Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

50 Emmett then cut his right hand open at the web of the thumb in catching Midwinter off Barlow in the North v South match at Hull, and had to be substituted. Lancashire won the Manchester Roses match despite being bowled out by Clayton and Armitage for 72, and rain ended the Middlesex game, with Yorkshire arguably in a good position, needing 129 to win. This was followed by a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Gloucestershire, and the county season ended with draws against Derbyshire, Surrey and Nottinghamshire. At Scarborough, Yorkshire were dismissed for 37 in the second innings against I Zingari, and 71 and 46 by MCC, losing to the visitors despite bowling them out for 31, Emmett taking 8-16 in 12 overs. Yorkshire cricket seemed to be in crisis. The county side did not win a game after 11 July, and whilst rain certainly reduced the opportunities to force victories, there was no mistaking the side had underperformed. One review of the season called it a ‘most unlucky season’, arguing that ‘all the influences of ground and weather have been arrayed against them’. However, it also suggested, slightly confusingly, that there had been ‘no falling off in the excellence of their cricket.’ Ulyett, Andrew Greenwood, Lockwood and Emmett were considered four of the best professionals in the country, and Armitage, Pinder, Eastwood and Hill ‘can take their part in any company’. As captain, however, Lockwood’s judgement was called into question on a number of occasions. In particular, he had decided to bat at The Oval even though the ground was very soft after a storm, and therefore likely to favour the Surrey bowlers. It seemed time for a change and Yorkshire now turned to the experience of Tom Emmett. The Great All-rounder (1872-1877) The Yorkshire side for the match with Middlesex at Sheffield, August 1877. (Roger Mann)