All-England ’Keeper Retires

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 229, 16 December 1927, Page 10

All-England ’Keeper Retires

HERBERT STRUDWICK’S CAREER 26 Years Behind the Stumps WITH the recent announcement of the retirement of the veteran Surrey, M.C.C. and All-England wicketkeeper, Herbert Strudwick, from lirst-class cricket to become official scorer for his county, there passes from the ranks of the game in the Old Land yet another of those giants who have helped so much to make international cricket history during the past 25 years.

“struddy” (as he is known among his fellow players) first donned the gloves for his village team in 1900, and shortly after gained a place in the Surrey County eleven. Rising rapidly he was selected to go to Australia with Mr. “Plum” Warner’s M.C.C. eleven in 1903 as second wicketkeeper to the immortal “Dick” Lilley. From that day to this, he has stood out as one of England's greatest wicketkeepers. Herbert Strudwick was born in 1879 at the little Surrey village of Mitcham, which according to him is “the most famous village in the world as far as cricket is concerned.” Since away back in 1907, Mitcham has supplied Surrey with many of her greatest cricketers, Strudwick and Sandham being two of more recent times.

In his life story “Twenty-live Years Behind the Stumps” Strudwick soys: “I cannot remember when I first began to play cricket. But as a very tiny boy I was always fond of the game. As soon as the sun began to shine, and one could feel the warmth, my thoughts turned to cricket. At school we sang a song which started with the words, ‘Oh! my heart is sorely sighing, sighing for May!’ How I loved that song, because May to me meant cricket.” As a small boy, Herbert watched the Australian elevens of 1886 and 1888 practising at the Mitcham grounds. These teams included, among others, J. M. Blackham. the great cornstalk wicketkeeper—perhaps the greatest ’keepr Australia has produced, and whose deeds .behind the stumps, the little English boy was later to emulate.

Strudwick played for the Mitcham boys against the London boys at the age of 15 and scored 40. In 1898 he played for the Surrey Colts, and next year at the age of 19 gained a place in the county’s second XI. The promising Mitcham colt, had fairly caught the eyes of the selectors, however, and in 1900 he played his first game for the county. He did not turn out very regularly for the first eleven for several years, as Surrey had another good keeper in F. Stedman. In those early days, Strudwick played among a wealth of talent which England has seldom possessed before or since. Headed by Dr. W. G. Grace, such men as K. S. Ranjitsinhji. W. L. Murdock. C. B. Fry, Tom Hayward F. S. Jackson. Gilbert Jessop, Wm. Lockwood, Tom Richardson and others stood out as one of the finest band of cricketers of any age. FIRST TRIP TO AUSTRALIA

But Strudwick’s rapid rise was as permanent as it was meteoric. In 1903 ho played for the Players against the Gentlemen, and did so well that he was invited to make the trip to Australia with Mr. Warner’s M.C.C. team that winter. As second wicketkeeper, Struddy did not play in many of the major matches, but he did, however, play at times against such of the great Australians as Victor Trumper (then in his prime). M. A. Noble (according to Strudwick the greatest captain ever). Bid Gregory, Clem Hill, and Warwick Armstrong.

Strudwick’s next overseas trip was to South Africa in 1909, when he accompanied Hobbs. Rhodes, Woolley, Bird, and other prominent cricketers under the captaincy of H. D. G. Leve-son-Gower. On this tour Hobbs dwarfed all the other batsmen by scoring 1924 runs at an average of 38.81. Although it was thought that the side was good enough to win the rubber when it left England, the South Africans proved to be stronger than was expected. AUSTRALIA AGAIN

Again in 1911 Strudwick was invited to make another trip to Australia with the team to defend the ashes. This team included Hobbs, Douglas, Foster, Barnes, Woolley, apd Hearne, under the captaincy of Plum Warner. Strudwick played his first test against the Australians on that tour, and took the only two chances which came his way. The team’s first wicket-keeper. Smith, played in all the big games and acquitted himself well.

Australia won the first test, but England retained the ashes by winning the last four. Hobbs again headed the batting averages, and Strudwick attributes England’s success in no small measure to his wonderful batting and fielding. Rhodes, who topped the bowling in the 1903-04 tour, took no wickets in 1911 but turned-out as a fine opening bat, putting up record partnerships with Hobbs.

Warren Bardsley and Macartney made their first appearance for Australia and both did well.

When the English eleven was sent to South Africa in 1913-14, Strudwick was again selected, and made the trip accompanied, among others, by Hobbs, Hearne. Rhodes and Mead, captained by J. W. H. T. Douglas. This time the Englishmen were successful in winning all their tests, and only lost one match on the whole tour. J. M. Blackenberg was the outstanding cricketer in South Africa at that time.

Then came the Great War which suspended all county and international cricket for five years. Struddy joined up with the Royal Naval Air Force, thinking that he had played his last of cricket. But, although the war killed off many of England’s most promising men, Strudwick survived. At the cessation of hostilities he played in an Air Force eleven against the Australian Imperial Forces, and in this match met W. A. Oldfield for the first time. Kellaway, who captained the Australians, asked Strudwick to go over to the nets one evening and give Oldfield a few tips. After watching the lad for a time. Strudwick turned to Kellaway, and said: “I can’t teach him anything—in fact, he’s more able to teach me.” And so it turned out to l»e. for sooner than many thought, the Australian lad became a worthy substitute for the great H. S. Carter.

In 1920-21, Strudwick made his third to Australia under Douglas. Hobbs,

Hearne, Hendren, Rhodes and other companions of former tours again accompanied the team. It was a disastrous tour as far as the English were concerned, for they lost all five tests. In this series Strudwick rose to the very top of his form, and kept wickets with marvellous consistency in all the tests. When the Australians came to England in 1921 they again carried all before them. The fielding of the home sides was weak, and they missed the wonderful opening scores of Jack Hobbs, who had undergone an operation lor appendicitis. Brown was given preference to Strudwick in the third test, when seven new’ men were included in the side, but he came back again for the last two. FIGHTS FOR THE ASHES RECALLED As a member of Gilligan’s pam in Australia in 1924-25, Struddy covered himself with glory. England made a great light to regain the ashes, and although she failed the magnificent “Struddy” Behind the Stumps

fights put up by that eleven regained her pre-war prestige on the cricket field. Speaking at a luncheon at the end of the tour, Gilligan said: “The outstanding features of the tour as far as we are concerned have been the batting of Hobbs and Sutcliffe, the bowling of Tate, and the wicket-keep-ing of Strudwick. Strudwick was still in his place behind the stumps for All-England last year, when the Cornstalks took the ashes to the Old Land. He played in the historic fifth test, which saw England regain the ashes she had lost over a decade before. It was but meet that he should have played in that game, which saw the remarkable come-back of Wilfred Rhodes, Struddy’s companion on many an overseas tour during the past two decades. Thus in his career of 26 years behind the sticks of M.C.C. and All-Eng-land elevens, Strudwick has made four trips to Australia and two to South Africa. He has seen the historic ashes regained, lost, and regained again, and retires from the game with a record second to none with a just claim to rank for all time as one of England’s greatest wicket-keepers.

There have been times when he has been replaced in an English eleven in favour of a keeper who is a better bat than he. Struddy was a wicket-keeper born and bred, and he made no pretence to be a batsman, although in his younger days he did well with both the bat and the ball. In the main the English selectors have always realised that a wicket-keeper should be chosen on his merits in that department alone. Struddy was never the brilliant bat that Oldfield is or Carter was before him, but he was every bit as good a keeper. THE BIG FOUR During his long career Strudwick has seen as much of the giants of the game as anyone else since the close of last century. His position behind the stumps enabled him to see a great deal more of the batsmen and the bowlers than from anywhere else in the field. His opinion of the prominent personalities of his day may, therefore, be of some interest. He brackets Dr. W. G. Grace, J. B. Hobbs, Victor Trumper and K. S. Ranjitsinhji as the four greatest batsmen of all time, while he considers Grace, M. A. Noble, and George Hirst were the best all-rounders the game has known, with the Doctor standing out head and shoulders above the other two. J. M. Gregory he says is the best slip field he has met, and also one of the greatest of fast bowlers, while Hobbs, G. L. Jessop and S. E. Gregory are the greatest cover-point fielders in the history of the, game in the last 25 years. Lionel Palairet, he considers, was the most stylish batsman, Victor Trumper the most brilliant, Gilbert Jessop, the best hitter, while of Hobbs, the “compiler of centuries,” he says: “My opinion is that Hobbs is the finest batsman on all wickets that ever lived. I don’t know of one stroke that he has not got, and does not put into practice

whenever the right ball comes along. The googley bowler, who puts fear into so many fine players, has no terror for this great player. The fast wickets of Australia. the matting wickets of Africa, the sticky wickets of Old England, all come alike to Jack. I have seen him on them all, and those who have not can look up his records, and compare them with the other great batsmen. They say that comparisons are odious, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating after all.” THE MAN HIMSELF “In all my career I have done nothing startling.” says modest Strudwick, “except when I broke the wicketkeeper’s record, but I have tried to play the game, have never appealed unless I felt confident, and I am