Book Description

Lord Hawke called Tom Emmett ‘the greatest “character” who ever stepped on to the field’. Born in Halifax in 1841, Emmett worked as a mill hand and did not make his Yorkshire debut until 1866. Almost at once he was part of the most destructive fast bowling partnership in England with George Freeman. In the 1860s, he once took 16 wickets for Yorkshire in an afternoon. In the 1870s, only one other player scored over 4,000 runs and took over 400 wickets in English cricket: W.G.Grace. Emmett had his best ever season with the ball in the 1880s, aged nearly 45. In all first-class cricket, he took over 1,500 wickets at under 14, bowling in an idiosyncratic style which included wides and balls ‘which no man had ever seen or dreamed of before’. For three decades, Emmett travelled endlessly to appear in club and county matches, and went to Australia three times in five years, appearing in the first Test match. He set records and won games, but also played in a style which at one time made him ‘the most popular professional in England.’ He pleased cricket followers with his wit and enthusiasm, but his life had a large share of tragedy. How he handled those highs and lows made him the true spirit of Yorkshire cricket.