Why can't these people learn to speak English?

I offer the following quote from William Barclay's A Spiritual Autobiography, without comment, seeing as how I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about:
"I remember on one of the occasions we were in London together [my father] took me to the Oval, and we saw Jack Hobbs out for 96 to Joe Hulme in the last over of the day, as he tried to hit a four to get his hundred before stumps were drawn."