Talks with old English cricketers Read online

  Talks with old English cricketers

  A. W. Pullin

  INTRODUCTION.

  THERE is no attempt in this volume to give a lifehistory of the famous cricketers whose portraits adorn its pages. Statistics, too, are as far as possible avoided: they are to be found in the established chronicles of our great national pastime. The idea kept in view is to delve deep into the mine of personal reminiscence. If the yield should enable the public to appraise the cricket metal here shown at its worth, if the reader should feel that he can take up this book and have half an hour's pleasant chat in turn with some of the best-known heroes of English cricket, the task of the writer will have been accomplished. The preparation of the majority of these Talks, it should be added, was originally undertaken on behalf of the 'Yorkshire Evening Post.'

  "OLD EBOR."

  LEEDS, April 1900.

  MB ARTHUR APPLEBY . .

  Portrait from photo by Me0tt, Aecringtsm.

  WILLIAM O0CROPT ....

  Portrait from photo by Bmrbm, Lrieesttr.

  MR R. A. H. MITCHELL

  Portroit from photo by Dickinson, Lcmdcm.

  THE LATE GEORGE FREEMAS

  Portrait from fkoto fry Clarke, Think.

  GEORGE WOOTTOS ....

  Portrait from photo by Barrand
  THE REV. E. S. CARTER

  Portrait from photo by Debenham, York.

  ALEC WATSOS ....

  Portrait from photo by Hawkins, Brighton.

  MR WILLIAM TABDLET

  Portrait from photo by Elliott i Fry, London.

  EPHRAIM LOCKWOOD

  Portrait from photo by Sochi, Bradford.

  MR C. I. THORNTON ....

  Portrait from photo fry Folk, Sydney.

  R. G. BARLOW ....

  Portrait from photo fry Kenderdine, Blackpool.

  THE LATE GEORGE ULTETT .

  Portrait from photo by Permanent Portrait Company,

  E. PEATE .....

  Portrait from photo by Hcslop Woods, Leeds.

  W. A. WOOF .....

  Portrait from photo by Parsons, Cheltenham.

  Hastings.

  142 153 171 188

  197 205 227 237 249 2G1 281 296 312 327

  OLD ENGLISH CKICKETERS.

  MR HERBERT JENNER-FUST,

  THE OLDEST LIVING CRICKETER.

  THE county of Gloucester has attained renown in the world of cricket by its production of the greatest cricketer of the century. But it can lay claim to another great distinction. The oldest cricketer now living resides within its borders. This interesting personality is Mr Herbert Jenner-Fust, who resides at Hill Court, near Falfield, Gloucestershire. It was to the author a most hopeful augury that in attempting the task of producing a series of Talks with Old English Cricketers, he should be able to commence with the reminiscences, personally given for the first time, of the oldest hero of the cricket-field still living. The kind reception received from the remarkable nonagenarian of Hill Court, and the encouragement that the interview afforded, had not a little

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  to do with the author's prosecution of the Talks until they reached the dimensions recorded in this volume.

  Mr Jenner-Fust was born on February 23, 1806. He was President of the M.C.C. in 1833, when twenty-seven years of age, and retired from first-class cricket twelve years before W. G. Grace, the great cricket luminary of the nineteenth century, was born. To emphasise his long span of life still more clearly, it should be mentioned that Mr Jenner-Fust was born a year after Trafalgar, when George III. was king, was nine years old at the battle of Waterloo, and was President of the M.C.C. four years before the Queen came to the throne. He has seen four monarchs on the throne; and has maintained his allegiance to King Willow throughout the years.

  Yet one more remarkable fact. He is the only survivor of the first Oxford v. Cambridge match, played in 1827, in which he acted as the Cambridge captain. The other twentyone have all joined the great majority. What he recollects of the first cricket Battle of the Blues will be told later on.

  In his cricketing days Mr Jenner-Fust was known as Herbert Jenner. The name of Fust was added later. He is no relation of the great Dr Edward Jenner, whose monumental work in discovering the prophylactic power of vaccination it has been left to a Unionist Government to emasculate. One of my first queries had reference to the question of relationship, and Mr Jenner-Fust's reply came with characteristic candour, "No; I wish I were." It is, however, singular that name and neighbourhood should be identical, for the famous Dr Jenner was born at Berkeley, which is but four miles distant from Hill Court. But Mr Jenner-Fust is of distinguished parentage. His father was the Right Hon. Sir Herbert Jenner-Fust, who in the early decades of the century was Dean of Arches.

  Mr Jenner-Fust succeeded his father in the Hill estates in the year 1852, and has resided at Hill Court since 1864. The Court is a substantial country mansion, beautifully situated in a position overlooking the Forest of Dean. The nearest railway stations are Thornbury—a place-name for ever famous in cricket annals—some four miles away, and Berkeley, about the same distance in the opposite direction. A fine avenue of ancient elms leads from the country road to the Court, and a few yards from the house stands a quaint old church, portions of which had their architect and builder in the thirteenth century. Formerly the house and church were joined together, but the old house has given place to a modern country residence, and the church has been restored in part also.

  Seventy-eight years have passed since "Herbert Jenner" won his cricket spurs at Eton. It was on August 1, 1822, that he played in the Eton team against Harrow at Lord's. The score of that match, which Mr Jenner-Fust preserves among his records, shows that Eton were beaten by 87 runs. His own record may now be reproduced, namely :—

  1ST 1NNINGS. 2ND INNINGS.

  Jenner, b Wordsworth ..2b Wordsworth . . 0

  The Wordsworth here named was in his maturity famous as the Bishop of St Andrews. With Herbert Jenner, or rather against him, he played in the first Oxford v. Cambridge match, and Jenner then took revenge for the Eton v. Harrow experience by bowling Wordsworth, and thus capturing the first wicket in the match. Death has bowled every man in that historic contest but Herbert Jenner. The last to have his wicket lowered by the relentless bowler was Bishop Wordsworth.

  Mr Jenner-Fust not only played in the first University match, but captained the Cambridge side and made their highest score. The record of a match of this historic interest may appropriately be given here in full:—

  THE FIRST MATCH.

  PLAYED AT LORD'S, JUNE 4, 1827.

  OXFORD.

  Charles Wordsworth, b Jenner ... 8

  H. E. Knatehbull, c Romilly ... 43

  What are Mr Jenner-Fust's recollections of the circumstances which gave rise to this first Battle of the Bluss seventy-three years ago? "I am not quite clear," he says, "whether we challenged Oxford first or they challenged us. I do know, however, that the idea of a match was quickly taken up. I either proposed or seconded the resolution that the match should be arranged, and I know the idea was accepted with alacrity, and there was very little discussion about it. The date of the match as here given has been questioned, but I believe it to be correct. The second match was not played until 1829, and that took place on the Magdalen ground at Oxford. In one of the scores of this second game extant I am represented as having played in that also, but that is an error; it was my brother, Charles Jenner."

  Fifty years from the playing of this match the present sole survivor attended a public dinner at the Cannon Street Hotel, London, at which about 200 of those who had played in the yearly contests during the fifty years were present. At that time six of the ge
ntlemen who played in the first match were living. A copy of a song composed for and sung at that dinner is still preserved by Mr Jenner-Fust, who has kindly lent it to me for the purposes of this "Talk." I quote the first verse:—

  "Fifty years have sped since first,

  Keen to win their laurel,

  Oxford round a Wordsworth clustered,

  Cambridge under Jenner mustered,

  Met in friendly quarrel."

  The five colleagues, all of them in the service of the Church, who were present with Mr Jenner-Fust at that Jubilee dinner have since gone to their rest. Bishop Wordsworth was, as I have already mentioned, the last to go: he died on December 5, 1892. To the last survivor the lines of the sixth verse of the song must have a pathetic application :—

  "Some whose presence oft recalls

  Happy recollection,

  Since have found their la9t long rest,

  Leaving us the memory blest

  Of their old affection."

  Taking his memory—which is still singularly retentive— back to his school days, Mr Jenner-Fust revives an old fielding term that died out two or three generations ago.

  "Of course you never hear of fielding 'nips' now? In the match between Eton and Harrow, which was also my first appearance at Lord's, I fielded 'nips.' It was the position since named 'point.' There were also cover-nips and longnips. In the score of a match played at Eton in 1793, when another bearer of the family name, Robert Jenner, was playing, there occurs the expression 'nipt out'—a batsman being so dismissed. I have never been able to discover what 'nipt out' meant. It did not mean caught, or stumped, or hit wicket."

  As to the costume of his day Mr Jenner-Fust says: "I often played in a white beaver hat, but people used to call those of us who did so postboys, and that caused lis to drop the practice. At Eton and Cambridge we wore pretty much what we liked, but fancy-jackets were not favoured. Knee-breeches, and thin gauze silk stockings doubled up at the ankles, formed a popular costume."

  It was on June 25, 1827, that Mr Jenner-Fust made his first appearance (of course as H. Jenner) in the Gentlemen v. Players' matches at Lord's. He was one of the seventeen Gentlemen who defeated the Players by 29 runs. From then until 1836, when he was compelled by the claims of his profession at the Bar of Doctors' Commons to retire from firstclass cricket, no Gentlemen of England team was complete without him. In an interesting work by Mr Philip Norman, entitled, 'Annals of the West Kent Cricket Club,' it is recorded - that the following lines, written in 1833, place bowling as the first of Mr Jenner-Fust's cricket accomplishments :—

  "Free from all affectations, young Jenner stands forth,

  And all who are judges acknowledge his worth;

  Wicket-keeper, or bowler, or batter, in all

  He is good, but perhaps he shines most with the ball."

  "Young Jenner" in his patriarchal years, however, will tell you that it was as a wicket-keeper he shone most. He was wont to stand a little behind the wicket, and take balls on either side with ungloved hands. Stumping off a legshooter is rarely seen in modern cricket. In Mr Jenner-Fust's days the feat, he says, was by no means unusual.

  "I kept wicket," he says, "without pads or gloves; in fact, pads were not heard of in my young days, and the player would be laughed at who attempted to protect his shins. When the ball was wet I occasionally used a kid glove, but that was all. It should be remembered, too, that we often had to play on very rough grounds, which made the task of the wicket-keeper all the more difficult and dangerous. Yet I never met with a serious accident. The worst was a fracture of the middle finger of the right hand, and the dislocation of the forefinger."

  Mr Jenner-Fust's shapely hands to-day bear witness to his immunity from accident. There is a slight disfigurement of the forefinger, but it is only noticeable on a close examination.

  "I used to keep wicket to Alfred Mynn. He could get a very nasty spin on the ball. I stood up to him without gloves or pads, as I have stated, but I don't mind confessing that I was sometimes glad when the umpire called 'over.' A very fine and manly fellow was Alfred Mynn, and all that has been said and written of his great qualities does his memory no more than justice. He was as large in heart as he was great in cricket. It is indeed hard to say what he was and what he was not. In his day he was tremendously popular."

  That the "kind and manly Alfred Mynn " was a tremendous bowler is evident from a recollection which Mr Jenner-Fust has—namely, that Mynn once told him that in one match he struck the volunteer "second stop" on the chest, in consequence of which he had to be taken home, and spat blood for a fortnight!

  The writer may here diverge for a moment from his Talk with Mr Jenner-Fust to introduce a letter bearing on the above incident which he received from Mr R. Broughton, who was in the Cambridge Eleven so far back as 1836, 1838 (there was no match in 1837), and 1839. The letter is as follows:—

  CATHFEN HALL, CHIPPERFIELD, KING'S LANGLEY, December -Z3, 1898.

  SIR,—I have just seen your article in your impression [' Yorkshire Evening Post'] of November 5 on the subject of that famous old cricketer "Herbert Jenner," which I have read with great pleasure.

  Alfred Mynn's story of having hit a man's chest with the ball which made him spit blood for a fortnight was told by Herbert Jenner at the Jubilee dinner at the Cannon Street Hotel, referred to in your article, at which dinner I was present. Herbert Jenner had to respond to the toast of cricket. He told us that in a conversation with Mynn about fast bowling, the latter said he did not see that the bowling was so much faster in modern days than it was in his time, and then he gave us as an illustration of his views the story of the man spitting blood.

  Herbert Jenner also gave us another anecdote of Mynn's. The latter told him that he was once practising bowling at Lord's during the dinner - hour of some grand match, and a man was stopping the ball behind wicket for him with a coat in his hand —a common practice in those days. The ball went through the coat and killed a dog on the other side!

  Alfred Mynn was indeed a fine specimen of a real old English cricketer. His bowling was splendid—very fast and very straight, which you cannot say of modern bowling.

  The fame of Herbert Jenner as a cricketer most assuredly rested chiefly on his wicket-keeping. He did not stand close up to the wicket as they do now. He was virtually wicket-keeper, shortslip, and short-leg. In fact, he was here, there, and everywhere. —I am, your obedient servant, R. BROUGHTON.

  On seeing Mr Broughton's letter Mr Jenner-Fust wrote to the writer of these "Talks," stating that the second anecdote should not be attributed to Alfred Mynn, but to "Brown of Brighton, who was said to have killed the dog. I mentioned the anecdote in corroboration of Mynn's idea of the pace of the bowling in those days."

  A brilliant wicket-keeper himself, Mr Jenner-Fust is unstinted in the recognition of the merits of his contemporaries. "One of the best wicket-keepers Kent ever produced," he says, "was E. G. Wenman. He was better than old Tom Box. I liked Wenman the better because you could always depend upon him, and you could not do the same with Box. Old Lillywhite used to say the same. Box used to keep too stiff at the wicket, and could not get out to reach the ball as Wenman did. Poor Box! He had a tragically sudden death at the post of duty at the finish."

  "The best bowler of his day," says Mr Jenner-Fust, "was old W. Lillywhite, the first of the cricketing family of that name. "' I bowl the best ball and Harenc the next,' was a favourite remark of Lillywhite's. No doubt Harenc was a first-rate bowler, and with a side-hill, as at Harrow, was irresistible. His deliveries imparted far more twist than Lillywhite's, but the latter bowled more with his head, and on that account his saying, 'I bowl the best ball and Harenc the next,' was quite justified."

  Among the numerous papers and records which Mr JennerFust has preserved, there is a bill, now—-I have it before me as I write—yellow with age, announcing a match in the following terms:—

  CRICKET.

  A GRAND MATCH

  WILL BE PLAYED AT

 
; KINGSCOTE,

  ON MONDAY, 17TH JULY, 1826,

  BETWEEN

  THE EPSOM AND KINGSCOTE CLUBS.

  FOR ONE THOUSAND GUINEAS A SIDE.

  It will be imagined from this that the cricketers of the 'Twenties were not afraid of "putting their money down." But if the truth be told, these stakes were apocryphal. They were like some modern billiard-matches—the money staked had merely paper value.

  The practice of announcing matches for big stakes had its inconvenient consequences. Mr Jenner-Fust makes a note of a match at Lord's on July 4 and 5, 1831, between Norfolk and the M.C.C., in which he played on the Norfolk side. One of the Norfolk players was the Rev. J. Dolphin. He played in the name of Copford, and Mr Jenner-Fust explains that the reason for this was that he was "obliged to do so by the then Bishop of London, the match having been headed for 100o guineas aside." As betting started at 6 to 4 on the M.C.C., it will be conceded that the Bishop's objection had a good moral foundation.

  County cricket of to-day, with its necessarily strict qualifications for players, its well-ordered match programme, its championship tables and decimal fractions, contrasts oddly with the happy-go-lucky unconventionally of the county contests of Mr Jenner-Fust's day. One incident will illustrate this contrast.

  "I once arranged (1834) to take a team representing West Kent to play Norfolk, at Elmham, a return match for the game they had played us at Chiselhurst. I got promises for a full team, but when the day came those who had promised had all cried off, except a man who was subject to fits, and not good enough for a run. However, I was determined to fill the engagement, so in company with the fits subject I set off to play the county match, determined to make up a team on the way as best I could. At one place where the coach stopped I came across three young men who seemed nice fellows, and as they said they could play cricket I pressed them into my service for the match. Then we went on to Cambridge, and I ransacked King's College, and found four more men to join me. Two others were met on the ground in Norfolk, and with this strange combination—as it may seem to you—we won the match. There was not the keenness and partisan spirit in cricket in my days that you see now. If a man wanted to play out of his county he could do so. All that was wanted was an agreeable company and a pleasant match."