E. V. Lucas

“ It is bad enough to watch your favourites batting at any time, for every ball may be the last; but it is terrible when you equally want two people to bring something off—for Roddy wanted Hirst (whom he now adored) to make a good innings, and, at the same time, he wanted his father to catch Hirst out.
Hirst was not out when it was time for lunch, and so Roderick was able to tell his father all about it. ”

“ For most professional cricketers, you know, are something else as well, or they would not be able to live in the winter. Many of them make cricket-bats, many keep inns, many are gardeners. I know one who is a picture-framer, and another an organist, while George Hirst, who is the greatest of them all, makes toffee. Well, Tom Stick was a bird-fancier, with a partner named Dick Crawley, who used to mind the shop when Tom had to be at Lord's bowling to gentlemen, Roderick's father among them, or playing against Haileybury or Rugby or wherever he was sent to do all the hard work and go in last. ”

“ The first thing Roderick did the next morning was to buy a scoring-book and a pencil, and then he and his father explored Sheffield a little before it was time to go to the ground at Bramall Lane and get some practice.
The people clustered all round and in front of the nets and watched the batsmen, and now and then they were nearly killed, as always happens before a match. They pointed out the cricketers to each other.
"There's Warner," they said. "That's Bosanquet—the tall one." "Where's Trott? Why, there, bowling at Warner. Good old Alberto!" and so on.
"Who's the man in the end net?" ”