Clive Kable First Grade Player No.15
St George Cricket Club | December 02, 2024
Clive Harold Kable – Racquet triumphed over bat
by Nathan Anderson
Clive Kable, in participating in the first season of first grade cricket for the St George District Cricket Club, continued a family tradition of firsts. His great-great grandfather, Henry Kable married Susannah Holmes on 10 February 1788. Their wedding was one of five to take place on the same day, marking the first marriages in the new British colony of New South Wales. Of the five marriages, only the Kable family bore children that lived into adulthood meaning that the Kable family can boast the longest continuing European family line in Australia.
From these roots, it is possible to trace the lineage of Clive Harold Kable. Clive was born in Dubbo on 6 February 1895. The family moved around the state of New South Wales during Clive’s childhood. By 1912, they had settled into the Hurstville area, with both Clive and brother Ralph playing cricket in the local area. The Sun newspaper was quite impressed with the young man from Dubbo, writing: “Hurstville St George possess a useful trundler in C Kable. His last effort read five for 21.”
Clive’s skill as a bowler was also noticed by the St George District Association. He was one of 18 St George Juniors selected to play against a Grade XI organised and led by Victor Trumper on 13 September 1913. Kable fared well in the charity fixture, scoring 14 not out and taking 2 for 7 from three overs. In a rain-affected fixture, the St George side was dismissed for 120 with Trumper’s Eleven reaching 7 for 40 in the 30 minutes they were given to bat.
Following the charity match, Victor Trumper expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the St George side. He was particularly impressed with the bowling efforts of Kable and Cogan, who had taken a combined 6 for 16 in six overs, including the prize wicket of Trumper. The St George Call reporting that Trumper “was pleased with the showing of some of the players particularly of Messrs C Cogan and C Kable, whom he thought would do well to give the turf cricket a good trial.
The following season Kable made the successful leap to Grade cricket, heading the batting list for the third grade side for the 1914-15 season. His performances also saw him promoted to the second grade side. Yet, after this promising season, Clive swapped his cricket bat for a tennis racquet. Kable’s skill with the racquet was noted by The St George Call, who stated that he “has been a good addition to the team, and strengthened the pairs, and the team as a whole have played better”.
Later in the same year, Kable participated in a Tournament for the Wounded Soldiers where he was heavily involved. He reached the later stages in the Gent’s Singles Handicap (Open), the Gents (B Grade) Singles Handicap, and the Gent’s Doubles Championship. At the completion of the 1915 Illawarra tournament, Kable had won the Singles Handicap open final 6-4 6-0, and the Men’s Doubles Handicap open final.
The 1920-21 season again saw the Kable brothers playing in the local cricketing competition, Clive for Hurstville St George and Ralph for Carlton. They also teamed up for the Martin Shield competition representing the St George Association on a number of occasions. In the 1921-22 season, both Clive and Ralph played regularly for the St George second grade side.
Their father Percy had also been involved with the club as a patron from the 1913-14 season. Clive’s outstanding season in second grade with the ball saw him take 32 wickets at an average of 9.2. That was enough to earn him a promotion into the first grade side in the latter half of the season. The club was very supportive of Clive, writing in the Annual Report for the 1921-22 season:
“We must congratulate C Kable on the excellent average gained by him. Although not successful in the First Team, we feel sure that with this year’s experience he will do well in the coming season.”
In his first grade appearances that season, Clive was only able to capture one wicket. The following season, brother Ralph put in another strong season with 564 runs at 47 in 2nd grade with a top score of 164. This saw him make his first grade debut and resulted in the brothers Kable becoming the first brothers to both play first grade at St George. Ralph had some success with the ball in first grade, taking four wickets and a catch. However, he was unable to transfer his success with the bat. Clive did not play for the club during the 1922-23 season due to his allegiance to tennis. The writer in The St George Call missed his presence, writing:
"Would like to see Clive Kable playing again. Gave promise of becoming one of our best bowlers, but it looks [as] if tennis is the attraction at present."
It was the same story the following season, as only Ralph played for the club. It was another decent season for Ralph. He took 15 wickets at 12.2 and scored 124 runs at 24.8 in second grade. He was given another chance at first grade level, where he again took four wickets. He scored 28 runs, with a top score of 27 at an average of 9.33. Clive was busier getting married. On 15 March 1924 he married Dorris Augusta Kirwan at St Thomas’ Church, Mulgoa. Clive was 29 at the time and outside of his sporting achievements, had made a career as a surveyor. He did return to the cricket field in the 1924-25 season, where he took 42 wickets at a miserly 8.66 runs per wicket.
Two and a half years after their marriage, Clive and Dorris welcomed Kevin Beresford Kable, their only child, into the family on 30 October 1926. The family led a quiet life for the next decade. Clive had become an engineer and occasionally found time for some tennis. However, on 10 July 1937, Clive’s wife Dorris died in the family home at the age of 36. It meant that Clive had the task of raising their then 11-year-old son on his own. Three months after his 18th birthday, Kevin made his way over to Woolloomooloo to enlist with the Royal Australian Air Force to serve in the Second World War and was discharged on 14 May 1946.
Brother Ralph passed away on 18 April 1968 at South Hurstville at the age of 75. Ralph had endured many hardships in his early life. His first wife, Ethel, passed away five months after their wedding. His second wife, Dorcas, died of Arsenic poisoning less than two years into the marriage. Third time was the charm for Ralph as he married Kathleen Veronica Sewell on 16 January 1926. Together they raised 2 children, Jeanette and Valerie Grace.
On 8 November 1983, Clive died in Campbelltown at the age of 88. Coming from a line of family members who had made their mark on history, Clive was able to humbly add his time as a first grade cricketer and tennis player in the St George region to that list.
