by Mayukh Ghosh

1926 General Strike.

Creswell Colliery.

'The little magician' meets the county representative.

"£3 a week?"

"No.The average miner can earn more than that."

"Okay, £4 a week?"

That proves to be good enough.

Years later, Derbyshire historian John Shawcroft writes, "The extra pound ranks as one of the best investments ever made by the county."

Tommy Mitchell was a handful when the wicket helped him. Few years into his career, he developed the googly and was a threat even on perfect batting pitches.

Neville Cardius wrote: " Mitchell reduced first-class players to helpless mediocrity with a few snaps of his fingers."

He played ten full seasons of first-class cricket. In each of them he took over a hundred wickets.

He took 121 wickets in 1936 when the bunch of miners won the championship.

Mitchell had issues with his attitude. Often thought to be a tough one to handle, he troubled all his skippers, including Douglas Jardine in Australia.

But he was a bit of a wizard.

In a tour match, he won £20 in a bet that he would dismiss Don Bradman.

In the New Zealand leg of that tour, Wally Hammond borrowed his bat and scored the then highest Test score.

He abused, drank, argued with seniors but often got away with all that because he was a match winner.

On an occasion he borrowed a telescope from a young man in the crowd and entertained people near the boundary. His captain wasn't happy and threatened to send him back home.

"You'll be a good player short!", came the reply in no time.

The club secretary's customary greeting to the professionals was "Good morning, troops."

One day Mitchell responded: " If it wasn't for us bloody troops, you wouldn't have a job."

Next morning the greeting changed a bit: "Good morning, troops- and Mr. Mitchell."

It was decided that Mitchell would have his benefit in 1940.

Then war intervened.

When cricket resumed in 1946, the county offered him a contract with renewed terms, along with the benefit.

But Mitchell was not ready to accept the change in terms and went to play cricket in the leagues.

Not quite caring for the benefit.

Not many could go through the defenses of Sutcliffe, Duleep, Bradman and Woodfull.

He did, on multiple occasions.

A wonderful bowler but too moody for any captain's liking.

And a character county cricket treasured in the 1930s.

Largely forgotten, though.

Tommy Mitchell was born on 4 Sep 1902.