Lives in Cricket No 5 - Rockley Wilson

burden of speech-making at the many civic and cricketing receptions and functions with which the English cricketers were regaled on their long tour of the country. Rockley used his knowledge of the history and personalities of the game, and his natural quick wit, to good effect in his speeches. In Melbourne, on the eve of a match against Victoria in November, for example, “he kept all amused for a few minutes while he dived back into cricket history and brought out an anecdote or a set of figures for each of the past masters of the game that he spotted amongst the gathering.” 79 It seems likely that his reputation as a speaker came to exceed his reputation as a cricketer on this tour. England were beaten by Australia in all five Test Matches, the first such humiliation, and, not surprisingly, Douglas did not escape criticism of his captaincy. One of the criticisms was of his handling of his bowlers, and in particular his reluctance to give more opportunities to his slow bowlers who included Wilson and Fender. The Observer , for example, in its review of the tour in its Australia and After 79 The MCC side which toured Australia in 1920/21, losing all five Test matches. Standing (l to r): A.Dolphin, J.W.Hitch, C.H.Parkin, F.C.Toone (manager), F.E.Woolley, C.A.G.Russell, A.Waddington. Seated: H.Strudwick, W.Rhodes, E.R.Wilson, J.W.H.T.Douglas (captain), P.G.H.Fender, J.B.Hobbs. On the ground: H.Howell, E.H.Hendren, J.W.Hearne, J.W.H.Makepeace. 79 P.G.H Fender, Defending the Ashes , Chapman and Hall, 1921, p.32.