Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

25 A man in demand (1867-1871) featuring with the United All-England Eleven in Northampton, taking 17 wickets and top scoring in the second innings with 16. The local paper reported enthusiastically that Emmett ‘sends in his balls with terrific force’ and, as usual, few of the Twenty-Two were able to cope with his pace. It seemed that life was carrying on. In the middle of the month, Yorkshire played Middlesex at Islington. They were quickly bowled out for 60, but 7-43 from Emmett and a better batting display gave Yorkshire some prospect of a successful contest. It was not to be, however, and Middlesex won by three wickets. In the course of the match, it was Freeman’s turn to sustain an injury by spraining his left ankle. In delivering the ball, he fell to the ground, rolling around in agony, before being carried to the dressing room for treatment. It was feared he would not play again during the season. This match was also remembered many years later by one of the Middlesex players, Edward Rutter, who recalled that Emmett (who he wrongly described as a miner straight out of a coalpit) had an ‘extraordinary break’. I.D.Walker was batting with Rutter as a runner. Emmett bowled wide of the leg stump and Rutter, standing behind the wicket-keeper, had a good view as it took Walker’s off bail. Walker stood for a minute, not realising what had happened, when Emmett, in his broad accent, said ‘They call that ‘oot’ whar I coom from.’ He was, in Rutter’s words, ‘quite unplayable’. Emmett was now sufficiently confident to be standing up to one of leading amateur batsman of the day. The second half of August saw Emmett appearing up and down the country as usual. After the Middlesex match he travelled back to Leeds for the next United All-England game with Hunslet. Here he secured an extraordinary haul. In the first innings, he took 15 wickets as Hunslet reached 54. In the second, he added a further 14 wickets as the home side were dismissed for just 22. This was followed by a short journey to play in St Helens, and then immediately afterwards he travelled to The Oval, appearing for Yorkshire against Surrey, where he took 5-65 and 4-28, bowling with Atkinson and West in Freeman’s absence, as a result of the recent injury. Despite his partner’s absence, Yorkshire still won by an innings and 142 runs, in a game remembered for the first wicket partnership of 176 between Thewlis and Lockwood, the latter scoring 91 on debut. The 1868 season further cemented Emmett’s reputation as one of the best bowlers in England. Bell’s Life commented favourably that with Atkinson, Emmett, Freeman, and Greenwood as bowlers, ‘Yorkshire has proved a very tough customer for any county to tackle’. Emmett’s abilities were also seen in other ways. The Field reported a story of Emmett bowling to C.I.Thornton in the nets when the latter mishit the ball, which rose to a great height: The late Mr. I. D. Walker, who was looking on said, ‘I’ll bet you half crown, Tom, you don’t catch it.’ ‘Done, sir,’ said Tom...Instead of remaining almost under the ball, as any ordinary man would have done, Emmett stepped quickly back fifteen or sixteen paces, in order to judge better the flight and angle of the ball in its descent, and then slowly came forward, with his hands well up, ready for the drop, and