Lives in Cricket No 36 - WE Astill

44 Chapter Four Next Year, Sometime, Never 93 ‘Reynard’ had summed up his bowling in 1908 with the words: Amongst the bowlers Astill again leads the way. People have said that he has lost a lot of his sting. It is a fact that he has bowled far below his proper form in several matches, not showing that immaculate length he used to have. … A mere lad of twenty yet, I do not think there need be any fears that Astill has lost those gifts which led us to expect a great future for him. At the end of the following summer, a wet one in which Leicestershire had repeated its position of thirteenth but with one fewer victory, he wrote that Astill ‘to a certain extent lost his cunning of hand, and did not find it until nearing the end’, although ‘Reynard’ admitted that he often bowled ‘extremely well’ but with little luck. Despite the fact that Wisden still ‘anticipated with some confidence that Astill … will prove of increased value as he gains in strength and experience’, it seems that there was a small worm in the apple of promise. He still took 79 wickets (71 in the Championship), but with an average about six runs worse than in his first full season he was now second to Uncle Tom in the county averages, while his economy rate had slipped from 2.50 runs an over in 1907 to 2.90. The year began reasonably well for him at Lord’s against MCC as he managed to spin the ball hard and exhibited a greater variety of flight and speed than any of his brothers-in-arms in taking four for 116 on an easy and fast-scoring strip, although his county lost by an innings to the metropolitan club of whose ground staff Astill had just become Leicestershire’s seventh member. 94 His performance sufficed to win him a place in a strong MCC side against Nottinghamshire, but he achieved nothing apart from dismissing Payton and initially, according to The Times correspondent, breaking the ball both ways with deceptive flight before (unusually) losing his length when Hardstaff attacked. Worse was to follow. When the sun arose on 28 June he had taken only 32 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 28.84. Apart from the thrill of bowling well to the beloved, romantic Victor Trumper and having Macartney caught off a trade-mark square cut in the tourists’ match, and inducing MacLaren to be caught behind, the weeks had been quite forgettable; but then on a slow pitch at Aylestone Road he took flight again for he dismissed seven Hampshire batsmen for 34 runs, having one of his heroes, C.B.Fry, caught 93 The caption is a simplification of Robertson-Glasgow’s comment on this phase of Astill’s career: ‘“Next year” – “some time” – they seemed to be turning into “never”’ ( More Cricket Prints , p 53). 94 The others were Rylott, Pougher, Whiteside, Geeson, Woodcock and King, of whom only the last had not retired from county cricket.