J. M. BLACKHAM WAS GREAT WICKETKEEPER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18937, 6 December 1929, Page 3

J. M. BLACKHAM WAS GREAT WICKETKEEPER.

“ HELPED TO PLACE AUSTRALIA ON THE CRICKET MAP.” There may be a difference of opinion as to w r ho is the greatest batsman or bowler or fieldsman that the game of cricket has known. There is none as to who is the greatest wicketkeeper (writes Mr E. H. M. Baillie). More than fifty years ago John M’Carthv Blackham gained the title of “ The Prince of Wicketkeepers.” and no one has yet arisen to dispute his right to it. As Dr \\ G. Grace revolutionised the art of batting and F. R. Spofforth re- ! volutionised the bowling art. so did T&ek Blackham revolutionise the wickkeeping art. There had, of course, been great wicketkeeping before him, and j there have been great ones since his i day, but he stands supreme as the | great exponent of the art—supreme and unchallenged. Shared In Early Triumphs. With the ease, grace and certainty of his ’keeping, combined with the length of his service—his first-class career began in 1873-4 and ended in 1894-s—Blackham fully earned his proud title. lie was one of the gallant band w r ho helped to place Australia on the cricket map. He began at a time when our cricket was moving up from mediocrity towards what it became with startling suddenness three or four years later. When he came on the scene touring English teams were able to play and defeat fifteens and eighteens of the colonies, as the States were then called. Three years later Australia defeated England in the first test match ever played, and a year later our pioneer team startled the English pla} r ers and public with their doings on English wickets. Blackham was one of the men who helped enormously to make history in this stirring period. Blackham was recognised as a fine wicketkeeper before he went to England in 1878, but it was on that tour that he blossomed forth into real greatness. There were some wonderful players—particularly bowlers—in that I team, but it was the trundling of Spofforth and the wicketkeeping of Blackham that captured the imagination of the British public. It was on this tour that Blackham gained the title <M “ The Prince of Wicketkeepers,” and Spofforth that of “The Demon Bowler,” and they formed a wonderful pair. These two men working in combination presented a stirring spectacle. Both keen, highly strung men, they were wonders in a hot fight. Then they were seen at their best, and the I hotter the fight the more wonderful their play. Spofforth was master of every pace and every device of the bowler’s art, and he could send down as fast a ball as that of any bowler who ever lived. Yet, whether he was sending down his slows, his medium paced deliveries, his fast deliveries or his hurtling thunderbolts, Blackham stood up to everything, took the ball with matchless ease, grace and certainty, and assisted “ The Demon ” and other bowlers of the side to keep the batsmen in awe and uncertainty. Blackham’s powers behind the wickets astonished the English players and public as much as did the extraordinary bowling of Spofforth. Where he revolutionised the art of wicketkeeping was chiefly by dispensing with a long-stop to fast bowling. In the early days long-stop was one of the most important men in the field. For the team to go into the field without one for all classes of bowling was unusual ; to do so for fast bowling was almost an unheard of thing. Even with a long-stop it was usual for the wicketkeeper to stand back to fast bowling, just as they do to-day, and Blackham amazed the English public 'when he stood right up to the fastest bowling without the support of a man behind him, and took it with the ease and certainty that he did the slower stuff. In some quarters Blackham has been credited with having been the first to do away with the long-stop for any class of fowling, but this is not so, and he himself disclaims the honour. There is general agreement, however, that he was the first to dispense with this fieldsman for fast bowling. The abolition of the long-stop has resulted in a distinct gain to the fielding side in that it has made that fieldsman available for other positions. A Chance Discovery. And the strange thing is that Blackham’s aptitude for wicketkeeping was discovered largely by chance, as so many things are discovered in this world. As a boy in the Carlton second eleven he regarded himself as a batsman and fieldsman, and had no idea that he possessed wicketkeeping ability or any inclination for the position. He and some of his companions used to go out early in the morning tef practise. One morning only Blackham and one other turned up. Obtaining a stump and an old pair of wicketkeeping gloves they started bowling at the stump, each taking the gloves to the other’s bowling. His companion thought Blackham took the ball so well behind the stumps that he urged his claims as a wicketkeeper. lie had a trial on the following Saturday in the absence of the regular ’keeper and came under the notice of Jack Conway, then captain of South Melbourne, and afterwards manager of the first Eleven, who introduced him to the South Melbourne team as wicketkeeper. So great an impression did he make that he was shortly afterwards selected for the Victorian Eleven—and there he remained for twenty-one years. A very interesting story, which, perhaps unfortunately, lacks veracity, persisted for many years. It concerned Blackham and Spofforth. In the late seventies, Blackham, of course, was Victoria’s wicketkeeper, while W. L Murdoch filled that position for New South Wales. Spofforth naturally had confidence in the ability of Murdoch to take his bowlinj* and when the team for the first test match in 1577 was chosen “ The Demon ” refused to play because Blackham was chosee as ’keeper, insisting that Murdoch was the only one who could take his bowling successfully. The story was that Black ham, in a subsequent match, demonstrated his ability by going behind the wickets without gloves or pads and keeping faultlessly to Spofforth’s bowling. When chatting with Blackham a few years ago I asked him if there were any truth in the story. He laughed, and declared that it was a complete invention Useful With The Bat. Not only was Blackham “ the Prince of wicketkeeping, ” but he was by no means a bad batsman, and particularly good when a fight was on and his side had their backs to the wall. His usefulness is shown by the fact that he scored more than 1000 runs against Yew South Wales at the good average

for his time of 22, and once made a century. He took part in 35 test matches against England, and scored ■SOO runs at an average of 15 while against English teams in Australia he scored 1259 runs at 23 an innings, and in his eight visits to England he scored more than 4000 runs at an average of 14 His career in first-class cricket ended in 1894-5 as a result of a severe injury to one of his hands in a test match against A. E. Stoddart’s team. Blackham. at the age of seventy-four, still takes the keenest interest in the game which he adorned with his genius.