Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

47 left Nelson on 18 February and arrived in Greymouth early on the morning of the 20 th, , playing that same day in a poorly-attended match which was badly affected by rain. There was no play on the second day, and on the third, the players had to be ferried across a lagoon in hired boats because a bridge had been partially destroyed. Appropriately enough, Emmett made a duck and did not bowl, so he could be forgiven for wanting to forget the game. Unfortunately, things then got worse for the tourists. On the day after the match, the team left for Christchurch by coach, but were delayed on the road by rain. They finally reached the destination the following Monday, after a dangerous journey, during which one of the coaches broke down in the middle of the Otira Gorge. Here, the river was rising at the rate of four feet per hour. Their horses struggled in the raging waters and had to be pulled to the bank, whilst Tom Armitage carried a female passenger to safety. The group found shelter and the players slept on the floor in front of an open fire, eventually getting to their destination after 80 hours’ travelling. Many years later, George Ulyett recalled that they did not arrive until 11am on the morning of the game: Before we got there we had to cross another brook up to the knees in water. Tom. Emmett had been riding in the rain on the box for hours, but Jupp was so vexed at having to get out of the coach and wade, while Emmett was sitting in his wet clothes on the coach that he pulled Tom. off and they quite got to high words over it. I suppose Jupp thought that as Tom. was already soaked, a little extra wet would have done him good, while he (Jupp) might have been allowed to remain under cover as the brook was being forded. 39 Cold and stiff, the players were poorly prepared for cricket and did not impress the locals during their match in Christchurch. Emmett in particular, ‘though he obtained five wickets, was treated with comparative indifference by many of the batsmen’. For once, he had a good excuse. The team then played at Dunedin and Invercargill, before returning to Australia, where between 15 and 19 March they played against Australia at Melbourne in what is regarded as the first Test match. The passage over was rough, and England’s preparation for the game was not improved by the fact that Pooley was found guilty of assaulting a man, and fined £5 and costs, as well as committed for trial for wilfully destroying his property over a betting transaction. The English players – without Pooley – did not arrive until early on the day before the match and went straight to practise on the ground the same afternoon. Despite this, they appeared to be in ‘first-rate form, Shaw and Emmett particularly being in rare bowling trim’. There was great interest in the first ever match between representative sides from Australia and England, although there were absences on the Australian side. Frank Allan announced late on that he did not want to come up from Warrnambool, where he was an officer of the Crown Lands department. It was carnival time and his only chance to see many friends who would come in for the festivities. Spofforth was also absent, apparently because he could not bring his ‘private wicket-keeper’ with him. The Great All-rounder (1872-1877)