Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

28 A man in demand (1867-1871) double figures in the match) and Tom Hayward, but Emmett worked his way through each batsman. Newman played on to Emmett for his first wicket, D.Hayward was bowled for his second, and then Emmett took a catch off Freeman’s bowling at ‘long slip’. Tom Hayward was bowled by Emmett, who then dismissed Pryor caught and bowled. Rowbotham dropped Browne off Emmett’s bowling, but shortly after made amends by catching Carpenter. Browne was then very cleverly caught by Atkinson to make it 42-7. Mason was Emmett’s seventh wicket, followed by Fordham, leg before wicket. Finally, he clean-bowled Watts, and Cambridgeshire were all out for 46 at 5.45pm, to lose by an innings and 266 runs. Overall, Emmett surpassed himself, taking nine wickets in the second innings, and catching the other one from Freeman’s bowling. It would remain his career best figures. Remarkably, he had taken 16 wickets in a total of just 150 minutes of play. His second innings figures were 18.2-10-23-9, to give match totals of 35.2-21-38-16. Undoubtedly, the opposition was weak and the wicket poor (looking back in 1877, the York Herald called the match a ‘mockery’), but The Sportsman described his performance as ‘almost unparalleled’, and commented that the visitors ‘were utterly unable to cope with the terrific bowling of Emmett and Freeman, both of whom were in capital form, and dead on.’ The Sheffield Daily Telegraph considered that, given some of the players in the side, dismissing Cambridgeshire twice for just 86 was ‘one of the best performances ever chronicled in the annals of cricket.’ To this day, Emmett’s figures remain the 27 th best match analysis ever in first-class cricket, and indeed, there have been few more successful days for a bowler in first-class cricket, particularly when it is remembered that he also made an individual score of 47 not out, 36 of them on the same day, which exceeded that of the opposition as a whole, in either innings. Emmett’s 16 wickets in a day was not beaten by anyone in first-class cricket until Colin Blythe took 17 in 1907, and not by a Yorkshireman until Hedley Verity, who also took 17 in a day in 1933. Emmett had cemented his place in the record books. After the triumph of the county game, Emmett immediately turned out for two local sides, taking 10 wickets for Redcar and nine for Dudley, both against All-England. He was then chosen to play for the North against the South at Bramall Lane. The South batted first, with W.G.Grace and B.B.Cooper putting on 74 for the first wicket. With Grace holding up one end, no other batsman reached more than seven. The South were all out for 173, with W.G eventually dismissed for 122, a dominating performance. The Rev.E.S.Carter later told a story about this innings. ‘I used to go to Lord’s’ he said, ‘whenever I could if Yorkshire were playing. One day I said to Tom Emmett, ‘Tom, what do you think of this young W.G.Grace, who is making such scores?’ Tom replied: ‘It’s all very well against this South country bowling; let him come up to Sheffield against me and George (Freeman).’ Soon after, Grace scored his 122 and Carter asked Emmett again what he thought. ‘Mr Carter, I call him a non-such; he ought to be made to play with a little bat.’ The North later put themselves into a good position, but needing 121 to win, they were dismissed for 55