Lives in Cricket No 50 - Tom Emmett

77 Yorkshire Captain 1878-1883 many significant contributions. It was now in midsummer that Hawke took over the captaincy, albeit with the assumed caveat that he would have ‘a very able man in Tom Emmett when he cannot take charge of the team himself.’ Cricket also reported that Emmett was to be ‘deputy captain’. It had been an interesting period under Emmett, and one in which Yorkshire moved up the county table from sixth in 1878 and 1879, to third in 1881 and 1882. He had handled the team well and had set a good example in all he did, especially with his energetic fielding, so that Lillywhite’s commented in 1881 that ‘it is doubtful whether he has ever shown better cricket.’ 55 Some looked back on the period with fondness, a newspaper review of ‘Old Ebor’’s book of talks with Old Yorkshire cricketers in 1899 commenting nostalgically that ‘Yorkshire is a great team now-a-days...but who would not have exchanged the grim earnest of Yorkshire’s play last year for the touch-and-go of Tom Emmett’s captaincy, when Peate and he with the ball wrought sudden miracles and the tail of the batting made all the runs by slogging.’ Others felt Emmett had been treated disrespectfully in being shunted aside. Athletic News reported in January 1884 that Hon.M.B.Hawke had received a vote of thanks from Yorkshire County Cricket Club, but commented that the general public ‘were of opinion that the principal credit of captaining the team was due to Tom Emmett; but Tom has not title of courtesy. Twas ever thus.’ Indeed, Hawke did not appear regularly in the side in 1883 until mid-July, by which time the season was half over. Interestingly, the arrival of Hawke as captain presented the county committee with what they considered was a dilemma. As the Leeds Times put it, it was clear that: sooner or later some of the professional element would have to give place to amateurs; for the Hon.M.B.Hawke having succeeded to the captaincy, it was at once realised at headquarters that it would hardly do to leave him without a companion or two, so to speak, and the question that then presented itself to the committee, and has never been lost sight of, was who were the gentlemen upon whom could be placed the greatest reliance to figure worthily as representatives of Yorkshire. Thus, it seemed an additional professional would need to step aside on a regular basis, and in July 1883, Sugg and Grimshaw made way for Hawke and Edward Lumb. Subsequently, there was some disquiet amongst spectators arriving at the ground when it was discovered that Peate was missing for the Lancashire game, although it turned out this was due to lumbago, rather than being replaced by an amateur. However, it did appear there was now an immediate threat to Emmett’s position. The paper continued ‘had he [Peate] been well and fit....he would have been included in the team, to the exclusion of the genial and erstwhile captain, Tom Emmett.’ Apparently, the previous week when it was decided to include three amateurs, Emmett was ‘counted out’. After a decade and a half, perhaps there were signs that Emmett could not be guaranteed a place in a changing side.