CRICKET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19205, 23 June 1924, Page 8

CRICKET.

/THE BOOK OE HOBBS. A GREAT CRICKETER’S MEMOIRS. A personality who can draw men and women thousands of miles to see him play, as in Australia and Africa, who can ■ make executives view his dismissal just before the close of play as a possible determining factor in their yearly balancesheets, or who can cause office-boys—and others—to lose more relations by sudden death during the summer than anyone realised they could possess, is surely one of tho “Great Ones!'' Two facts not generally known about J. If. Hobbs, tho most famous Englist batsman of the present day, revealed in his “Cricket Memoirs, ' just published in London, are that he never had a days coaching, and never “bagged a pair” in first-class cricket. Some prominent writer on cricket has said: “If there had been no Tom Hayward there would have been no Jack Hobhs.” This assertion has been so widely repeated that it conveyed an impression that Tom Hayward had coached him in his early days. In the first paragraph* of tho first chapter of the “Memoirs,” Hobhs corrects this impression. Tom was his hero, and in the first match where they met, Hayward got If, and Hobbs 26 not out, against his bowling, after Tom had taken his hundred wickets in firstclass cricket. When a baby, Hobbs’s father took him to sec the match bct\vee|i Lumbridge University and the Australians, t seemed that lie* was so excited and crowed to lustily that everybody around laughed, and one of the Australians, fielding near tho boundary, turned round and said, “Better make a cricketer of that kiu, old man!” His father repeated the jest to him in later years, but he did not live long enough to see his son play in first-class cricket.

Hobbs learnt his early cricket at Parker's Piece, probably the finest and most famous public cricket ground in the world, lb cost a team a shilling a match to play on a prepared pitch; one penny for every player except tao captain, who had the privilege of paying twopence! Here he saw “Ranji,” the idol of the cricketing public for so long, and now a reigning Prince in India.

It was in ISOI that Hobbs was definitely set on flic path towards professional cricket. He was play m ,r for two Clubs, Ainsworth Bible Class and Cambridge Liberals—not, he says, to be taken as an indication of Lis political views—and, when the two met they tossed a coin to decide with whom he should ~iv. It was in this match he made Ids first century. That day he would rather have been Jack Hobbs than \V. G. Grace himself. In the first year with Surrey Club and Ground, which he finished off with an average of 00, he had tho happy experience of being associated with Bobby Abel in putting on 100 for the first wicket. That was iu 1903 ; Hobbs had to wait nine years before getting a century for Surrey. Hobbs’s record is known to every lover of cricket, adult or schoolboy, and there is no need to epitomise it. Hobbs himself picks out the striking incidents in his career, in a running account, in simple language, stopping here and there to offer a little bit of advice, such as how to throw the ball to the wicket-keeper from cover-point, where he achieved great fame as a fieldsman. In his first match against the Australians he scored 94. one appreciates the performance the more when the names of the team are mentioned Noble, Trumper, Duff, Darling, Kelly, Cotter, Armstrong, Hill, Laver, and * M'Leod. With but one stump’s thickness to throw at. Hill hit the wicket from the boundary and ran him out. He had gone in, as usual, with Tom Hayward, who played Cotter on to his wicket when he had made 22. In the second innings Hobbs got 1, and Hayward a magnificent 129, with the match drawn.

The life of a professional cricketer, incidents of Ins tours abroad, and the memorable contests for the Ashes, are described by Hobbs in a felicitous style. He has numerous amusing anecdotes to recall, too. For instance, he gives us the origin of the nickname “ Johnny Won’t. Hit To-day,” given to J. \V. H. T. Douglas bv the Australian barrackers during the 1912 tour. Douglas took three honrs to make 33 runs against Victoria! A barracker called out, “ Arrest that man for loitering.” At one of the prominent Victorian dubs a bet was made that more trains would pass the Melbourne Cricket Ground in an hour than Douglas would make runs in the same time. The trains won bv 23!

The memorable incident on the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1919-20 season is again brought to memory through Hobbs’s “Memoirs.’’ In the previous season at Home ho had scored 282 1, the highest number of runs he had ever made in one season. While fielding against New South Wales, Hobbs tore a tendon in his thigh. His injury was very painful, but Douglas was keen on his playing in the final test, and he acceded. He was hobbling after a ball when a few of the spectators, ignorant of his injury, jeered at him for allowing the batsman to steal a second run. Ivellaway, who was batting, apologised to Hobbs, telling him he had forgotten his mishap, or he would not have run the second one. • Fender and Wilson (afterwards dubbed “Cables” Wilson by the crowd) in cabling homo to newspapers mentioned the incident and criticised tho crowd. This was promptly re-cabled to Australia, and caused the trouble that ensued. “Next dav,” says Hobbs, ‘when Mr Wilson came'out to' bat, the crowd showed their resentment and hostility in a remarkable fashion. They hooted him as he wa’kcd to the wicket. His stay was a short one. . When he was out for five the crowd cheered with might and main. Even members in the pavilion usually calm reserved critics of the game—rose and hooted him—a truly astonishing display. I had to go in next. Noble, who had some inkling of what was going to happen, warned mo to pull myself together, and not to lose my head. As soon ns I appeared at tho door of the pavilion the spectators rose from* their seats and cheered, shouting “Good Old Hobbs,” and singing “He’s a Jollv Good Fellow.” They took this way of showing they had not intended the previous evening to jeer at one of their favourites. The cheers lasted till I reached the wicket. I felt very shaky when I got there ; I had never even raised my cap in response to their cheers. I hit the second ball for four which put me at my ease, hut the scene will never fade from my memory. Marvlebone decided that players should not ‘act as newspaper correspondents in future. ■'