Lives in Cricket No 9 - JH King

and on one occasion early in his career, in 1902, he even appealed, albeit unsuccessfully, for ‘obstructing the field’ against A.E.Relf. His ability as a sprinter meant that, in his early days, he was an out-fielder, not infrequently in the covers, from which, with no need for the caution evident in his running between wickets as a batsman, he was a veritable Achilles in his pursuit of the ball to the boundary if it should chance to evade his long reach and athleticism. Newspapers not infrequently reported in such manner as ‘he was applauded for smart work in the field’. One description of an outstanding effort may stand for others: on 3 July 1902, at Leicester, John Gunn ‘hit high up over King’s head at mid-off. It seemed impossible for him to get to it in time, but running hard, and swinging round at the finish to try to face the ball, he brought off a fine catch sideways.’ In later days, when he had thickened a little (never very much) around the waist and his legs were slower and rheumatical, he fielded in the slips, although as late as 1923, when he was 52, he is mentioned more than once as at cover or mid-off, on one occasion as even racing back from the former to take a catch. In 1922 Knight, in reference to this phase of King’s career, mentioned ‘his telescopic arms and sure fingers’, but he may have been envisioning him as he was in the final years before the Great War – Knight had, after all, retired from county cricket in 1912 and his duties as a school coach at Highgate School, and later at Belvedere College, Dublin, had probably prevented him from seeing much, if anything, of his friend in action after the War. The Cricketer , on the other hand, probably does not do him full justice in routinely contemning the county’s poor post-war fielding which was apparently redeemed by no competent out-fielder or slip, for in the 157 matches King played in these years, at an age when most first-class cricketers are content to recite their exploits of yore to children or even grandchildren, he held 84 catches, a few still described as ‘brilliant’. Technique and Style 44