Lives in Cricket No 36 - WE Astill

81 The First ‘Doubles’ when he first started coaching in South Africa during the English winters, but three (two?) years previously he had held ‘a season’s appointment at the Christian Brothers’ College, Kimberley’, where one of his pupils had been G.F.Bissett, the youngest member of the touring party of 1924. 148 This winter, however, Astill played in two first-class matches, the second and third of the five four-day so-called ‘Tests’ between S.B.Joel’s XI and the full South African team. 149 The first ‘Test’ having been lost by nine wickets and bowling resources being stretched by Marriott’s indisposition, Astill was called up for the second, which began on New Year’s Day. After scoring a mere two runs in his first venture on foreign soil, he promptly justified his selection when South Africa batted by having opener Catterall caught behind as the first of five victims at a cost of 82 runs in a marathon bowl of 45 overs in the humid heat of Durban. On the last day he added to his dismissals ‘Dave’ Nourse (for the second time) when the batsman was looking dangerous and threatening to win the match. With Geary taking eight wickets in total, victory, at least on the bowling side, was very much a Leicestershire triumph. Despite the recovery of Marriott for the two intervening non-first-class matches, Astill was retained for the third ‘Test’ at Cape Town, but achieved little in another victory won largely by his county colleague Geary and he returned to fulfil his coaching obligations. At least upon his return to England he had the satisfaction of knowing that he had participated in the only two victories of Joel’s team in the tied ‘rubber’. The pair once more spearheaded their county’s bowling in 1925, Astill, ‘with all those wiles which mark the clever and accomplished bowler’, 150 but, despite an excellent Championship average of 18.94 and his colleague’s even better 16.86, they could not prevent Leicestershire slipping one position in the table to twelfth with the same number of victories as the previous year, and even that position had not seemed likely until they won their last three fixtures, all away from home. On the batting front the two greatest advances were made by the youngster Berry and by Astill himself, the former’s certainly and the latter’s perhaps a result of the appointment in 1924 of an excellent coach in E.G.Hayes, the ex-Surrey and England all- rounder whose particular strength was his batting. Astill’s average now jumped to 33.70 in Championship matches alone and in all matches he aggregated 1,601 runs, a figure he was never to exceed. Ironically for much of the season he had been demoted to No.5 before being restored to his now customary position of No.3 in early July. Had he not incurred two injuries in early June, he could well have completed the ‘double’ for his county for he fell only four wickets short, but participation in extraneous matches allowed him to join this year’s exclusive company of Tate, Roy 148 Leicester Sports Mercury , which on 3 May, 1924, said ‘two years previously’. 149 Solly Joel, the son of an East End publican, initially made his fortune from his diamond and gold mining in South Africa. Better known later as a racehorse owner, he also personally financed this cricket tour, on which he made a loss of nearly £4,000. Wisden of 1926 refers to the team as Hon L.H.Tennyson’s Team, the Hampshire player being captain, but in subsequent record books it is usually S.B.Joel’s XI. The team became known as Solly Joel’s Jolly Souls, with no doubt Astill’s piano- and ukulele-playing contributing to their reputation. 150 The Cricketer Annual, 1925-26 , p 18.