MAURICE TATE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 October 1929, Page 12

MAURICE TATE

CRICKETER WHO PERSEVERED. In the first week of June this year I was in Peterborough, and I went to the cricket ground, lyhere Northamptonshire were opposing Sussex (says an English writer). I had scarcely taken ' my seat in front of the pavilion when I vyas compelled to dodge a. ball which had been driven from the centre of the field. Had it hit me on the head I would not be alive now to write these lines abouV^the man who made tho huge drive—Muurite Tate. In the same over he made another grand hit, and the ball sailed out of the ground, across a road, and found its resting place in a room of an unoccupied house, having first crashed through a window. I have known young Maurice ever since he came into this world, for I used to play cricket with his father, who was one of the finest bowlers Sussex ever had, and who played for England. Fred Tate was proud of his little son, who was brought up in the atmosphere of cricket. His baby milk was diluted with cricket; he was weaned on it; and it was served up with every meal. So who can wonder at his taking up the game as a profession ?

He went to the Sussex County ground when lie was just over seven •years of, age, and witnessed a first - 5 class match. I cannot recall the exact fixture, tut the'outstanding event was a. big partnership of-Prince Ranjitfeihhji and 0. B. Fry, who scored a, lot of 'riins,»seeming to do as they liked with the bowling. 'At the conclusion of the day’s play Fred Tate took his child to Ranjitsinhji, who presented the youngster with a bat and expresed the wish that he would, one day, become as good a cricketer as was his fond parent. But the wish did not look as if it would materialise, because, although young Maurice was more than ordinarily keen, he was never considered good enough to become a member of his school cricket eleven. He used to see the other boys play in matches, and felt, inwardly, that he could perform as well as they, but he was doomed to disappointment, and the greatest height to which he climbed was the position of goalkeeper in the Soccer team.

As time went on he played any where and everywhere, but never allowed his failure to get into the school team to daunt him.

His first match was played when the family were on a visit to Theapston, in Northamptonshire, which was the birth-place of his wife. The side was a man short, and .Maurice was allowed to go in last. His father was batting when he took up his stand at the opposite wicket, and he asked the bowler to give Maurice an easy ball so that he could “get off the mark.” Maurice scored 2 not out, and there wasn’t a prouder boy in all Northamptonshire. Eventually, when his parents had to consider his future as a citizen, he was apprenticed to a firm of engineers at Beckton, Essex, where he got a lot of cricket, and began to show a certain amount of promise. His heart was in the game more than in work because he knew his father was anxious that he should become a good cricketer. It was in the year 1910, or when he was fifteen year 5 of age, that Maurice received a letter asking him to attend the Sussex County ground for a fortnight’s trial. He went. He was given all sorts of advice by those who wished him well, and he made up his mind that he had got the first chance to build up a reputation as a player. Alas 1 He found himself amongst a lot of. other young fellows at the practice nets in bad weather. He couldn’t do himself justice, and it seemed a foregone conclusion that he was a failure. But, strange to relate, he was retained for the rest of the season in the nursery with young players who were obviously destined to make cricket history. He was coached; he played in all sorts of matches; and then he began to realise that there was more in bowling than merely propelling a ball through the air.

When he was not bowling lie always made a point of watching batsmen, to find out their weak points and make a thorough study of their strokes. Albert Relf and Joe Vine, two famous players, were exceedingly kind to him in every way, and their advice was of inestimable value to the young player.

MODERATE START. In the year 1912, when Maurice was seventeen years of age, he was bowling really well, spinning the ball and “fighting” it so that he took a lot of wickets. Then came the great day when, playing at Newick, Sussex, against Mr Baden Powell’s eleven, he received a telegram asking him to play for Sussex v. Northamptonshire at Northampton. He played; had to bowl with a wet ball, and took one wicket for 30 runs. P. G. H. Fender and Vallance Jupp were playing for Sussex in those days, the latter as a professional. Now the former is Surrey’s captain, and Jupp acts in the same capacity for Northamptonshire. During the next few' seasons he improved in all departments of the game, until he was considered to be quite a respectable batsman. But I suppose Maurice will always be regarded primarily as a bowler. The other day I asked Tate if he could redall any particular game which wag of special interest to him, and his reply was: “I have enjoyed every game in w’hich I have played, and have no reason for harking back to recall any particular match. Enthusiasm has made every game of more or less the same importance to me, although, of course, test matches stand out more prominently than do the ordinary country fixtures.” That is what I call an ideal spirit for a cricketer. When Tate visited Australia with the M.C.C. team he was amused at the ordinary pictures and cartoons that appeared in the pages of the colonial newspapers. As a matter of fact, Maurice Tate has an (extraordinary' manner of walking with his feet slightly spread out. i It is probably a silly habit of which he might easily break himself. Anyhow, the cartoonist went for his feet, always exaggerating their size, until those who had never seen him in the flesh must have wondered how lie managed to play cricket. Tate, of course, was a member of the M.C.C. team which won four out of five tests in Australia during the past winter, but his figures did "not compare w’ell wifTi those of his previous visit. On the retur nof the side I spoke to Jack Hobbs about this,', and he said: “Don’t go by figures ! Maurice bowled beautifully throughout the

tour. He and Larwood opened the attack .in every test match, and it was Tate who never allowed the Australians to isettle clown. But for him, I doubt if we could have retained the ‘Ashes’.” He has performed the double feat of scoring a thousand, runs and taking over a hundred wi.ckets in first-class matches in one season, seven times. And in. 1923, 1924 and 1925, in addition to scoring a thousand runs, he took over 200 wickets per season.