Bob Crockett
Encyclopedia
Robert Maxwell Crockett was an Australian Test match umpire.
Crockett umpired a total of 32 Test matches
, the highest number by an Australian umpire until passed by Tony Crafter
in his last match in 1992. His first match was between Australia
and England
at Sydney
on 12 December to 16 December 1901, a match which England won by an innings.. His colleague was Richard Callaway
, also standing in his first Test match.
Crockett was inspired to take up cricket umpiring at the age of 25 by the brave deeds of ‘Dimboola Jim’ Phillips
who waged war on the chuckers of the 1890s, bowlers who threw the ball instead of bowling it. For more than 20 years he was a regular Test umpire, and his first-class
career lasted for 38 years. Known as the ‘Chief Justice’ he was, in Pollard’s view, “a softly-spoken, imperturbable character … precise, unemotional, lacking in sentiment … He was a stickler for decorum … [and] highly regarded by all players for his accuracy and impartiality.” Johnnie Moyes, who knew him well "appreciated his skill, his modesty, his love for cricket" and ranked him in the top three umpires he had seen, along with George Hele
and Mel McInnes
.
In 1900/01 in the match between New South Wales
and Victoria
at Sydney, Crockett no-balled the New South Wales fast bowler Jack Marsh
19 times for throwing. Spectators jeered Crockett after every occurrence, but he persisted until Marsh was taken off.
In the first Test match of the 1903/04 season, Australia was recovering from a first-innings deficit of 292 and was 2 for 191 when Clem Hill
on 51 attempted a fifth run from an overthrow
. In a close situation, Crockett gave him run out
. Hill was adamant that he had made good his ground, and as he walked off the crowd began to chant “Crock, Crock, Crock”. The English captain, Pelham Warner
, threatened to take his players off unless the commotion stopped. The Australian captain, Monty Noble
, who was next man in, apologised to Warner and insisted that play continue. As a consequence of this incident there was a call for tighter control of crowds at matches.
In 1907/08 Crockett refused to signal a boundary after a fieldsman deliberately kicked the ball into the fence to prevent the striker taking a single and retaining the strike at the end of the over, thus protecting a batsman of lesser ability. Crockett ruled that the kick was against the spirit of the game.
In 1926, at the tea interval of a match, admirers presented Crockett with a cheque for £1043 ($A2086, but of course worth much more than). He is reputed to have thanked them, looked at his watch, announced it was time to resume play, and returned to the wicket without a sign of sentiment.
After his retirement at the age of 63 due to failing eyesight, he began making cricket bats at Shepherd's Flat, near his birthplace, from willow
cuttings sent in 1903 by English Test captain Archie MacLaren who had recently toured Australia. Legend has it that only one cutting of the six sent survived the journey, but grafted to a river willow, its progeny flourished. By the 1920s, bats made from Australian wood were shaped and sold under the R M Crockett label. The company made 5,000 bats annually, until its demise in 1956 when it was swallowed by Slazenger. The family who bought the Crockett farm, continues the tradition, both as tree growers and bat shapers, and have developed a cricket ground and tourist facility on the site.
Crockett died of heart failure at his home, aged 72. At his death he was described as a "cricket bat manufacturer". He was married and had three adult children.
Crockett umpired a total of 32 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, the highest number by an Australian umpire until passed by Tony Crafter
Tony Crafter
Anthony Ronald Crafter, , was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 33 Test matches between 1979 and 1992, the highest number by an Australian umpire to that time...
in his last match in 1992. His first match was between Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
on 12 December to 16 December 1901, a match which England won by an innings.. His colleague was Richard Callaway
Richard Callaway (umpire)
Richard Callaway was a cricket Test match umpire.He umpired 3 Test matches between Australia and England in the 1901/02 season....
, also standing in his first Test match.
Crockett was inspired to take up cricket umpiring at the age of 25 by the brave deeds of ‘Dimboola Jim’ Phillips
Jim Phillips
James Phillips was a Victorian First-class cricketer and Test match umpire....
who waged war on the chuckers of the 1890s, bowlers who threw the ball instead of bowling it. For more than 20 years he was a regular Test umpire, and his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career lasted for 38 years. Known as the ‘Chief Justice’ he was, in Pollard’s view, “a softly-spoken, imperturbable character … precise, unemotional, lacking in sentiment … He was a stickler for decorum … [and] highly regarded by all players for his accuracy and impartiality.” Johnnie Moyes, who knew him well "appreciated his skill, his modesty, his love for cricket" and ranked him in the top three umpires he had seen, along with George Hele
George Hele
George Alfred Hele was a cricket Test match umpire.-Biography:Hele was born in 1891 to Andrew William Hele and Elizabeth Ann Hele, née Patterson...
and Mel McInnes
Mel McInnes
Melville James "Mel" McInnes was an Australian cricket Test match umpire.He umpired 16 Test matches between 1951 and 1959...
.
In 1900/01 in the match between New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
and Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
at Sydney, Crockett no-balled the New South Wales fast bowler Jack Marsh
Jack Marsh
Jack Marsh was an Australian first-class cricketer of Australian aboriginal descent who represented New South Wales in six matches from 1900–01 to 1902–03. A right-arm fast bowler of extreme pace, Marsh was blessed with high athletic qualities and was regarded as one of the outstanding talents of...
19 times for throwing. Spectators jeered Crockett after every occurrence, but he persisted until Marsh was taken off.
In the first Test match of the 1903/04 season, Australia was recovering from a first-innings deficit of 292 and was 2 for 191 when Clem Hill
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
on 51 attempted a fifth run from an overthrow
Overthrow (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an overthrow is an extra run scored by a batsman as a result of the ball not being collected by a fielder in the centre, having been thrown in from the outfield...
. In a close situation, Crockett gave him run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
. Hill was adamant that he had made good his ground, and as he walked off the crowd began to chant “Crock, Crock, Crock”. The English captain, Pelham Warner
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
, threatened to take his players off unless the commotion stopped. The Australian captain, Monty Noble
Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered as one of the great Australian...
, who was next man in, apologised to Warner and insisted that play continue. As a consequence of this incident there was a call for tighter control of crowds at matches.
In 1907/08 Crockett refused to signal a boundary after a fieldsman deliberately kicked the ball into the fence to prevent the striker taking a single and retaining the strike at the end of the over, thus protecting a batsman of lesser ability. Crockett ruled that the kick was against the spirit of the game.
In 1926, at the tea interval of a match, admirers presented Crockett with a cheque for £1043 ($A2086, but of course worth much more than). He is reputed to have thanked them, looked at his watch, announced it was time to resume play, and returned to the wicket without a sign of sentiment.
After his retirement at the age of 63 due to failing eyesight, he began making cricket bats at Shepherd's Flat, near his birthplace, from willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
cuttings sent in 1903 by English Test captain Archie MacLaren who had recently toured Australia. Legend has it that only one cutting of the six sent survived the journey, but grafted to a river willow, its progeny flourished. By the 1920s, bats made from Australian wood were shaped and sold under the R M Crockett label. The company made 5,000 bats annually, until its demise in 1956 when it was swallowed by Slazenger. The family who bought the Crockett farm, continues the tradition, both as tree growers and bat shapers, and have developed a cricket ground and tourist facility on the site.
Crockett died of heart failure at his home, aged 72. At his death he was described as a "cricket bat manufacturer". He was married and had three adult children.