Indeed, if Foster’s career was tragic, Field’s was in many ways more so, for a succession of serious accidents hampered him at exactly the time he would otherwise have become a top-class fast bowler and a candidate for representative honours.
[4] He gained a place in the team against Lancashire in Henry Pallett’s benefit match but was not viewed as the solution to Warwickshire’s bowling problems.
[5] Field played just three times in 1897 and took just seven wickets,[6] but gained another trial in July the following season[7] and a tireless 8 for 144 in an innings of 509 against Gloucestershire suggested he was a major acquisition for the county,[8] especially as he suffered from dropped catches.
[9] In the dry summer of 1899 Field established himself as Warwickshire’s leading bowler with 73 wickets for 23 each — a remarkable performance on such true pitches as Edgbaston was then known for.
[18] And though 1910 saw Field come closer to his best (notably against Yorkshire at Edgbaston when he bowled them out for 125 on a perfect pitch), there was little belief he could survive a full season of dry wickets.