Lives in Cricket No 9 - JH King

delightedly caught an unusually aggressive Mead off his own bowling. The declaration came immediately, but King had his prize. He had also achieved what literary critics call ‘ring-composition’: first and last ball of the season for his county, first and last wicket. After a very poor summer personally in 1920 Wood, increasingly troubled by lumbago, resigned as captain, and played only a further three games for his county. It is likely that King, rather than Wood, would have been captain for the last few years, but for the convention of an amateur captain which was to endure for many years yet. (Leicestershire first broke with tradition with Astill’s appointment in 1935, but then, after a gloriously successful year under his leadership, promptly sacked him for the amateur C.S.Dempster and further years of obscurity). Even more than for the past decade and a half King was now the wise elder statesman and confidant of the younger players and one, moreover, who could still perform worthy feats, another Nestor – albeit without the Pylian’s garrulity and capacity for wine. After the inter-regnum of A.T.Sharp in 1921 King was quasi-captain through the reign of Major G.H.S.Fowke. His daughter had a splendid memory of Lord Hawke, that stickler for the proprieties, loudly upbraiding King for his chalcenterous breach of custom when he espied him descending the steps from the amateurs’ dressing room, whereupon the amateurs vociferously defended King on the ground that they themselves had invited him to their sanctum because they had needed his advice. Already for some years before the outbreak of war King had been senior professional and, though in accordance with custom sitting down first and carving while his fellow-professionals waited for him to begin eating before venturing to do the same themselves, he never abused his position or caused any grievance or animosity to be directed against himself. He was certainly well suited for this rôle of senior statesman, for he was a highly experienced player, unselfish, skilled in both batting and bowling and a noted fielder, at least in his earlier years. He was, moreover, a thoughtful student of the game, wise to the devices of his opponents, able personally to adapt to the exigencies of changing situations during a match, and always willing to impart advice quietly but with great acuity to younger colleagues. By temperament he was a mild man, but one with high standards of behaviour. He smoked a pipe, which for some reason always gave a greater impression of quiet assurance, 100 Nestor