SPECTATOR SPORT
Sweltering Down Under
Frank Keating
AS I WAVED off England's cricketers from Heathrow on Tuesday, while winter closes in here, it was odd to think that, by the time you are reading this, they would be knuckling down to sweltering practice alongside the Swan River in Perth. Mike Smith — M.J.K. — is the team manager this time. Less than 30 years ago, he was the first captain of a then MCC side which flew the entire way to Australia. The previ- ous Ashes tour, led by Ted Dexter in 1962, had daringly flown to Aden and there picked up Canberra to proceed sedately on to Perth via Colombo.
Hitherto, every Ashes tour had begun and ended with a sea voyage of at least four weeks, each sweetly redolent of Cardus's 1936 journal aboard the Orion with Gubby Allen's side: The team went about their pleasures. Verity read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom from begin- ning to end. Hammond won at all games, from chess to quoits. Leyland smoked his pipe, and Duckworth danced each evening with a nice understanding of what, socially, he was doing. Wyatt took many photographs and developed them himself .. . and we passed little islands and all the adventure sto- ries of my youth sprang to life, and here was Stevenson, Ballantyne. Defoe . . .
A century ago next week, A.E. Stoddart's team arrived in Adelaide on the Ophir (recommisioned as the Royal Yacht in 1901). It was the first official tour from England hosted jointly by the cricket authorities of New South Wales and Victo- ria. It made a profit of £7,000 from total receipts of £18,000, and the Englishmen's thrilling victory at the last — 'My dear vic- torious Stod' — established the Ashes chal- lenge in the legend. In his arrival speech at Adelaide on 27 October, Stoddart had apologised for his number of professionals because — with W.G. Grace and F.S. Jack- son refusing to accept the terms offered 'I could not engage enough amateurs of the required standard'. At which a local jour- nalist sneered that nevertheless, 'amateurs and pros will stay in separate hotels in the old obnoxious English tradition'.
Pelham Warner's 1903 side arrived at Fremantle on 29 October aboard the Orantes. Its diarist was the respected Sussex all-rounder Albert Relf:
We went ashore and caught the 8.15 train to Perth where we were met by gentlemen from the Cricket Association who had conveyances to take us around town, a very pretty little place. Went on to the cricket ground. Swan River very pretty. Bought postcards and views. Practised catching in the afternoon. Looks a good wicket, the fielding part sandy.
Journal honours were done for Walter Hammond's 1946 side by the Yorkshire wicket-keeper-batsman Paul Gibb. They arrived on the Stirling Castle (in a record 24 days): At Perth we were taken straight to an hotel for drinks. The Australian does not stand on ceremony; he talks to you straight away as though you were an old friend. No mister this, mister that. John or Jim from the start, Jack is as good as his master. I expected the porters and waiters to be calling me Paul at any moment. In the evening Norman [Yard- ley] and I went to the pictures. We occupied a lounge seat for 3s 3d each and in the interval we went into the lounge and had coffee, bis- cuits, ice-creams and fruit squash. Very pleas- ant.
Master Atherton's 1994 lot will not, I fancy, be allowed such a gentle acclimatisa- tion.
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