Clem Hill

Clem Hill

Personal information
Full name	Clement Hill
Born	(1877-03-18)18 March 1877 Hindmarsh, South Australia, Australia
Died	5 September 1945(1945-09-05) (aged 68) Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Nickname	Kruger
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Batting style	Left-hand batsman
Bowling style	Right-arm leg spin
Role	Batsman
Relations	S Hill, LR Hill, A Hill, H Hill, P Hill (brothers), W Hill-Smith (nephew)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 74)	22 June 1896 v England
Last Test	23 February 1912 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1892/93–1922/23	South Australia
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 49 252 Runs scored 3412 17213 Batting average 39.21 43.57 100s/50s 7/19 45/83 Top score 191 365* Balls bowled  – 510 Wickets  – 10 Bowling average  – 32.20 5 wickets in innings  –  – 10 wickets in match  –  – Best bowling  – 2–10 Catches/stumpings 33/– 168/1
Source: CricketArchive, 26 January 2008

Clement "Clem" Hill (18 March 1877 – 5 September 1945) 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. A prolific run scorer, Hill scored 3,412 runs in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of 39.21 per innings, including seven centuries. In 1902, Hill was the first batsman to make 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year, a feat that would not be repeated for 45 years. His innings of 365 scored against New South Wales for South Australia in 1900–01 was a Sheffield Shield record for 27 years. The South Australian Cricket Association named a grandstand at the Adelaide Oval in his honour in 2003 and he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2005.

A short and stocky left-handed batsman, Hill had a crouched, somewhat awkward stance. He gripped the bat low on the handle, playing with a strong bottom hand. His batting style was nonetheless attractive and effective and he was especially strong on the leg side and when cutting. Able to score quickly when required, he was also recognised for his patience and strong defence. Hill normally batted at No. 3 and, along with his contemporary Victor Trumper, he was a mainstay of the Australian batting line-up in the early years of the 20th century. Hill had a strong throwing arm and was an excellent outfielder. He was a popular team-mate and captain, respected for his directness, honesty and cheerfulness.