Empire Cricket Booklet

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JEREMY LONSDALE

were eventually evicted with dynamite. In the course of the fighting, Ridley was injured and Poore took command of the regiment temporarily. British forces then marched on Mashiangombi and his kraal was captured by a combined movement of Salisbury police and the 7th Hussars led by Poore and Captain George Carew, whose columns joined forces, having travelled for several days from different directions over unmapped country. At the end' of the month, Poore led a squadron to Matzwetzwe via Charter, collecting grain on the way and destroying fortifications. They then returned to Salisb ury , where the situation was quieter. 24 The 7th Hussars returned to camp on 11 September and were shortly after sent to deal with trouble in the southwest, where Poore's squadron was despatched on a 40-mile march. They arrived too late to take action and on their return orders were received for the whole regiment to return to South Africa. On 7 October, they marched to Umtali, near the Mozambique border, where they had time to play cricket against a local side, Poore taking 6/31 and 4/32. On the 16th, they marched across the Mozambique border to the Massi Kessi railhead, escorted by Portuguese officials and embarked on the SS Inyati, passing through Beira on their way to Durban. Poore's return from Rhodesia was eagerly awaited in Natal. In mid October, the Natal Witness reported that he was on his way, and on 23rd he appeared again in Natal cricket. 25 Between that day and 1 February 1898, Poore played a series of magnificent innings' and made 1 600 runs in 25 innings at an average of 76.19 for the Maritzburg Garrison side, the 7th Hussars, the Natal Police (on one occasion) and for Maritzburg. Although the standard of local cricket was not of the highest quality, Poore's scores were made with and against some of the best players in Natal, including A. W. Nourse, C. B. Llewellyn (who Poore recommended to the Hampshire County Committee and who made nearly 200 appearances for the county up to 1910), C. F. W. Hime and D. C. Davey. In November, he made 174 for the Garrison against an up-country side in excessively warm weather. He was assisted by Captain Mainwaring of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who also had a successful

led small groups of Hussars in scouting expeditions in the region of the Gwelo river - experiences which led directly to the thinking behind the Scouting movement. On 23 September, Baden-Powell moved on, and Poore went off into the bush on patrol, but on 7 October he was ordered to stay in the region of Umvungu Drift and for some weeks they took part in operations which followed the fall on 16 October of the last of the rebel fortresses. Thoroughly exhausted, Poore's column finally arrived back in Bulawayo in early November. 23 Poore's presence in the town attracted attention. The Bulawayo Chronicle commented that 'it is questionable whether a better all round man could be found from the Zambesi to the Cape'. Cricket soon resumed for Poore. He was not particularly successful before Christmas, but in a game over New Year, against the Queen's Club, he made 127 out of 295. This was a high spot because on various difficult wickets he subsequently struggled at times, although by the close of the season he had scored 429 runs for the 7th Hussars, and several hundred more for other sides. He also had more than 50 wickets to his credit at around 10 each. Added to this, on 10 April, he competed in and won the Matabeleland Tennis Championships on the Queen's ground, exhibiting 'all the time a steady game, his volleying being very much applauded'. Two months after the uprising in Matabeleland, there was an uprising of the Shona to the north. This came as a surprise, which, with many male settlers away fighting in the south, made it all the more dangerous. Throughout June and July 1896, Salisbury seemed threatened, although in August imperial troops were moved in to provide protection and seek out a number of Shona leaders. By October, the uprising appeared to be over, but in the New Year it was obvious that the Shona were regrouping for new hostilities, and in April 1897 fighting broke out again across central Mashonaland. Present resources did not appear to be sufficient and in June Hussar regiments were brought from Bulawayo to deal with the insurgents, led most notably now by the chief, Mashiangombi. In the middle of July, the Hussars, including a detachment led by Poore, attacked several kraals and forced the Shona into caves, from where they