Free Spirit On The Water by Mike Harfield Page B

rewarded accordingly. County cricket, on the other hand, was run by, and on behalf of, the ‘gentlemen amateurs’. They were not natural bedfellows for S.F. Barnes.
    Batsmen were his natural prey and he was a predator supreme. Neville Cardus noted that “a chill wind of antagonism blew from him on the sunniest day.” Cricket was not ‘fun’ it was his profession. Many years later, Barnes was playing in a charity match. Barnes was in his fifties and Learie Constantine was struggling with his batting. Cec Parkin, Barnes’ captain, asked him to chuck a few up so that the crowd could see Learie Constantine hit one or two. Barnes threw down the ball, collected his sweater and refused to bowl again in the match. “I have a reputation as well as Constantine” was his retort.
    Lancashire had made attempts to persuade Barnes to play for the county on a number of occasions over the years. A.N. Hornby, the Lancashire captain before Archie MacLaren, wanted to have a look at him so gave Barnes a late entry into a League XI for a friendly game at Old Trafford. Barnes turned him down on the grounds that as he wasn’t originally selected he wouldn’t play just to make up the numbers.
    On another occasion, Barnes agreed to turn out in a trial match but, when he discovered that he was in the second team, he declined to play. Apart from his natural cussedness, the crux of the issue was that Barnes could get paid more for doing less if he played league cricket. Unless the terms were exactly to his liking, he had no reason to submit himself to the rigours of countycricket. When Hornby was told what Barnes was being paid for his performances in the Lancashire League, he supposedly replied that he could get three professionals for the same amount. One can only imagine what the response of Barnes would have been had he heard him say this!
    Where Hornby had failed, MacLaren succeeded. Not only did he persuade the Lancashire committee to offer Barnes a contract, he also managed to get Barnes to accept it. On his return from Australia in 1902, Sydney Barnes was due to play his first full season in county cricket.
    Archie MacLaren had a number of run-ins both with the Lancashire hierarchy and the Lords authorities. He was very much his own man, as he showed by taking Sydney Barnes to Australia. The southern-based media at the time had been shocked at the selection of Barnes and some openly questioned MacLaren’s sanity. MacLaren and Barnes had their differences but maintained a grudging respect for each other. It probably did not extend beyond the cricket field. On the trip to Australia, the ship carrying the England touring party ran into severe storms. Trying to comfort his less experienced colleagues, MacLaren said: “If we do go down, at least that bugger Barnes will go down with us!”
    Barnes proved to be a great success in Australia. After doing well in the state games, he was selected for his first Test in Sydney on 13 th December 1901. England batted first and MacLaren scored a century. Barnes contributed to the total of 464 with 26 not out. When Australia batted, Barnes soon had his first Test victim. He caught and bowled Victor Trumper, Australia’s premier batsman and one of the best players of all time. Many people, including some Australians, regard him as having been a better batsman than Bradman. Perhaps that’s why Barnes got Trumper out so often? He was usually good enough to get a touch.
    Barnes bowled virtually unchanged for the entire innings taking 5 for 65 off 35.1 overs and Australia were all out for 168. When they followed on they were bowled out for 172. Barnes, probably exhausted from his first innings effort, only got one of the wickets. Braund and Blythe got the rest. Against the odds and most people’s expectations, England had beaten a very strong Australian side and Barnes had established himself as a Test bowler.
    The Second Test in Melbourne was another step along the way to making Sydney Barnes the