John Newstead

JOHN THOMAS NEWSTEAD, to an even greater extent than Marshal, made his reputation in the season of 1908. He was emphatically one of the great bowlers of the year, and lout for his brilliant work, after a broken finger had laid Schofield Haigh aside, it is very unlikely that Yorkshire would have gone through the summer unbeaten and carried off the championship. He had, in a match against Worcestershire in the August of 1907, given evidence of his fine quality as a bowler, but his sudden jump to the front rank came as a genuine surprise. As Newstead had nearly reached the age of twenty-nine when he at last made a name for himself, the question may well be asked why he had to wait so long for recognition. Not being acquainted with the circumstances I should not have ventured to give an answer, but I am told that for once the Yorkshire authorities-not often slow in discovering fresh talent-were at fault. Newstead"s success in 1908 was not, I am assured, due to any sudden development of skill. A native of Martin-in-Cleveland, near Richmond, Yorkshire, he was born on September 8th, 1879, and has been a professional bowler since he was seventeen. Learning the game under the tutorship of Mr. William Brunton-a North Riding cricketer of good local repute in the days of the All-England eleven-he made such rapid progress that when seventeen he was given an engagement with the Middlesborough Club. This engagement he held for several years, and in the season of 1902 he did such good work in club cricket as to receive a recommendation for a trial in the Yorkshire eleven. Strangely enough, however, though his chief qualification was his bowling, he was only twice put on during the two seasons that he played for the second team. Given two trials for the county in 1903-against Cambridge University and Derbyshire-he was treated as a batsman, and not as a bowler. As the result of this mistake he was not persevered with, his batting being of a happy-go-lucky type that did not give much promise of success in first-class cricket. Lord Hawke obtained for him an appointment on the Ground Staff at Lord"s, a condition of his engagement being that he was not to be considered as qualifying for Middlesex. The wisdom of this reservation has now been abundantly demonstrated. From 1904 to 1907 Newstead did a lot of work for the M. C. C. in club matches, but little notice was taken of him. The turning point in his career was an engagement in Ireland in 1907. Mr. S. H. Cochrane asked the M. C. C. to provide him with a match professional for his ground at Woodbrook, Bray, and the choice fell upon Newstead, who was given a twelve weeks" engagement. In those twelve weeks he took over a hundred wickets, and at last his possibilities as a bowler were realized by the Yorkshire authorities. His opportunity came when the return fixture with Worcestershire clashed with the Test Match at the Oval between England and South Africa. In Worcestershire"s second innings he took seven wickets for 10 runs and as the result of that one afternoon"s work, assured himself of a thorough trial in 1908. The sequel is known to everyone. As Newstead"s doings as a bowler last summer are given in detail in another part of the Almanack, I need not here go over the same ground. Whatever the future may have in store for him, there was no doubt last season as to his class. He is fortunate in having a beautifully easy action and, though above medium pace, always gives the impression of bowling well within his strength. It is this ease of delivery that enables him to get through long spells of work without fatigue. As regards the special merits of his bowling, he is most accurate in length, very quick off the pitch, and has a good off-break. Moreover, I think he has at times something of a swerve. Never carrying the off theory to excess he was able last summer to a greater extent than any of the other Yorkshire bowlers, except Hirst, to keep the batsmen playing. His value to the Yorkshire eleven is by no means limited to his bowling, as he is a hard hitting bat with plenty of nerve, and a fine field anywhere-especially in the slips. He spent two successive winters in South Africa as coach to the Christian Brothers at Kimberly College. It is perhaps the effect of the South African sun that makes him look older than he is.