Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

46 The Great All-rounder (1872-1877) wildly, and the tourists won by an innings before they departed by boat after a good send-off. After Adelaide, the side sailed to Melbourne, where Emmett and Jupp appeared in a game between Yarba Bend and Melbourne on 23 November. The former turned out for the Yarba side, playing ‘very nicely’ with the bat according to reports, but not bowling particularly successfully. The side then moved to Sydney at the end of the month, where Shaw and Emmett were in excellent form in practice, and Emmett was again reportedly considered ‘the most dangerous bowler as far as the Sydney team is concerned.’ Looking ahead to the game at Christmas in Melbourne, a local paper commented that ‘Emmett’s bowling seems to be much feared by the Victorian team.’ Despite the positive reports, a week later the tourists lost to a New South Wales side in a four-day match. Emmett made one of the better scores in the first innings (‘a splendid display of cricket, which won him a host of admirers’) and bowled economically. His erratic bowling style was again commented on, but ‘Seale, in hitting wildly at a ball very much to the off, gave Hill a catch at third man, which was eagerly accepted.’ The enthusiasm to see the tourists was such that reportedly 3,000 people (5-6,000 was the claim elsewhere) paid a shilling just to witness the 25 runs needed to win the game. In all, it was suggested that 30,000 saw the tourists. By Christmas, the England side was in Melbourne, where they were impressed by the cricket ground and, in particular, the grand stand. In the game with Fifteen of Victoria, Emmett delivered just 14 out of the 173 overs bowled in the first innings and five out of 85 in the second innings, although he took 3-10 towards the end of the contest. Afterwards, England opened their New Year with games in Ballarat and Geelong before sailing for Sydney on 8 January. Jupp remained in Melbourne and the other tourists arrived worse the wear from sea-sickness. In Sydney, they suffered a humiliating defeat against New South Wales, with Spofforth and Evans bowling them out for 35, of which Charlwood made 20. Local reporters suggested that the travelling was probably the cause of their wretched batting, ‘for it is impossible for men to play cricket with only one day’s rest after the passage up from Melbourne.’ Shaw toiled away for figures of 81-57-32-7 and Emmett conceded just 21 runs in 33 overs, but the home side needed only a few runs to win by 13 wickets. Prompted to play on equal terms after their victory, and with time to spare until the tourists were due to sail to New Zealand, New South Wales drew the second contest, although England made 270 and then dismissed their hosts for 82. Emmett was not needed as a bowler in the first innings but later reports mentioned that his ‘rib-binders’ were ‘hard when they hit you’. Southerton and Emmett were also described as having ‘distinct and striking actions’. After this match England travelled to New Zealand on 17 January 1877, with their first game in the colony being at Auckland at the end of the month. The visit was now about to get more interesting. The touring side