Cricket 1882

62 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. JUNE 8, 1882. T H E C R IC K E T E R S OF M Y T IM E . (B y J ohn N yren o f th e Hambledon Club.) N o. IV . About the period I have been describing, Noah Mann joined the Hambledon Club. He was from Sussex, and lived at North Chapel, not far from Petworth. He kept aninn there, and used to come a distance of at least twenty miles every Tuesday to practise. He was a fellow of extraordinary agility, and could perform clever feats of agility on horse­ back. For instance, when he has been seen in the distance, coming up the ground, one or more of his companions would throw down handkerchiefs, and these he would collect, stooping from his horse while it was going at full speed. He was a fine batter, a fine held, and the swiftest runner I ever remember. Indeed, such was his fame for speed, that whenever there was a match going forward, we were sure to hear of one being made for Mann to run against some noted competitors, and such would come from the whole country round. Upon these occasions he used to tell his friends, “ If, when we are halfway you see me alongside of my man, you may always bet your money upon me, for I am sure to win,” and I never saw him beaten. He was a most valuable fellow in the field, for besides being very sure of the ball, his activity was so extraordinary, that he would dart over the ground like lightning. In those days of fast bowl­ ing they would put a man behind the long-stop that he might cover both long-stop and slip; the man always selected for this post was Noah. Now and then little George Lear (whom I have already described as being a fine long-stop) would give Noah the wink to be on his guard, who would gather close behind him ; then George would make a slip on purpose and let the ball go by on purpose, when on the instant Noah would have it up and into the wicket-keeper’s hands, and the man was put out. This I have seen many times, and this nothing but the most accomplished skill in fielding could have achieved. Mann would, upon occasion, be employed as a change bowler, and in this department he was very extraordinary. He was left-handed, both as bowler and batter. In the former quality his merit con­ sisted in giving the curve to the ball the whole way. In itself it was not the first-rate style of bowling, but so very deceptive that the chief end was frequently attained. They who remember the dexterous manner with which the Indian jugglers communicated the curveto the balls they spin round their heads by a twist of the wrist or hand, will at once comprehend Noah’s curious feat in bowling. Sometimes when a batter had got into his hitting, and was scoring more than pleased our general, he would put Mann in to give him eight or twelve balls, and he almost always did so with good effect. Noah was a good batsman and a severe hitter; by the way, I have observed this to be a common quality in a left-handed man. The writer of this was in with him at a match at Windmill Downs, when by one stroke from a toss that he hit behind him, we gotten runs. At thi3 time the playing ground was changed from Broad Halfpenny to the above- named spot at the suggestion of the Duke of Dorset andthe other members, who complained of the bleak­ ness of the old place. The alteration was in this as in every other respect for the better, Windmill Down being one of the finest places for playing on I ever saw. The ground gradually declined every way from the centre; the fieldsmen therefore were compelled to look about them, and for this reason they became so renowned in that department of the game. At a match of the Hambledon Club against All England, the Club had to go in to get the runs, and there was a long number of them. It became quiet apparent that the game would be closely fought. Mann kept on worrying OldNyren to let him go in, and although he became quite indignant at his constant refusal, our general knew what he was about in keeping him back. At length when the last but one was out he sent Mann in. and there were then 10 runs to get. The sensation now all over the ground was greater than anything of the kind I have ever witnessed before or since. All knew the state of the game, and many thousands were hanging upon this narrow point. There was Sir Horace Mann, walking about outside, cutting down the daisies with his stick—a habit with him when he was agitated—the old farmers leaning for­ ward upon their tall staves, and the whole multitude perfectly still. After Noah had had one or two balls, Lumpy tossed one a little too far, when our fellow got in and hit out in his grand style. Six of the ten were gained. Never shall I forget the roar that followed this hit. Then there was a dead stand for some time, and no runs were made ; ultimately, however, he gained them all, and won the game. After he was out he upbraided Nyren for not putting him in earlier. 1 ‘ If you had let me go in an hour ago (said he), I would have servedthemiuthe same way.” But the old tactician was right, for he knew Noah to be a man of such nerve and self-possession, that the thought of so much depending upon him would not have the same paralyzing effect that it would upon many others. He was sure of him, and Noah afterwards felt the compliment. Mann was short in stature, and when stripped, as swarthy as a gipsy. He was all muscle, with no incum­ brance of flesh about him, remarkably broad in the chest, with large hips and spider legs. He had not an ounce of flesh about him but it was where it ought to be. He always played without his hat (the sun could not affect his complexion), and he took a liking to me as a boy, because I did the same. Poor Noah! His death was a deplorable one. Having been out shooting all day with some friends, they finished up their evening with a free carouse, and he could not be persuaded to go to bed, but persisted in sleeping all night in his chair in the chimney corner. It was, and still is, the custom in that part of the country to heap together all the ashes on the hearth, for the purpose of keeping in the fire all the next day. During the night my poor playmate fell upon the embers, and being un­ able to help himself, burned his side so severely that he did not survive twenty-four hours. Richard Francis. —One day I met him in the street of Hambledon, and ran to tell our general that the famous Francis had come to live among u s ; he could scarcely believe me—perhaps for joy. This was the luckiest thing that could have happened for us, for Brett had just about the same time left off playing. Francis was a fast jerker, but though his delivery was allowed to be fair bowling, still it was a jerk. We enlisted him immediately, for we all knew what he could do, having seen him play on the Surrey side against us. At that time he was a young man, and he remained many years in the club. He was a gamekeeper, a closely made fine little man, and active. His batting, however, does not deserve any marked praise, still we always set him down for a few runs. He was both a better batter, however, and field, too, than Brett, but as a bowler he ranked many degrees below that fine player. About the same period Richard Purchase joined us. He was a slowish bowler—rather faster than Lord Beauclerc. His balls got up uncommonly well, and they were generally to a length. But he had no cunning about him, nor was he up to the tricks of the game. In playing, as in all other actions in life, he was the same straight-forward honest fellow. Purchase was a fair batter and a tolerably good field. ' He was a slightly made man, and of a dark complexion. At this great distance from the period at which my recollection tf cricketing commenced, and having no data by which to regulate them, the reader will good-naturedly make allowance both for the desultory character of my records, their un­ finished and hasty sketchiness, and also for my now and then retracing my steps to include some circumstances which at the time of writing had escaped me. For instance, I should have chronicled the era when the old-fashioned wicket of two stumps was bhanged to three —a decided improvement, seeing that it multiplied the chances to the batter of being bowled out, consequently increased the difficulty of his position, and thereby exalted his maintaining it for any length of time into the greater merit; for under the old system if the ball passed between the stumps, the batter was not con­ sidered out. Under the improved system such an event cannot happen, for the three stumps are not pitched at so great a distance from each other as to allow the transit of the ball without knocking off the bails. This explanation is, of course, addressed only to the young and inexperienced player. Tbe important reforms in the game here alluded to took place, according to the best of recollection, about the year 1779 or 1780. Since that time other entrenchments have been made upon the old con­ stitution, which was the pride of our ancestors, and the admiration of the whole community, but which so far from contributing to its stability, will, in my opinion, if not retrieved, not only essentially change, but even destroy its character. Let the patrician legislators and guardians of cricket law look to it. (T o be continued.) > £ C 0 I ^ E $ P 0 p E ? i C E > G E N T L E M E N v. A U S T R A L I A . 10 THE EDITOR OF “ CRICKET.” S ir , —As the above will be the Gala Match of tho season, and as the Club have let seats for the three days ( very properly) at high prices, would it not be well to provide for a single-wicket match, five a-side, to commence in the event of the match terminating early on Saturday ? Few cricketers have ever seen a match of this kind, as it is old-fashioned. I have seen them in the past, and have played in them ; and as all hits, byes, &o., count as at double-wicket, they afford more scope for brilliant fielding and activity than the double-wicket game. Yours obediently, AN OLD BUFFER. SURREY COUNTY CRICKET. TO THE EDITOR OF “ CRICKET.” D ear S ir ,— C an y o u in any w a y en ligh ten you r readers on th e above su b ject ? I ca n w ell rem em b er the palm y d ay s w h en th e Surrey eleven ca rried a ll be fo re them , an d feel sure th a t th ey w ou ld now ren der a g o o d accou n t o f th em sevles c o u ld th ey brin g th eir fu ll stren gth to b ea r against their antagon ists in th e field. Why is it that we never see now playing for the county such cricketers as Messrs. S. H. Akroyd, W. H. Game, S. W. Cattley, and C. C. Clarke ? The answer cannot be “ want of practice” or “ out of form,” for I never pick up your paper or the Field without seeing large scores attached to their names. Of course their runs are constantly made against very inferior bowling, but for all that their fielding ought to secure them, one and all , a place in the county eleven, and I sincerely hope that the Match Committee will use their best endeavours to secure the services of some of these gentlemen in the ensuing matches v. Gloucester, Kent, Sussex, &c. I think also it would greatly add to the strength of the county if Mr. A. P. Lucas (to my mind the best all-round cricketer in the world) could be persuaded to devote a little more of his time to his county’s interests. Why he should prefer to play v. Oxford University, when Surrey and Nottingham are opposed to each other, I fail to see. But doubtless he has some good reason for so unpa' triotic aperformance. To conclude, let me heartily congratulate the Match Committee on their selecting “ Jones” to play for the county again. If I mistake not he has been on the shelf, and seems, like good wine, to have improved with keeping. In him the county