Lives in Cricket No 9 - JH King

noblest, most gallant, indeed the most chivalrous and gentlemanly stroke; and his most commonly used drive was the most splendid of all, that through the covers, although he had the full range from that forward of point through the straight to that forward of square leg. His straight drives, however, were usually just to off or on, and he was not deprived of many runs by the opposing stumps, as was to be Maurice Tompkin in later years. In driving he was aided by a very muscular leading (right) fore-arm, as can be seen below in the first of Beldam’s photographs of him bowling; and he frequently ran yards down the pitch to play the stroke (even occasionally at the age of 54), although, fortunately, learning to curb his impetuosity somewhat after having been stumped three times already by mid-June in 1900 through jumping out of his crease. During his whole career he was stumped 39 times in all, which accounts for 4.2% of his dismissals. This percentage would be considered high to-day, when some county wicket-keepers go through a whole season without stumping a single batsman, but was not in his time (Gunn’s percentage is 7.2). The comparatively low figure is testament to his hard-learned restraint and even more to his fine eye. Beldam’s photographs of him batting are of four stages in his off-drive, which Fry uses to illustrate the second of his three categories of this stroke, the ‘off-drive with right [it would have been better if he had used ‘back’ to accommodate left-handers such as King] foot firm before impact, but allowed to move up in the follow-through’. It must be emphasized that since Beldam, the pioneer in photography of cricketers in action rather than posing, did not have the equipment to take pictures in rapid succession, the four photographs are not of King’s response to the same ball but to four different balls; the first two were well outside the line of the off stump, the latter two much nearer in line to it. The third with closed face of bat and right elbow tucked into side (which would have caused him to play across the line) suggests that the ball in this case was not suitable for the off-drive, which King had been told to perform. Notably the bat is far more open-faced in Tayler’s drawing of a fractionally later moment in the same phase of the stroke. To take the positions in sequence, the first photograph shows the bat almost horizontal in the down-swing with the head and torso leaning forward, the right foot already on the ground far forward to the off, the left toe dragged just in front of the popping crease. In the second the left foot is almost vertical on the toe as the batsman leans over the ball (though perhaps not Technique and Style 32