Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

5 Chapter One Legend and legacy ‘No professional cricketer has ever borne a higher reputation or been more deservedly popular than [Tom Emmett].’ Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 6 September 1884 ‘The broad-acred shire has produced no cricketer more worthy or more characteristic of its cricketing traditions than Tom Emmett.’ London Daily News, 1 July 1904 Not even the most ardent lovers of cricket would argue that the game is constantly entertaining. Slow batting, unresponsive pitches and negative tactics have rendered many a contest dull and inconclusive. Fear of failure and defeat can paralyse players, and individuals and teams can be self- indulgent in focusing on averages or records. In the 19 th century, disregard for paying spectators was commonplace, evident in the late starts, long gaps between innings and extended breaks in play. The format of the game which had transformed cricket into a commercial spectacle – that involving touring sides such as the All-England Eleven and local district sides – was in part undermined by the fact that even the best batsmen struggled to penetrate a field of twenty-two men, making for painfully slow scoring. By the 1880s, boredom with the pace of the game and the development of alternative distractions such as tennis, cycling and football threatened to reduce the popularity of cricket before cups and leagues came to the rescue in many parts of the country, no more so than in Yorkshire. No-one ever accused Tom Emmett of being boring. Indeed, Lord Hawke described him as ‘the greatest “character” that ever stepped on to the field, a merry wag who could never lose heart or his temper.’ One obituary in 1904 also concluded: There was no more interesting personality in connection with Yorkshire County Cricket than the late Tom Emmett...No member of the eleven was more popular with the crowd than the genial “Tom”, who liked to “play to the gallery” occasionally. And yet there was no member who took the game more seriously or played more unselfishly for the credit of the county and its Eleven. For almost 40 seasons, from the late 1850s to the late 1890s, Tom Emmett brought to life a game of cricket at all levels with his ability with both bat and ball, and often merely with his presence. He set records, but also played with a spirit and enthusiasm people enjoyed, so that, even 20 years after his Yorkshire debut, the Leeds Mercury could call him ‘the most popular professional in England’.