Cricket 1882

166 CEICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. JULY 20, 1882. Albany are residents in Surrey, and the former in particular I know to be a liberal patron of local cricket in his own district at Bagshot. T h e Scottish Cricket Union is making great efforts to collect the full strength of the Gentlemen of Scotland to oppose the Australians at Edinburgh this day week. The eleven, it is said, will include Messrs. L. M. Balfour, C. J. Montague, H. Hay- Brown, and T. R. Fleming (Grange), J. G. iWalker (Loretto and Oxford University), fW. R. M‘ Comiick (Clydesdale), A. L. Wood i(Royal High School), and P. Thompson (Bruuswick). Mr.Walker,last time he opposed an Australian team in Scotland, in Glasgow in September, 1880, it will be remembered, scored 85 for Eighteen of the Clydesdale Club. “ Died on Thursday, July 13, at 10, Seville Place, Lowndes Square, Henry Robert Kingscote, cetat eighty.” The an­ nouncement will bo read with little con­ cern by the cricketers of the present day to whom he was unknown. Yet in his time Mr. Kingscote was a very prominent figure in cricket. He was an old Harrovian, and for a long time was one of the leading mem­ bers of the Marylebone Club. He,was one of the promoters of the great contests in 1827 between England and Sussex. As a cricketer he was a powerful hitter, and his physical merits will be found fully extolled in the following lines, taken from “ Scores and Biographies:” “ Mr. Kingscote comes next, as fine a young man As ever was built upon nature’s best plan; He stands six feet four — and, what don’t often follow, His leg is a model to form an Apollo. A fine slashing hitter as ever was found, He sometimes has knocked the ball out of the ground; An excellent thrower, a hundred yards clear, And. the ladies protest that he runs like a deer.” He was President of the Marvlebone Club in 1827. A ccordin g to the New York Herald cricket is gaining ground considerably in America. jThe Herald says that up to this time there aavebeen twice as many matches played in New York as there were last year. The pricket form, that journal adds, too, has been pf much better quality. A friend of mine ust come from the States corroborates this [?ery materially. He declares positively that jase-ball is by no means so popular as it ras, and that the fancy for cricket is pro­ portionately on the increase. So mote Itbe. j C r ic k e t . —Wanted, by a first-class ground man ind an excellent practice bowler, an engagement 7l. ere constant employment could be obtained.— tddress, H. Grace, Cricketer, 9, Hope-street, ♦ e r b y . — A d t t . ETON v. H A R R OW . [SPECIAL.] Nothing is easier than to find fault—nothing more certain of disappointment than a desire to find excellence where circumstances forbid its existence. It is just as unreasonable of the pavilion critics and club loungers to decry school­ boy cricket as inferior and therefore uninteresting, as it would be to condemn a two-year-old because he failed to hold his own at level weights with horses of more mature age. Indeed even if the observation of coming talent was not itself a matter of great interest, school cricket presents certain elements which, alas ! vemain with us all short time, but tend to brighten the game and add to its charms. Activity and enthusiasm are valuable adjuncts to our national game, and depend upon it they will be ever present in a greater degree amongst the younger members of the community. And again it is palpably wrong to decry Eton and Harrow cricket, for just as the Universities powerfully aid the Gentlemen of England, so are old Etonians and Harrovians found on the whole to preponderate in the ’Varsity teams. And we state this conscious that Rugby, Marlborough, Cheltenham, Uppingham, Clifton, and other large schools have from time to time found doughty champions. But the boys have to run the gaunt­ let of other discontented on-lookers in the shape of old Etonians and Harrovians who institute un­ favourable comparisons with the lights of other days, so that men familiar with Mitchell, C. G. Lyttelton, Daniel, Webbe, and the Walkers, are ill- pleased when they descry no individual excellence apparently of equal promise to those whose past deeds have raised their standard of excellence above the average which experience of the varying circumstances to be encountered leads us to expect. But we would remind these dissatisfied ones that a succession of wet seasons, relieved but by a year or so’s spell of fine weather, has not conduced to the attainment of perfection in batting, while, alas! it is not popular to consistently practice amateur bowling, the fielding is more often than not allowed to take care of itself. Under these circum­ stances we aver that the three Studds, Kemp, Hon. M. P. Hawke, and Henery are not unworthy Uni­ versity representatives of the cricket at vogue, both at Eton and Harrow. In fact, the pooh-pooh style of argument won’t hold water when applied to the subject in hand. With regard to the match itself and its conditions, Eton entered the .field with a larger contingent of old players, who nevertheless had failed in 1881 to carry their light blue .flag to the fore. Harrow, captained by the Hon. E. W. Ward, and supported at the outset by Spiro and Moncreiffe, was con­ strained to rely for the most part on young aspirants to the honours of the cricket-field. Hence it was felt that a good match Should most certainly ensue. Eton had batted with some success early in the season, and given a good wicket was proved to possess capable batsmen in Pemberton, Cave, Richards, Hargreaves, Lucas, and Marchant. But after the Marylebone match, wet set in, and never again did the fine form of the Etonians assert itself, until Cave and Hargreaves saved the school match at Lord’s for their ajicient and royal college. Harrow, on the other hand, varied to such a degree in their performances, that no one could be­ lieve that they would show up so well, especially as regards bowling, at Lord’s, more especially considering that their most promising bowler, Lord Athlumney, to a degree lost his powers before the game commenced. The school may be considered fortunate in having discovered so good a slow bonder as Sander son, and that Moncreiffe had grown stronger, and was therefore able to keep up an end almost con­ tinuously. Indeed, we scarcely ever saw a boy with more command over the ball, both as regards pace (which lie judiciously varied) and general regularity, _while it was not until tired that he became a little short. Moncrieffe also distinguished himself with the bat on the second day, while amongst Harrow batsmen Spiro, Ward (the captain), Greatorex, Brown, and last but not least, Crawley, played good cricket. The latter, together with Ward and Moncreiffe, belongs to the category of hardworking cricketers who thoroughlymerit success. We cannot say that we descried a Butler or Money amongst the Harrow batsmen, nor were they we suspect as strong in this department as their rivals, whose best man, Pemberton, did not score. He to a certain degree may be said to have been unlucky, as he twice played on to Sanderson,the slow bowler, even if as some declare such disaster is often the result of a defect in style, such as drawing the right foot back. The Eton bowling did not seem to us very deadly, but it was nevertheless good enough to dismiss several Harrow batsmen for next to nothing when the ground got difficult on Saturday afternoon. Jardine is a useful change, the ball rising faster than the batsman expects, while we still cling to the idea that Richards is to become a useful cricketer. Of the Eton fielding as a whole, we can say little .by way o praise. It was not equal to that of Harrow, which while for the most part presenting no particular natural aptitude, yet passed muster fairly well as the result of careful attention. We thought a forward point would have secured more than one catch towards the close of the game, but this may have been merely an on-looker’s fancy. Neither wicket-keeper was first-class, although the palm was carried off by Ward. Alfred Lytteltons and Kemps are not found often in school elevens. Altogether we consider the two teams to have been fairly matched. The Eton eleven showed that whatever their measure of inferiority to Winchester might be, their true form was not demonstrated when they succumbed in a single innings, while Harrow improved on the estimate made as to their merits by those most competent to judge. When on Saturday the Etonians had lost four wickets for 30, and saw before them a total of 189 required to win, the dead silence of light blue partisans foreshadowed as it were the defeat which the steady resolute batting of Hargreaves and Cave was destined to avert. As for the prospects of the game when it closed, we hazard no opinion beyond stating that we think it a pity that in a two-clay match in July stumps should ever be drawn before 7.30 ; that is if the object be to play a match out. On the other hand it was unreasonable to expect Eton to place themselvesgratuitously in aposition where theymight be beaten, and could not win, when a still fuither but unattainable extension of time might possibly have secured a light blue triumph. In the interests of cricket generally we cannot but think a two- day match should cl03e at 7.31 p.m. in July. Notwithstanding the prevailing view of the weak­ ness of both elevens, we expect to hear again to advantage, both at Eton and elsewhere, of Pember­ ton, Hargreaves, Cave, Richards, Bainbridge, and Jardine, and last but by no means least of Mar­ chant, whose batting is very promising. Harrow, too, will remember the team which contained Mon­ creiffe, Spiro, Greatorex. and Sanderson as by no means one unworthy to take prominence in her annals. Neither will it be forgotten that Ward cap­ tained his eleven right well. Several of the Eton bats­ men did not stir a step to back up when at thewicket, but shared with their opponents the habit so injurious to the interests of their side, viz., that of running over the ground on which the ball must soon pitch. Rumour has it that the Etonians have at com ­ mand ripe experience and unsurpassed judgment, which they more or less elect to ignore. If such be true, we expect to find the good play of Saturday but a flash in the pan, an outcome which, in the interests of cricket generally, all lovers of the game would deplore. S c o r e Sheets for forwarding matches to C h i c k e t can be had at the Office, 17, Paternoster-square, London, E.C., price 9d. a dozen.— A d v t .