Page:The Hambledon Men (1907).djvu/271

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THE FIRST SPIKES AND PADS
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above accident. A bat of Ring's is to be seen at the Pavilion at Lord's with the addition of ' Little Joey 'affixed to it, which nickname, it is believed, also belonged to Ring. He died at Bridge near Canterbury, October 25, 1800, aged 42, under the same roof that the 'crack' Miller had expired beneath, the year previously. A tombstone was erected to his memory, but was not in existence in 1859.


Robert Robinson's first recorded great match was in 1792, he then, though he must have appeared several years previously, being 27 years of age. In Nyren's Cricketer's Guide, his name (though no description of him is given) is inserted among the list of the crack Hambledon Eleven; but he could not have played with that club for long, nor indeed is his name found in any of their contests. He was a left-handed batsman, and a terrific hitter, being for several years one of the best in England, and for his off-hitting or cutting he was most renowned. His average will be found one of the highest, though he only once (it is believed) made 100 runs in one innings in great matches, and that curiously enough in the first season in which his name appears. That he should have obtained such a celebrity is more wonderful, because when a boy he accidentally lost (through fire) a finger of his right hand; he was, in consequence, obliged to have all his bats 'grooved' to fit his deformity. They had to be cut in one place of the handle, and then strengthened by iron let in. [One of them is still to be seen at Lord's.] When fielding or catching, he could only use his sound hand, being in fact, a cricketer under difficulties. He was nicknamed 'Long Bob', and likewise 'Three-fingered Jack'. He was engaged some time (it is believed just before his death) at Dereham, in Norfolk, and at one time he was gamekeeper to J. Laurell, Esq. He introduced spikes of monstrous length for one shoe, and also made for himself ' pads 'of two thin boards placed angle-wise, off which the ball went with great noise; but being