When Chapman Took a Hand Against the Village Police

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 531, 7 December 1928, Page 10

When Chapman Took a Hand Against the Village Police

English Captain’s Reminiscences

FREED from the grim atmosphere of Test cricket, A. P. F. Chapman likes nothing better than to blaze away with a racket on the tennis courts, and better still, to spend the afternoon in a care-free match in his home town between the local police cricket team and the Brewery (Chapman is in the brewing business in Kent, the hop county). In the following article, the English captain deals with the lighter side of the game.

One of the things that puzzles the man in the street is why Chapman does not lead his own county side, Kent. Chapman himself gives the explanation. '‘Cricket/* he says, "is a wonderful game, the best of all games, but it would never do to allow it take precedence over one's job. The building up of a business career must come before the scoring of runs. That is why I must decline, much as I should like to do otherwise, to devote my time to the game/* Chapman, though but 2S years of nge. has been playing cricket for 23 years, for he was only three when his

father used to coach him. A.P.F. used a bat cut down by one half.

It would be nice to say that even then he shaped like a future England player, hut—he didn't. But, by the time he was eight, and had put on inches, he .showed possibilities in scoring S 9 for his school, and an onlooker said, “When t was eight 1 was a baby. This kid looks like a future county player.” MADE HIM RETIRE When only eleven Chapman scored a century against the lower school of Uppingham, and two years later came his best knock as a youngster. “It was against Stoneygate, at Leicester.” ho tells the story with a smile. “I rattled up 200. and they made me retire. I was sick at having to go, but I found consolation in trotting off to the tuck shop. I'd have got a lot more runs if I'd been allowed to finish my innings.” There is one Recollection of Chapman’s schoolboy * days, which stamps Chapman the man. It was at Uppingham School and just before the game two boys started a mill that was onesided, because one was much bigger than the other. Up came Chapman to separate the fighters and cuff the bigger boy. “Bully/* said A.P.F., “You’ll never play for our side if you act like that.” “What side?” queried the bully. “The Gentlemen of England,” came the prompt reply. When A.P.F. left Uppingham School he went up to Camlnidge University, where he did remarkably well and. for three years, during long vacation, he assisted Berkshire, for which i-ounty he made many huge scores.

“I came into the Kent side as a result of my entering a business in Hythe, where I was compelled to live,” says the skipper. “By the way. the business was a brewery, and I often played for the staff against local opponents. It was all jolly, and I remember on one occasion there was a fixture, the Brewery v. the Police. “TIME TO TAKE A HAND’* “I didn’t want to go in to bat until last, but when our score board read two wickets for no runs, and then four wickets for one (which was a bye) T thought it high time to take a hand. “When the next wicket fell, the total was 51 (50 were mine). There were seven wickets down for 101 (I was 100), eilght Wickets down for 151 (150 were mine), and eventually the whole side was dismissed for 201. My share was IS3 and there were ten extras.” “Coming back to more serious cricket, * he went on, “I hear quite a lot of criticism about the present-day county cricket and its huge assistance to batsmen. There are suggestions that something on the lbw line, or in the way of wider wickets, should be done to assist the bowler, but we musn't forget that first-class cricket couldn’t exist a single day without the financial support of the public, and I’m wondering if the patron wants large or small scores. PUBLIC WANTS BIG SCORES “I know that the cricket enthusiast loves a keen match, but 1 wonder what would happen if you could guarantee the public a century each from, say, Jack Hobbs and Peach, or, say, a wonderful bowling performance by Freeman of 10 wickets for a few runs. “To which exhibition would the many thousands of cricket-lovers flock? I think I can guess that it would be to see the centuries. As Jong as the public want high scores for their money we’ll have to give them the best prepared wickets. It’s rough on the bowlers, but there it is. “I was frightfully bucked when I was asked to lead England in the last Test, when we won the Ashes, and I was the happic st man in the world when we won. Skippering the England side is a fine thing, because the cricketer is a fine fellow. I feel as if I am just one of a family of eleven. “Of course, there’s a terrible lot to think about, and one feels more or less responsible for the result of a Test match, but with- a good side, there’s not much to fear. However, adverse criticism is the very devil.”