Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

39 The Great All-rounder (1872-1877) that a ball from Allen Hill flew past his face and at the end of the over Emmett commented casually to the batsman, ‘A reckon you smelt ‘er’. 32 Immediately afterwards, the side travelled overnight to Edinburgh. Hill and Emmett took most of the wickets in the game in Scotland, the latter then travelling back down to London for four games. Many years later, a story of Emmett’s dry wit was told of an otherwise unremarkable All-England game at Wakefield in June 1874. The local side took a first innings lead, but was unable to prevent the visitors making 220 when batting a second time. This put the match out of the reach of the district side, which ended at 63-14, with Hill highly effective. According to one report, Emmett: missed a catch offered to him in the long field by Mr. J. Charlesworth, a member of the famous colliery firm, and on the spectators jeering, he remarked “Hod thi noise, lads: I s’all happen get a coil pit for that.”... The catch was not misjudged; the ball went to Emmett’s hand, and he dropped it. My correspondent added that the players had spent the previous evening at Lofthouse Hall, and he infers that it was quite natural that Tom would like to see their hosts make a few runs. Emmett missed Yorkshire’s game with the United South of England at Bradford in which Hill and Ulyett bowled out the visitors for 39, but he did return the following day at Old Trafford, where he and Hill produced exactly the same outcome – dismissing Lancashire for 39 in an hour, and in the second innings for 87. Emmett was also the second top scorer in the match with 29. He then kept wicket for a while in a benefit game for the Huddersfield Infirmary at the end of June, as well as bowling in the same innings. He played a supporting role at Cambridge for All-England, where Allen Hill took 22 wickets, but turned out against the same side for Yorkshire at Huddersfield later in the month. Emmett’s continuing obligations to Middlesbrough were clear at the end of July when he was required to play for them in the annual game against Keighley. They got value from his presence – he took 11 wickets in the match and was second top scorer – but it did mean he was unavailable for Luke Greenwood’s benefit match at Sheffield against Gloucestershire. This was not forgotten, and years later a disparaging reference was made to it, when an article noted, ‘Tom Emmett was an absentee, the little club with which he had an engagement, refusing to let him off, an extraordinary thing considering that it was a benefit match at Bramall Lane, and for one of Yorkshire’s greatest cricketers.’ Although Yorkshire struggled without Emmett, Greenwood almost certainly enjoyed the crowd-pulling presence of W.G.Grace, who made 167 and took 4-57 and 7-44. Towards the end of the season, Emmett’s performances emphasised what an all-rounder he could be when things went his way. At The Oval, he opened the batting in the second innings against Surrey, making 32, having opened the bowling and taken 4-36 and 5-64, significant contributions in a four-wicket win. At Hove against Sussex, he made 65 not out, including nine 4s, to go along with 4-69 and 4-42. He then opened the batting