Clem Hill
Province of South Australia, British Empire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 5 September 1945 Parkville, Victoria, Australia | (aged 68)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname | Kruger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right-arm leg spin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relations |
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International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap 74) | 22 June 1896 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 23 February 1912 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1892/93–1922/23 | South Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 26 January 2008 |
Clement "Clem" Hill (18 March 1877 – 5 September 1945)
A stocky left-handed batsman, Hill had a crouched, somewhat awkward stance. He gripped the bat low on the handle, playing with a strong bottom hand. His batting style was nonetheless attractive and effective and he was especially strong on the
He played his first first-class cricket match for South Australia while still a schoolboy, aged 16. By the time he was 19, he had been included in the Australian team touring England in 1896, where he made his Test match début. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground two years later, Hill scored 188; his maiden Test century and still the highest score in Ashes Tests by a player under 21. He was named one of Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899, despite missing half the English season due to illness. In the 1901–02 season, Hill was dismissed in consecutive innings for 99, 98 and 97.[2] In total he was dismissed between 90 and 99 five times in Test cricket. In 1903–04, Hill was at the centre of a riot at the Sydney Cricket Ground after he was adjudged run out in a Test match against England. With Roger Hartigan he still holds the Australian Test record partnership for the eighth wicket—243, made against England at the Adelaide Oval in 1907–08.
Hill had a strained relationship with Australian cricket authorities. He turned down an invitation to tour England in 1909 due to his unhappiness with the contract terms offered. Despite this, he was appointed Test captain in 1910–11 for the series against South Africa. His Test cricket career ended in controversy after he was involved in a brawl with cricket administrator and fellow Test selector Peter McAlister in 1912. He was one of the "Big Six", a group of leading Australian cricketers who boycotted the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England when the players were stripped of the right to appoint the tour manager. The boycott effectively ended his Test career. After retiring from cricket, Hill worked in the horse racing industry as a stipendiary steward and later as a handicapper for races including the Caulfield Cup. Hill died in 1945 aged 68 when thrown from a tram in Melbourne in a traffic accident.
Early life
Hill was born on 18 March 1877 in
Clem's father was prominent in the
Hill made his first-class cricket début in March 1893 while still a schoolboy, just nine days past his 16th birthday.
Later the same season, Hill became a regular member of the South Australian team, making his
In his first season of regular first-class cricket, Hill scored 335 runs in nine innings at an average of 47.85.[11]
Hill was also a talented Australian rules footballer and played for the South Adelaide Football Club during the 1890s and early 1900s.[12]
Test cricket
Selection and early career
Hill topped the averages for South Australia in the 1895–96 season, scoring 371 runs in seven innings.
Hill was one of four batsmen touring England for the first time;
The next Ashes series was held in 1897–98 with Stoddart again assembling an English team to tour Australia. The team included players such as
The teams returned to Melbourne for the Fourth Test. England started the match brilliantly, reducing Australia to 6/58
Consolidation
During the Australian team's tour of England in 1899, Hill required surgery to remove a growth in his nose. The after-effects of the operation were more serious than expected; Hill lost an alarming amount of weight and strength and missed around half of the tour.[25] Before this, Hill was recognised by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as the best of the Australian batsmen that English summer.[25] He scored 301 runs in three Tests at an average of 60.20,[26] and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.[27] His best performance of the series was in the Second Test at Lord's. Hill scored 135, sharing a partnership of 82 with Victor Trumper, who was playing only his second Test match. Trumper went on to score 135 not out. Hill, who was dropped by Ranjitsinhji fielding at slip when he had made 119, batted for 4 hours and hit 17 boundaries.[28] Australia won the Test, the only one to have a definite result, by 10 wickets and retained the Ashes.[29]
In 1900–01, Hill made a then record
Hill was the victim of bad luck during this sequence of scores between 90 and 99. At Melbourne during the New Years Test he scored 99; the first time a batsman was dismissed one run short of a century in Test cricket.
Hill visited England for a third time in 1902 with the Australian team who won their fourth successive Test series. In the process the Australians "beat the records of all their predecessors in the country" by losing only two of 39 matches during the tour.[35] For the second time, Hill scored more than 1,000 runs in an English summer; 1,534 at an average of 31.95 including four centuries.[30] Rain affected the first two Test matches at Edgbaston and Lord's and both teams moved to Sheffield without a win.[35]
The Third Test, the only Test match played at
On the return trip to Australia, the touring team stopped in South Africa to play three Tests, the first Tests between the two nations. Hill was the most successful Australian batsman in the series, scoring 327 runs at an average of 81.75.[41] In the First Test he made 145 when Australia was in trouble after following-on, an innings described in Wisden as "marred by very few mistakes".[42] In the Third Test, Hill batted through much of the Australian first innings to make 91 not out. Australia won the Test by ten wickets and the series two Tests to nil.[43]
Establishment
For the first time under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club, an English team travelled to Australia for the 1903–04 season to contest the Ashes. Contrary to expectations before the tour, the English won the series and the Ashes three Tests to two.[44] Hill trailed Trumper and Noble in the series averages, making 276 runs at 27.60 without ever getting to 100 in an innings.[45] In the First Test, Hill was at the centre of what Wisden described as a "very regrettable and indeed disgraceful [crowd] demonstration".[46] Batting with Trumper, Hill had run well past the stumps at the bowler's end for a fourth run. The English return gave the Australian pair an opportunity for an overthrow. Hill had to run the entire length of the pitch. Albert Relf at mid-on gathered and threw to the wicket-keeper, Dick Lilley who removed the bails and appealed for the run out. Umpire Bob Crockett gave Hill out. Hill could not believe the decision as the ball had passed behind him when he slid his bat to make his ground.[3] The crowd were also convinced that Hill was not out and began to hoot, chanting "Crock!, Crock!, Crock!"[5] Bottles were thrown onto the surrounding cycle track and the English captain Plum Warner threatened to take his team from the ground. At the end of the day, Crockett required a police escort when leaving the ground.[5] Hill's best performance of the series was at his home town, Adelaide, in the Third Test. Hill scored 88 before being dismissed by Ted Arnold, caught by the wicket-keeper. Australia won the Test by 216 runs.[47]
Hill toured England for the last time with the 1905 Australian team. The Test series was dominated by what was seen as uninspired cricket with England retaining the Ashes two Tests to nil.[48] The Australian batting suffered from a lack of steadiness and Hill was one of the Australians criticised by Wisden that season; "[Hill] would certainly have met with more consistent success if he had retained his old self-control. He was somewhat indiscriminate in hitting at the off-ball, and many a time his impatience cost him his wicket."[49] However Wisden praised his fielding, saying "Trumper, Hill, and Hopkins did any amount of fine work in the deep field".[49]
The Australians recovered the Ashes from the 1907–08 English team, winning the series four Tests to one. England were hit by the loss of their captain,
Captain
Australia were due to tour England to contest the Ashes in 1909. Hill, along with other senior players, was fighting against a proposal to move the management of international tours away from the players to the new Australian Board of Control for International Cricket Matches. Hill by now was a team selector and strongly opposed the selection in the team of 40-year-old Peter McAlister, who Hill claimed "was past his best" and "not suited to English conditions".[53] McAlister was also a member of the selection panel and was able to secure a majority for his selection. Hill accused his fellow selectors of conspiracy and said he had "decided to wash his hands of the affair" and that "he did not consider that the best men had been chosen".[53] Hill's relationship with McAlister would remain fractious. Hill was also a delegate on the Board of Control, representing the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). At the Board meeting in February 1909 to set the terms to be offered to the players selected for the tour, the SACA delegates were outvoted on every point.[54] Hill declined to accept the terms offered. Since his marriage in 1905, Hill had spent considerable time away from his wife with his commitments during two Test series against England and this may have also influenced his decision not to tour.[5]
When Hill returned to the Test team it was as captain for a series against the visiting
Brawl and boycott
Hill's Test career ended in controversy amid another dispute with the Board of Control. He was once again appointed captain of the Australian team against an English side captained by Johnny Douglas in 1911–12. The English team included bowlers of the calibre of Barnes and Frank Foster and, after losing the first Test in Sydney, won all four remaining Tests to secure the Ashes. Hill had a lean season with the bat, managing 274 runs at an average of 27.40.[60] The England bowlers were clearly superior to the Australian batsmen; Trumper was the only Australian to score a century during the Tests.[61] While this series took place, the Board of Control made plans to usurp the commonly accepted right of the players to appoint the team manager when touring England. In response, a group of senior players, including Hill, threatened to withdraw from the next tour, to take place in 1912, unless their choice, Frank Laver, was appointed.[62]
Matters came to a head when Hill sent a telegram to fellow selector, Peter McAlister, urging the inclusion of the New South Wales all-rounder Charlie Macartney in the team for the Fourth Test in Melbourne.[62] The reply from McAlister—a member of the Board of Control who still bore some animosity towards Hill from past comments[63]—to Hill's request was "... Still opposed to Macartney's inclusion. If Iredale (another selector) agrees with you as to Macartney's inclusion, I favour yourself standing down not Minnett."[62] Hill saw the offer to remove himself from the team as sore provocation and his team-mates scorned the suggestion.[62] Australia lost the Third Test by seven wickets. Macartney wrote later, "Persistent ill-feeling seriously affected the morale of the side."[62] At a meeting held after the Test, the Board of Control rejected the players' petition and declared that the manager would be appointed by the Board alone. At a "special meeting" two weeks later, the Board appointed George Crouch from Queensland to the position of tour manager.[62]
The following day, 3 February 1912, the selection committee met in Sydney to decide the team for the Fourth Test. It was the first time Hill and McAlister had met since the exchange of telegrams. The pair exchanged insults with McAlister sharply criticising Hill's captaincy. Hill retorted, "In England, Armstrong wouldn't play under you. Did you ever win any except second rate games?"[5]
McAlister replied, "I am a better captain than Trumper, Armstrong and yourself put together. You are the worst captain I have ever seen."[5] Hill then warned McAlister to stop insulting him but McAlister repeated the remark. Losing control, Hill struck McAlister a blow across the face. The two then grappled for around ten minutes.[5] Blood was drawn, staining their clothes and splashing on the other men present, Iredale and secretary Sydney Smith. At one stage, fearing that one or both combatants would fall through the window and onto the street, Smith grabbed hold of Hill's coat-tails. The fight ended with a bloody McAlister lying on the floor and Hill, unmarked, standing over him. Hill told Smith he could no longer work with McAlister. Smith then asked Hill to put his resignation in writing and the Board accepted it that evening.[5]
The crowds at the Melbourne and Sydney Tests gave Hill three cheers when he arrived at the wicket.[5] When Hill reached the batting crease in his last Test at Sydney, the umpire Bob Crockett said "there were tears in his eyes".[64] An in camera investigation into the fracas took place; the Board's only comment on the meeting was to report that it had been "satisfactorily settled". Hill was then offered an invitation to take part in the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England.[64] Hill declined the invitation, along with Warwick Armstrong, Trumper, Carter, Noble and Vernon Ransford, who collectively became known as the "Big Six".[62] He never played Test cricket again.[5]
Retirement and legacy
At the age of 43, Hill returned to first-class cricket for one match to assist in its re-establishment in Australia after the Great War.[5] In support of the benefits of some former colleagues, he played in a further two first-class matches with his best score of 66 coming in a game against Victoria.[66] His last match was for an Australian XI against New South Wales played to support Bill Howell's benefit.[5]
In all Tests, Hill scored 3,412 runs at an average just under 40 runs per innings and including seven centuries.
In 2003, the South Australian Cricket Association named the new southern grandstand at the Adelaide Oval the "Clem Hill Stand" in recognition of his contribution to South Australian cricket.[69] Hill was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2005.[70]
Outside cricket
Hill served an
Hill married Florence "Florrie" Hart, granddaughter of
Style and personality
Short and stocky, Hill was a gifted batsman who could score quickly when required.
While able to drive hard to the off or straight, usually with the ball kept down, Clem Hill scored chiefly on the leg side by skilful strokes perfectly timed and placed, the way in which he turned straight balls clear of fieldsmen being exceptional. Brilliant square and late cutting made Hill delightful to watch and in defence his style claimed admiration while his patience was unlimited
— Wisden obituary, [71]
An excellent fielder in the deep, Hill had a powerful throwing arm. During a match at
Hill was a man of high ideals and was popular with his fellow players.
Notes
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "Steven Lynch shares about Clement Hill". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Pollard (1988), pp. 530–533.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Robinson, pp. 116–126.
- ^ "South Australia v Western Australia: Other First-Class matches 1892/93". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "South Australia v AE Stoddart's XI: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1894/95". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "South Australia v Victoria: Sheffield Shield 1894/95". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "South Australia v AE Stoddart's XI: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1894/95". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ Rufus, "Out among the People", The Advertiser, 16 January 1933, p. 10.
- ^ "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Clem Hill". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "Clem Hill Fullpointsfooty profile". Fullpointsfooty. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
- ^ Australia in England 1896. CricketArchive. Retrieved on 21 December 2008.
- ^ a b "The Australians in England, 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "England v Australia: Australia in England 1896 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "First Test match: England v Australia 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Australia in England 1896". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ a b "South Australia v A E Stoddart's XI". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
- ^ "First Test match: Australia v England 1897–98". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. 1899. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1897/98 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1897/98 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- scoring (cricket)for an explanation of cricket score formats. This score and all others in the article follow the Australian format of wickets fallen followed by runs made.
- ^ a b c Frith, p. 59.
- ^ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1897/98 (4th Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ a b Pardon, Sydney (1900). "The Australians in England, 1899". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ^ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Australia in England 1899". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ "Cricketer of the year – 1900: Clement Hill". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1900. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ "Second Test match: England v Australia 1899". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1900. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ Wynne-Thomas, pp. 229–230.
- ^ a b "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Clem Hill". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
- ^ Wynne-Thomas, pp. 51–52.
- ^ "England in Australia, 1901–02: Mr. MacLaren's team in Australia". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1903. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ Martin-Jenkins, pp. 186–187.
- ^ a b c d Meher-Homji, p. 27.
- ^ a b c "The Australians in England 1902". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1903. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ a b Roebuck, pp. 79–80.
- ^ a b "England v Australia: Australia in England 1902 (3rd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "England v Australia: Australia in England 1902 (4th Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ "England v Australia: Australia in England 1902 (5th Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ Roebuck, pp. 133–134.
- ^ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Australia in South Africa 1902/03". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "First Test match: South Africa v Australia 1902–03". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1903. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "South Africa v Australia: Australia in South Africa 1902/03 (3rd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "The M.C.C.'s team in Australia, 1903–04". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online edition. John Wisden & Co. 1905. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia 1903/04". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
- ^ "First Test match, Sydney: Australia v England 1903–04". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online edition. John Wisden & Co. 1905. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Australia v England: Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia 1903/04 (3rd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ Wynne-Thomas, pp. 237–238.
- ^ a b Pardon, Sydney (1906). "The Australians in England 1905". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online edition. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "The M.C.C.'s team in Australia, 1907–08". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Australia v England: Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia 1907/08 (3rd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Highest partnerships by wicket: Australia — Test matches". Records. Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ a b Haigh, p. 169.
- ^ Haigh, p. 170.
- ^ Pollard (1988), pp. 987–988.
- ^ "Australia v South Africa: South Africa in Australia 1910/11 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ a b "The South Africans in Australia, 1910–11". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1912. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Fourth Test match: Australia v South Africa 1910–11". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1912. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Australia v South Africa: South Africa in Australia 1910/11 (5th Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia 1911/12". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ Wynne-Thomas, pp. 66–68.
- ^ a b c d e f g Haigh, pp. 215–217.
- ^ See above '"strongly opposed the selection in the team of 40 year old Peter McAlister, who he claimed "was past his best" and "not suited to English conditions"'
- ^ a b Haigh, pp. 224–225.
- Cricinfo. Archived from the originalon 24 December 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
- ^ "South Australia v Victoria: Sheffield Shield 1922/23". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
- ^ "Clem Hill". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
- ^ Basevi, Travis; Binoy, George (29 November 2005). "A record Bradman never had". Cricinfo Magazine. Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
- ^ "Chappell brothers and Clem Hill honoured at Adelaide Oval" (Press release). South Australian Cricket Association. 12 December 2003. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
- ^ "Marsh, Hill into Hall of Fame". Melbourne Cricket Ground. 2005. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Clement Hill". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online edition. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
- ^ Clem Hill Batting analysis, runs scored between 90 and 99 Archived 24 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Cricinfo. Retrieved on 19 December 2008.
References
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- ISBN 1-877008-84-2.
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- ISBN 0-600-55782-0.