that, despite every prejudice and problem, he set one of England’s greatest cricketers on the path to success. Since Cowdrey had been extremely well formed as a batsman at Homefield Preparatory School (something which delighted his new coach), the most valuable advice he had from Astill was on how to look for singles and build an innings. He did not remember any specific bowling tips apart from the customary ‘keep the arm high’, ‘pitch the ball up’, ‘come on, bowl it straighter’ and so on. A thing that particularly struck him, however, was Astill’s willingness to help everyone. He regularly gave advice when umpiring (customary among school coaches) to both his own boys and those of other schools. Often when he went as pro to another school ‘he obviously longed for us to win and nobody could be a greater encourager 282 Reported by the Daily Mail (see M.Peel, The Last Roman , p 14). 283 Interestingly a graphologist, Bob Malloney, who has reviewed, ‘blind’, Astill’s correspondence, thought his handwriting showed he was an extrovert, who actively went out socially, but was quite capable of keeping himself to himself. There were though indications that he was quite a shy individual, who did not seek the limelight. However, when this was required, he was comfortable with it. He added that he was a very diplomatic person, but probably a loner who found it difficult to get close to people emotionally. My thanks to Richard Holdridge for this information.