CRICKET

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 11382, 6 December 1930, Page 11

CRICKET

JOHN BERRY HOBBS

A colourful personality

‘MY CRICKET MEMORIES.”

J. R. (Jack) Hobbs thus Reacts his life-story as. a cricketer, and when the Home folk forget the lack of ‘‘Mr” in the official lexicon of the game, Jack Hobbs’ name will ns a household name endure longtr than that if. any other' cricketei that, has reached a pinnacle of fame, his astounding records in batting, to say. nothing of his; fielding, being - more than sufficient to carve his name high up‘ on the cliff of ‘ fame—so high indeed that none may hope to stretch the arm of endeavour to a loftier niche on the bold face of the mammoth scoring stone of British ' Cricket. ‘

In these days of. progress, it is only. natural. tMt cfioket, as every other department of sport or . pleasure or business, should be largely commercialised, New books, on crickot afo being published frequently and they are very good books, too. However, a glance hack through Jack Hobbs’ “Memories” is extremely refreshing, both as a guide to the voting cricketer and because it must be one of the most interesting “records”' ever .written.

Born.in 1882, John Berry Hobbs was the son of a professional cricketer, “The love of cricket must have been born-hi me at a very early age” writes Hobbs. “I have never had an hour’s coaching in my life.”

HOPE FOR EVERYBODY

All that is, needed:,. A certain amount of ability, unliitiited ance, uftliA'ited deterihifiatioh. "Ability and some luck arc, good ;■■ but neither of tliem will carry a man through without perseverance and plenty of it.

ONE OF THE GREAT ONES

Percy Fender, in his foreword to ITobbs’ autobiography, writes of the greatest of professional batsmen: A personality which" can draw men and women thousands of miles to sCe'him" play, as in Australia and Africa, which can make executives view his dismissal before the close- of play as a possible-, determining factor in their yearly balance sheets, or which can cause office hoys and others to lose more relations by sudden death during the summer than one realised they could possess, is surely one of the “Great Ones!” And he is not ahack number.

HANDICAPPED

Had Hobbs been a stronger man physically, he 'would have been an equally great bowler.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

His cheerfulness in all circumstances, his determination in a- tight, corner, and his ability to rise to even greater, heights when ..the occasion demands are equalled only by his brilliance as a performer from the viewpoint. of “the ring.”

“INSPIRATION.”

Like the lovable Strudwick, Hobbs’ first cricket experience was of the Australians. As a baby, he was taken by the Fenner’s professional to see Cambridge University play the Australians, and John senior held John Junior in his arms. Young Jack crowed so lustily, that everybody ground laughed at him, and one of the Australians, - fielding near the boundarv, turned round and said, ’ Bettn make a cricketer of that kid, old man!” ; Jack’s dad often repeated the story to • him when, as a lad, he began to show promise. Perhaps it was: his inspiration !

OPENED AS AMATEUR.

Hobbs opened his public career when he played as an amateur for Cambridge v. Herts. He. .felt - awkward; the son of a professional playing amateur , against professionals. Going in No- 9 he scored 30, but fie kept tip his wicket while another “Mr,” A. J. Rich, made 92.. At that time his father was groundsman at Jesus College.; Jack watch* 1 gP the nets and practised strokes. He learned the value of “the .straight hat,”' and he eliminated all “flourish” from his style.

PRACTICE,

As a lad he practised with a stump for bah and tennis ball to get himself info the way of playing correct strokes , and to improve his “eye.” His father howled to him once only, and the; did. professional’s advice was burnt .- into goring Jack’s brain--' “Bbn’t draw away!” Says, the great batsman himself: ‘‘lf you draw awag you -cannot play with, a straigh.. bat.’ ’ ’ When ho' was about eleven years df age, Jack spent every spate hiinute in[watching the ganiq. ,Hp used to rise at six a-.m. and walk for half an hour to Parker’s Piece to. get a hit of practice. It cost a team: a shilling a match to play on tliis ground on, a prepared pitch, A penny- a man it was,-; arid twopence for - ‘ the captain. Hobbs; played" befoje school and after ' school and never grow tired of .the-game,.- and. thou# ho has played -in; many parts df the world, - is ’riot : tired Of it yet-.

HIS FHIST CENTURY.

In 1901' ifpbhs .scored. bis firsh. ebritury in a duh l game for Ainsworth jpigainst ’ Cambridge" Liberals. -“No

Cricketer ever 'forgets tie thrill of his first century,” writes Jack, ; and. one remembers that Hobbs, is tie greatest; century-maker’of all time.'(At a similar age ; Trumpet-. made':3oo’ against an English' County.)'"

THE AUSTRALIANS AGAIN

Jack dreamt for weeks of the Australians v. Cambridge game. It was the only first-class match he had seen in his teens/ He ate a large pork pie while he was worshipping his heroes—Gilbert Jessop, Noble, ancT. Clem Hill. That was in 1901.

A PROFESSIONAL

'ln 1902, Hobbs entered the ranks of ihe. workers in English cricket, and Bedford Grammar School engaged him to. coach the Second Eleven; ground work In’ the .inroriing; '" and from four to six in the afternoon be had to howl at the nets. He found the work dreary, ' monotonous and fagging, but from teaching the young idea he was able to learn a good deal himself. In his first game 'as a professional Hobbs made 119 out of a total of 299 for Royston against Herts. Club and Ground. The local newspaper wrote of His performance: “It was a long and, meritorious innings.” : His father died" a week later and Jack had to do soiric hread-winn* ing- for-a. large family. •

APRIL 23, 1903

Essex County had tutned down his request for " professional work, so on . the above date .Surrey was. wise enough to “try” young Jack Hobbs on the famous Oval,. Tlte trial teams were stiffened respectively by J. N. Crawford " and N. A. Knox. Hobbs made 3 % and then pulled .a, ball frdm • oil to his Wicket.. _ the Aext ;day he played in'afiother trial .and made" only 13 against Mead, brit ! young Jack was engaged at a" small salary. That meant two years’ residence in Surrey arid ground work on the Oval. Things were bad for young Hobbs, so the kindly Surrey execu—.l tive added a bonus of £lO at the end iof the season. Not until 1912 did ; Hobbs make a century for Surrey ; Club. Sandharii and he opened the ; innings for Club arid Ground against j Godstone and they put on 30.0 for the first wicket—l7s and 172 respectively. •

HOBBS AND AVERAGES

“Averages incline to make mechanical run-getters. I myself am temperamental; the enthusiasm of the crowds always draws a response from me. I can honestly declare, without hesitation, that I have never allowed my average to interfere with my cricket.- Many a. time I have thrown away my wicket in order to give the spectators bright cricket." Tins reads well from Hobbs.

EXPERT COVER’S ADVICE

When fielding at cover, always throw the ball to the wicket-keeper. Throw a catch, never a long • hop, and aim at his chest, Just above the stumps.

THE SURREY POET

Craig, the Surrey.Ppet, would celebrate any cricketing event in rhyme and would endeavour to sell his poems on the ground. When Hobbs made 15-5 for Surrey the : following effort appeared:

Joy reigned hi the Pavilion And gladness amongst the Clan, Whilst breathed good wishes round

' . the. ring, Admirers dubbed tbe youngster As Surrey’s coming man: In Jack Hobbs’ play they saw the genuine thing. ’Twas well worih going to see Illustrious Hayward’s smile While-“ Razor” Smith and Walter

Lees Cheered with the rank anil file. But the happiest pair we noticed

there . Was Hayward and young Jack Hobbs

In the old Cricket “Strir,” “Mac. W,” a. rhymster of the time, produced: .

It’s not for his pretty play That I am fond of Hobbs: . I like, the name because some day I’ll need a rhyme fori blobs!

THE TWO GATES

Hobbs is delightfully refreshing in his candour. Of Lord’s he says that uniii 1922;* when they , took .the.' professionals in to : lunch with. the amateurs, the lunch was always one of the worst in England. Moreover, there was nowhere for the professionals to sit and watch the game. He always regarded the separate gates for amaieiirs .and players as a folly. When Llewellyn was a llfints professional he had to'rife; the Players’; entrance! As,.’ he .was hern in South. Africa,, he', was jfivited to go' With his birthiarid team,;to Australia and later came to England with a South Africifn team. Well, as he was then an [ amateur,. he came out of the ■ centre ’gate, while Hobbs' and his other old pals caine out of 'tbe side gate 40 or 50 yards away! “Wasn’t that' ludicrous ?’ ’ writes Hobbs; -

AUSTRALIAN GROUNDS

‘We have nothing in England to compare with the cricket grounds at Sydney and' Melb6urine.” Hobhs considered that, ■ 6h his' first tbur, 19078, and also on. the second tour, Sydney'had the finest cricket' ground in the world. 1 - -The - scoring board is a work of art j bo score cards are need,-

ed; the. hoard even.giy.es the bowler’s analysis at the end of'each/over; It is a . building in itself j the names of. ihe'teams appear asp on a.racing boards The ground holds from thirty to - forty thousand spectators. . The Melbourne ground holds as many, arid once.; you get used to the cleatair you can see the hall like a football. The Home, outfields are hotter than any in- Australia.

OVAL At ADELAIDE

Chockett of the Oval, Adelaide—the best pitch in Australia — prepares a wicket in this way:

The selected pitch is flooded with water a few days before a. iriatch. "When the ground is what lie calls “gluey,” he rolls it a bit and cuts it. ■" ■ ''

The heavy roller follows, at two hours’ intervals. The riight before the match he has the pitch covered with a tarpaulin,' which makes it “sweat-.” . This makes a. hard, , glossy wiclcet so hard that sometimes spikes will not hold you. The ball comes along like "a -cannonball, and at a. different angle from what one is used to in England.

AUSTRALIAN CROWDS

The Australians know a lot about the game, and they don’t mind letting, you know it, Comments arc free arid very audible—there .is no sympathy for .a. man who drops a catch. “Get a bag!’’ they will shout. If you'are slow In running, they cry, “Take a cab!” and the man who bats slowly will be told “Hit ’em!” • If their own side is in, the crowd will call to the howler, “Bowl ’em at the wicket.” Strict impartiality is not tlje point- of our Australian CfO#d.- : * • •*- :• • • J.'W. H.. T. Douglas had the nickname of “Johnny won’t hit to-day, bestowed'on hint during •the ' 1912 tour because against Victoria he took three hours to make 33 runs. Seme one, incidentally, called out “Arrest that man for loitering.” A bet we* made that more trains would pass the ground, in an hour than Douglas would make in the same time. The trains won by 23!

CANDOUR

. During Hobbs’, second 'last visit to Australia an Englishman in Melbourne offered £lO to anyone of the English side making a, century. Hob»s got. the tenner. An old Surrey member living in Adelaide promised Hobbs £SO if he made a hundred in the third test-. Hobbs made 123, hut he did not get- the £SO.

IS HE FINISHED YET?

Hobbs is reported to have played his last test game, and the farewell that he was accorded was a greattribute to a great career. However, he may not he relegated into the “has-beens” yet; his county will not release him for some seasons, and. it is within the hounds of possibility that he may again visit- Australia with a- test party.

20 YARDS

SHORTEN THE PITCH,

WIDER WICKET INEFFECTIVE.

The desire In cricket- at the mom. ent ■ seems to be assistance lor bowlers to get wickets, writes Arthur Mailey in the- <f Sydney Sun.” Larger wickets won’t meet the case. The batsman will, .more.than ever, concentrate. on defence. Shorten the pitch to 20 .yards,Then the really fast howler will. be with us again. Bradman and others might then, have more difficulty in making records.

If the authorities favor the dole sy stem to bowlers, this Avon Id be a very popular innovation. I do -not see anything in the English bowling or batting to convince me that the large*!* wicket- has improved English cricket. Since my* return from England yesterday, many people have asked me about Aliek Hurwood. His failure was one of the most surprising and unexpected features of the' touri Leaving Australia, aS he did, with a number of splendid performances .to his credit,' it was thought that, even if he was. not chosen for Test, cricket, he might, at least, be a valuable bowler against the counties.

Hurwood invariably* bowled a splendid length, but, .to niy mind, liis flight, and pace were too uniform He was difficult to score off; and, consequently, people in Australia wondered why, after Hurwood bad bowled,_ say, six of seven overs, for as many runs, he was taken off.

f As a- matter of fact, he was like a i porcupine—difficult to attack, but [quite inoffensive if, you treated him I with respect. The wickets were too j slow fori Hurwood, and the batsmen ! had plenty of time to play back. ! Still, I think he will still be a valuable bowler for Queensland on fast I wickets. ' -

A CRICKET EXPERIMENT

Tho following comes from . “The (Cricketer”-—The spirit of reform is [again in .the-, air—is,fit ever . absent , jfrbtri - ns. during an,.entire, season?— [arid ■ although the suggestion made at [times provoke more than a. smile,' it; [is seldom indeed tliait-.any of the pro[qosals are given „ a .;. trial by 'well.-, [known .players.- The idea of timrijlimli cricket, games, that, is in.-which [each .side bats for the .same period, fth e, team whi chi/ scores [ the most be.-i jing declared tlie winner,- is nothing new; it may 1 , in fact, for,all we know, to; the contrary, date back to the time “When .good St. Patrick "did iilic* I. : - batrtrick; ..

\ And Nicoderims .saved the follow-on’! ; A favourable opportunity for trying

,the experiment presented itself recently in 'Aberdeen, where the match between Scotland and Ireland finishing unexpectedly on the second afternoon, it was decided to,play a game on the third day in which each team should be allowed an hour and threequarters ,at the; wicket., It . would, ofcoursa, .be easy tp/ criticise such ,a scheme; if ..its, adoption werp. proposed for, first-class cricket as. a .general prim ciple, ; btit on the., occasion referred to jt certainly paused bright-play and a rousing finish. .The result in fact was. very .similar to., that,of ' the Liecestershir* and ..Glamorgan match already mentioned, for , when . the end came, the totals, were: . Scotland 180 for nine wickets; . Ireland. 180 tor eight. , • -

“DON’S” FEET MIGHT BE ENVY

OF PAVLOVA

LONDON, Nov. 20. “To my dearest Mother and .Father” is Don Bradman’s dedication of his book, on cricket, .. ■■■ The title of the hook, published by Hutchinson’s,- is “Don Bradman’s Book. The story of my. cricketing life, with hints on hatting, howling and fielding.” - “I love fielding (he writes), and T would just as soon field as hat. anytime.”

The old England, captain, B. F. Warner, in an introduction to the book, refers to Bradman’s foot as “small and beautifully neat. Pavlova might have envied,.them,” Warner denies that Bradman’s eschewing of the high drive is 51 weakness in his play. Bradman could play any stroke on which he cared to ' concentrate. He predicts that Bradman will plav an innings of 609 or 700, and will put the aggregates arid centuries of Grace and Hobbs in the shade.

Snvs the “Sydney Sun”:— ‘‘ln this respect Bradman’s feet are like S. J. McCabe’s. A famous player of.the past who had similar foot was Svd. Gregory, and when lio was at the wickets his feet twinkled in the same way as Bradman’s as he danced about to put himself in position to make his shots. “In contradistinction to these two plnVers other men equally famous had-particularly large feet. Among them were J. J. Lyons, the big hitter; Albert Trott, the brilliant allrounder who left Victoria, settle in England; M. A. Noble; Warwick Armstrong; Frank Laver; Dave Nourso," the burly South African who was out here 20 years ago; ancl Maurice Tate ”

TESTS TO A FINISH

T do not agree with certain English authorities that Tests should not be played to a. finish. Prior to the season just finished, it- was I bought that three days was sufficient. However, Australia, favored an extra day, and the First Test at Nottingham was the first four day match. England won, and the press and critics were loud in their praises in support of a four day Test. They wondered why four day Tests had not always been played. Tf Tests are played to a- finish and record crowds attend, I cannot understand anybody opposing them.