Cricket 1882

CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. MAY 10, 1882. nd drive him for 3 or 4. Now is the time for the oung bowler to m e his head ; that is, to vary pace, itch, height of delivery, and perhaps change to the .tlier side of the wicket. By these means he may ause his opponent to make a mistake. Delivering , slow ball he may get a catcli, very likely mid-on or nid-off will be the favoured party, ox again if the >atsman step out and hit, one of the long-fields nay have a chance, or the wicket keeper stump him. V fast ball may break through the batsman’s lefence, or short slip or wicket-keeper catch him Tom a snick. If a fieldsman or wicket-keeper miss i chance, never lose your temper or show disgust, ’or by so doing you will most likely lose pitch or lirection, and also cause the fielders to become over mxious, thus leading to other mishaps. Bowlers of the present day in anything like first- jlass cricket, do not depend entirely on breaking through the defence of a batsman ; so to speak they bowl with their heads, that is, seeing their bowhng is being played or scored from, they alter then' length of pitch, put in a slow with the object of getting a catch, or for the wicket-keeper to have a chance of stumping. If that does not succeed, a fast will be sent down, the next perhaps a medium pace, to be followed very likely with a slow ball and more elevation all done for the purpose of causing the batsman to make a mistake by playing too soon, too late, stepping out and missing it, or giving a iihance to the field. Bowlers should never despair of removing a batsman no matter how poor the for­ mer or good the latter. The worst of bowlers are -just as likely to deliver a ball on the spot a good batsman does not like and get a wicket, as the best bowler that ever handled a ball. The reader ■will "no doubt have noticed that great prominence is *>iven to the cultivation of pitch, and, I think, justly, for this is the most important part of bowling. By being able to drop the ball where it is wanted the bowler can find out the weak points of his oppo- hent, and varying pace, &c., lead to the downfall of the batsman. ’ I trust that the few hints given above may prove t>f some little assistance to young bowlers, But at 'the same time can assure them that they will learn ■more in twenty minutes practice than in volumes of theoretical teaching. ^ T H E T H IR D A U S T R A L IA N TE AM . i T he arrival of a third team of Australian players 'supplies ample proof, were any wanting, of the un- idiminished popularity of Cricket in the Mother country as well as her colonial dependencies. The first announcement, some five years ago, of a pro- ibable visit of Australian Cricketers was received with general incredulity here. The venture was a :bold one ; but there was enterprise enough on the other side, and fortunately, for many reasons, it proved a great success. The repetition of the ex­ periment two years later, despite a certain grievance consequent on the disagreement at Sydney during Lord Harris’s visit, did not prove to be the failure some predicted ; on the contrary, it produced a Complete reconciliation. The excellent behaviour !of the English professionals in the colonies during "the tour just completed, has tended to strengthen ■the links that bind the cricketers of the two coun­ tries, and though it is said that the team now over diere will in all probability be the last to visit lEngland for some years, it is more reasonable to isnppose that the relations now existing will result Kn a constant interchange of visits between English land Australian players. Particular interest has -been directed to the chances of the thirteen who leached London on Wednesday last, under the thai'ge of that grand cricketer, W. L. Murdoch, on •many grounds. The supporters of the game in ithe colonies have never been quite satisfied with Y’le result of the memorable match between Eng­ land and Australia at the Oval. The excellent fight cheir team—certainly not the best they could pro- sluee—made on that occasion, under great disad­ vantages, enoouraged them to attempt to secure a.he fu 1 strength of Australian cricket with a view to a real test of the merits of the eleven best j players there and here. In this they have been thoroughly successful, and when England meets ! Australia at the Oval, in August, there will be no occasion, unless an accident should occur to any of those now here, for the plea that the eleven Mur­ doch will place in the field is not thoroughly representative. It is true that Evans, whom the Australians regard, despite the many years he has been before the public, as still their best bowler, has for the second time disappointed them; but it would be difficult to see which one of those here could be removed to make room for him. The names of the thirteen constituting the team are— W. L. Murdoch (New South Wales, captain), A. C. Bannerman. G. J. Bonnor, T. W . Garrett, S. Jones, H. H. Massie, and F. K. Spofforth, from New South Wales; J. M. Blackham, H. F. Boyle, T. Horan, P. S. M’Donnell, and G. E. Palmer from Victoria, and G. Giffen from South Australia. With them as manager comes Mr. C. W. Beal, the Hon. Secretary of the New South Wales Association, so that the party will number fourteen. Of these ten have been in one or other of the two preceding teams; five of them have been over on each of the previous visits. Murdoch^ Boyle, Bannerman, Blackham, and Spofforth visit England now for the third time; Garrett, Horan, Bonr or, Palmer, McDonnell for the second; Jones, Giffen, Massie, and the Manager for the first time. Garrett and Horan were over with Gregory in 1878, but were not with Murdoch two years ago, when Palmer, Bonnor and McDonnell made their first appearance. Garrett in the team of 1878 was the first change after Spofforth, Allan, and Boyle, and for a fastish bowler he had an excellent average of just under seven runs for 146 wickets. When the ground was at all queer his delivery was very effective, but he did not come off much as a batsman, though at times he hit with some freedom. Horan, if he hardly quite came up to his colonial form as a batsman, none the less played good cricket, obtain­ ing the third place in the batting averages. More than once he proved very useful too with the ball, and if he is only in good health this time he should be one of the best all round cricketers on the side. Murdoch’s reputation is too well known here to need any lengthy comment. It is enough to say that he has no superior either in England or Australia as a batsman, and his recent score of 321 for New South Wales is the greatest achiev- ment ever recorded in a good match. Blackham is the prince of wicket keepers; Spofforth, on his form of 1880, quite the equal of, if not superior to, tho best of our English bowlers, aud both Palmer and Boyle, if the latter seems recently to have been less effective than two years ago, are above the average of English bowlers. Bannerman and McDonnell in different ways are tnre run- getters ; and Bonnor is a tremendous hitter if he gets a chance. So much for the ten who are known to English cricketers. The three new players are H. H. Massie, S. Jones, and G. Giffen, and each of them comes across with very high credentials. Mass'e is a free bat, with great punishing powers and should the wickets be fast is sure to be success­ ful. He has not been so consistent as usual during the past season, but should he not corns up to his home reputation, as some of the team think, is not unlikely on our generally slow wickets he will still be worth playing for his brilliant field­ ing. Jones and Giffen are both young cricketers, and of great promise. The former, who is just twenty, hails from Sydney University, and has great defence, besides being a dangerous bowler (medium with a good breakjat times. Alfred Shaw is said to have been very much pleased with Giffen’s score of 95 against his team at Adelaide, and in addition to his undeniable ability with the bat, he is a bowler with great work and a brilliant field. The first match of the team is against Oxford at Oxford, or. the 15th, and on Saturday last they had their first day’s practice. They had been very desirous of meeting Shaw’s team before the Oxford fixture, but the delay in the arrival of the lattor, the majority of whom aro just due at Plymouth by the Orient steamer Chimborazo has prevented this. Every one will bo pleased to hear that the difficulty with regard to the match with the Marylebone Club and Ground has been solved by the acceptance of the terms offered by the M.C.O., and consequently the match will come off as proposed, on July 10th and two following days. Beyond a doubt they will be a very strong team, particularly in batting, and fielding is so thoroughly appreciated in the colonies that they are sure to be reliable to a man in this department. Whethor their bowling is likely to be so effective as heretofore remains to bo seen. Murdoch is confident that they are quite as good even in this department, and it is quite pos­ sible that they may bo better. All round they aro sure to prove themselves a formidable lot, but there is no reason for assuming that any of tho three representative English elevens they will have to meet will not be able to gain a victory. Their complete programme is given below. S H A W ’S TE AM IN A U S T R A L IA . B y this time most, if not all, of the players who have been starring abroad under the charge of Alfred Shaw will have reached home, aud the trip began last autumn will have come to an end. In looking back at the doings of the team it is very satisfactory to think that none of the forbod- ings which were gonerally expressed at tho time of their departure have in any way realised. They left England, it must be admitted, without any very great confidence on the part of the public. The absence of such players as Barne3 and Lock­ wood prevented them from being thoroughly repre­ sentative of the professional batting of the country, and it was thought that they would suffer severely from the want of a really good fast bowler like Allan, Hill, or Morley. Their prospects fi­ nancially it was argued, too, were anything but brilliant, and the very scanty support they received in the few matches they played in America cer­ tainly seemed to justify the belief that the trip would not bo a great monetary success. In justice to the whole of the team, particularly to Shaw, Shrewsbury, and Lillywhite, who it is generally understood bore the risk and were responsible for the management of affairs, it must bo said that throughout the whole tour there was not a hitch in any way. The alleged scandal is dealt with in another place, and until it is proved we prefer .o believe the statements of Mr. Beal and the whole of the colonial players just arrived in England, that none of the six English teams that havo visited Australia has ever so deservedly gained popularity in tho new country. The testimony of such an independent and reliable witness as Mr. Beal, who is Hon. Secretary of the New South Association, and a man of considerable influence in the cricket world of Australia should be entitled to the highest respect, and it is thoroughly due to Shaw ana Shrewsbury to give his statement that from first to last their men, one and all, boro themselves in a way that did credit to the reputa­ tion of our professional cricket. That they proved themselves to be a better team in the field than was generally expected here it is also a pleasing duty to acknowledge. Indeed, the summary of the tour is in every way satisfactory. In all thirty matches were played ; five in Ame­ rica, seven in New Zealand, and eighteen in Australia. In fifteen of these the Englishmen were successful, twelve matches were drawn, and only on three occasions were they beaten. Seven of the thirty engagements were eleven a tide, aud in the rest Shaw and his men were opposed to fifteens, eighteens, and twenty-twos. Of the seven first-class matches three were won, two drawn, and two lost. The two defeats were, one by a com­ bined eleven of Australia, and the other the first- match against the team just arrived in England ; and the only reverse they suffered in a match against odds was when they were beaten by twenty-two at Paramatta, in one of the earlier engagements in Australia. Shrewsbury, owing to ill health, did not leave England till after the rest of the party, but he