Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

120 specially pleased once to hear him rebuke a gentleman who, at one of the Yorkshire matches, wanted to stand him and others a drink. Tom. refused, and said quietly but firmly, ‘I should be obliged to you if you would not tempt the players.’ 85 That being said, there is some anecdotal evidence that alcohol might have had a role towards the end of his life. As mentioned earlier, E.J.Radcliffe, who was coached by Emmett at Downside School at the turn of the century, mentioned it as a problem. 86 And a journalist who played with him in a Saturday afternoon match in the late 1880s, reported that Emmett had performed well against decent bowling even though he had claimed he could hardly hold a bat. This was because he had come down to London to see a match at The Oval just after his retirement and had not been to bed for two nights. Reportedly, Emmett hinted, ‘you know what that means sir, when one meets lots of old friends.’ One of the most important aspects of Emmett’s personality was his enthusiasm, passion and good nature. Emmett loved cricket until the end of his life and had strong opinions on how it should be played, which he was always willing to articulate. Lord Harris commented that he never played with anyone keener. 87 Scores and Biographies called him ‘an enthusiast about the game, as willing, good tempered and obliging a man in his vocation as has yet appeared.’ 88 Wisden added that ‘No day was too long for him, and up to the end he played with the eagerness of a schoolboy.’ 89 This enthusiasm conveyed itself to colleagues in good and bad ways. In 1887, Athletic News wrote, ‘When in the field his very energy seems almost sufficient to make all the players on his side put on an extra effort.’ On the other hand, Emmett played to win and could get quite agitated in the process. As a rule, he could be very nervous in his first few overs at the crease, and seemed determined to run himself or his partner out. He backed up a long way, which encouraged fielders to try to throw his wicket down, but often only succeeded in giving away runs. Emmett was also a demonstrative man, and some commented on how he reacted under pressure. In moments of tension, for example, he was not a great spectator. In Walter Humphreys’ reminiscences in the Cricket Field , he told a story of Emmett watching the end of a tense Sussex-Yorkshire game. ‘While the last few overs were being bowled,’ said Humphreys, ‘Tom Emmett was walking up and down in front of the pavilion, in a state of great excitement, and kept on repeating, ‘This is a rare argument between bat and ball.’ ’ In 1902, W.L.Murdoch, the great Australian batsman, remembered batting on a perfect wicket against Emmett for New South Wales. There he began to get ‘worked up because I did not get out, and buzzed about, snapping his fingers in his well-known way, bowled me three wides in succession, and then rammed in a ball which pitched on my leg side and knocked the off stump over and over.’ No-one was ever in any doubt about Emmett’s feelings on the field; at Cheltenham against Gloucestershire in 1878 he kicked the ball away in disgust after dropping a catch, leading to the batsman getting two runs and the generating a lot of laughter at Emmett’s expense. Even at the end of his career he still Personality, performance and popularity