Cricket 1882

244 CEICKET; A 'WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. a u g u s t 24, issa. C R 1 C K E T I T E N N I S !! F O O T B A L L ! ! First Prize Medal at Melbourne Exhibition, 1880. JAMES LILLY WHITE, FROWD & CO., Manufacturers of all articles used in the above and other Athletic Sports. Speciality for the highest class Goods. Bats specially seasoned for hot climates. Price Lists and all parti­ culars may be had post free. Shipperssuppliedat wholesale prices. J. L., F. and Co. are the sole Manufacturers of Frowd’s new patent “ Special Driver ” Bat, which drives better, jars less, and averages l.£ ounces lighter than any other Bat; universally allowed to be the greatest improvement made in Bats since cane handles were introduced. Publishers of JAMES LILLY- WHITE’S CRICKETER’S ANNUAL. Manufactory and Ware­ house:—4and 6, Newington Causeway and 73 and 74, Borough Road, London. FOOTBALL. The very best quality Football Outfits. LARGEST STOCK IN THE WORLD. GEORGEKENT, ATH LET IC CLOTHING MANUFACTURER 149. FENCHURCH STREET , L O N D O N . Intendingpurchasersshouldfully understandthat inthis class of Goods there are three orfour inferior and worthless qualities mad*, but I havefoundfromalong and great experience that the best qua' y is the cheapest, and the only one to be relied upon. I therefore only keep the best, but if most particularly ordered, of course can make any of the commonqualities. JERSEYS, best 3/9, 4/3, 4/6, 4/9.; Hose 2 /, 2/3. SHIRTS, i“ two colours, 10 / 6 , 12 / 6 , 14/6. CAPS, 1 /; Garters, / 6 ; Shin Guards, 3/6, 4/. KN ICKERBOCKERS , for 8 / 6 , 10 / 6 , 17/6. „ Elastic Web Figure-fitting, 6 / 6 . FOOTBALLS, No. 5, 7/6, 8 / 6 , 9/6, 10 / 6 . A IR PUMPS, 3/6, 9/6, 13/6. Goal Posts, 17/, 19/6; do. Eugby, per set, 28/6- Boundary Staffs and Flags. L A CRO SSE Jerseys, Hose, Caps, Knickerbockers, Bats, Balls. B IC Y C L IN G Caps, Jerseys, Hose, Jackets, Knickerbockers, and Ribbons. BO X IN G G LO V E S , Single Sticks, Foils, Masks, Fencing Gloves, Jackets, Dumb-bells, Iron Shot, Indian Clubs, Hammers, Wristlets, Quoits. G YM N A S T IC Apparatus of all kinds. L A W N T E N N IS Jerseys, Hose, Caps, Knick­ erbockers, Nets, Balls, Bats, and Shoes. GEORGE KENT, 149, FENCHUECH STREET , LONDON C B I C K E T . A W c e l t l y B e c o r d o f tl i e G a m e THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1882. C ricket ” this week consists of sixteen pages and a wrapper. This is the second enlargement since the institution of the paper. “ C r ic k e t ” can be had at W. H. Smith & Son’s Book Stalls. T 'n first, second, and third numbers are out of print. T H E A U S T R A L I A N C R IC K E T E R S . No. 17 of “ C k i c k e t , ” to be published next Thurs­ day m»rning, will contain a portrait and biography of G. J. Bonnor, the Australian cricketer. Each following number will contain a portrait and biography of a member of the Australian Team. This week is commenced the first of a series of articles by an old Harrovian. No. 1 is on “ Modem Harrow Cricket,” and this will be followed by “ Middlesex Cricket,” and “ A Retrospect.” * f E i p g v 0 F v S U B g C R I P T J 0 N * “ C r i c k e t ” is published at 17, Paternoster Square, London , E.C., and will be forwarded to any ad­ dress inGreat Britain, for Jive weeks, including present issue , for 1/2 in time for Hrst post on Thursday Morning. It is requested that Postal Orders (not Stamps) be sent for Subscriptions and Scores. They can be made ~r.yable to W . R. W r i g h t , at the head office , and crossed London and County , Holborn . 4 ‘ C r i c k e t ” is registered f o r transmission abroad and can be sent , post free , at tlie regular newspaper rates o f postage to a n y p a rt of the world . Reading Cases for holding four numbers of 1 4 C r i c k e t ” can now be had at the Office , price 2/-. TO ADVERTISERS. “ C r ic k e t ” presentsan unequalled mediumfor announcements in connection with the game, as the circulation is already in advance of any newspaper of the kind. Tlie scores ofmostof the vrincipal Clubs will appear exclusively in its columns, and there is already a large number of subtcribers, including most of tlie leading players of the day. “ C r ic k e t ” will be filed too for reference in the Pavilions of all theprincipal Clubs, and it willthusappeal directly to every class of cricketer. A limited number of high-class Advertisements will betaken on terms to be obtained of the Manager. F or ordinary Advertisem ents the charge w ill be 3 1- an inch narrow colum n. “ AUSTRALIA INFEL IX .” “ B u t of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send, Save,save,oil save me from my can­ did friend. ” Canning’s couplet miglit have been studied with advantage by the writer who contributed a letter under the above signature to the Standard of Friday last on the subject of the Australian defeat at the Oval. Murdoch and his fellows may well pray to be defended from their friends if “ Australia Infelix” is a fair sample of the type. Such “ messen champions,” to use an expression of Sir Walter Scott, invariably injure rather than help the cause they seek to espouse. There is an old maxim to the effect that when you have a bad case it is politic to abuse the plaintiff’s attorney. The Australian apologist has followed an Old Bailey line of argument. He is evi­ dently not very certain of the justice of his plea when he seeks to explain away the Australian defeat by impugning the deci­ sions of the umpires. To a well-balanced mind it might possibly have occurred that such a line of procedure was, to say the least of it, in the worst of taste. For many reasons perhaps, it is apity that anyone so capable of speaking with authority 011 the correctness of tlie fiats of the officials should have de­ cided to conceal his identity under the shadow of anonymity. The mention of his name would in all probability have con­ vinced any sceptics ill-advised enough to believe that the umpire is in the best position to decide on such a fine point as a catch at the wicket of the absurdity of such notions. At the same time, from the standpoint of tlie Australian team, it is a pity that it should be considered imperative to have some kind of extenu­ ation in the event of an Australian defeat. To the credit of the team it can be said that only once before has such an excuse been required during the present tour, but the promptitude with which it appeared after the Oval reverse showed that it was there ready for the first occasion. It is much to be regretted that the Australians themselves do not more earnestly discourage tho tendency among some of their team to cavil at and dispute the decisions of umpires. By their actions it is to be feared that they have tacitly given encouragement to anony­ mous scribblers of the class of “ AustraliaTn- felix” to make charges against capable men, attacking them from behind a convenient shelter where they cannot be reached. Such expert cricketers as the Austra­ lians are should be superior to petty grievances above the feeling that they are in any danger of unfair play. They were thoroughly well beaten by the Players, and we cannot but think that “ the Australian version of this contest of giants,” as “ Aus­ tralia Infelix,” with the national propensity to “ blow,” terms his communication, would have been better reserved for the Colonial press. We have the greatest respect for the Australian team, one and all. Their victories have been well earned, and won as a rule by sheer good play. Their pluck in playing an uphill game has been frequently and unstintingly lauded. But at the same time they have had so much reason to be grate­ ful to fortune that they can hardly complaiu of some small slice of ill-luck. When they beat the Gentlemen at the Oval the same plea of luck was equally to be urged on behalf of the English Amateurs. Luck has always been a very important factor in cricket, and good or bad, the more equably it is taken the better for the enjoyment of the game. Form varies very materially in cricket, as every one knows. Some of the Amateurs whom the Australians defeated at the Oval were at the time neither in the best vein for run- getting nor for bowling, and last week the Australians themselves, at least some of them, were certainly not seen at their best. No one will dispute that things generally “ came of f ” well for the Players, but it was their own mistakes in the field and their own irresolute batting at the close that helped quite as much to produce the defeat of the Australians. Public opinion, which “ Aus­ tralia Infelix” with such modesty prejudges, would have, if only as a sign that the Australians can take a defeat like good sportsmen, preferred his silence if he has the slightest right to express with authority in any way the feelings of the team now over here.