Cricket 1882

84 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. JUKE 15, 1882. C R I C K E T ! L A W N 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 bo had post free. Shippers supplied at 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 1£ ounces lighter than any other B at; universally allowed to be the greatest improvement made in Bats since cane handles wera 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. C R I C K E T . A W e e l d y R e c o r d o f I l i e G a m e . THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1882. ‘ C r ic k e t ” this w eek consists o f sixteen p a g es a w l a w ra pper. T his gives fo u r p a ges m ure than last week, an d is th e second enlargem ent in the six w eeks since the in stitu tion o f the p a p e r . “ C ricket ” can b e had at W. H. Smith & Son’s Book Stali3. The first number is out of print. :-0 F v g a B g C ^ I P T J © ^ “ C r ic k e t ” is published at 17, Paternoster Square, London, E.C., and will be forwarded to any ad­ dress in Ordat Britain , for the Season of 18 weeks, including piesent issue, for 3/0 in time for first post on Thursday Morning. It is requested that Postal Orders (not Stamps) be sent for Sub­ scriptions and Scores. The.y can be made payable to W . R . W rig h t , at the head office, and crossed London and County , Holborn. ‘ * C ricket ” is registered f o r transmission abroad and can be sent, post fr e e , at the regular newspaper rates o f postage to a n y p a rt o f the world . Reading Cases fo r holding four numbers of “ Cricket ” can now be had at the Office, price 2/-. TO ADVERTISERS. “ C ricket ” presents an unequalled mediumfo r announcements in connection with the game. The scores o f most o f ths principal Clubs will appear exclusively in its columns , and there is already a large number o f subscribers, including most o f the leading players o f the day. “ C r ic k e t ” will be filed too for reference in the Pavilions o f all the principal Clubs » and it will thus appeal directly to every class o f cricketer. A limited number of high-class Advertisements will be taken on terms to be obtained of the Manager. For ordinary Advertisements the charge will be 31- an inch narrow column. A DIVIDED DUTY. A n o t h e r momentous issue lias been raised by Australian cricketers. It may appear to some of us a trivial matter as to the exact person responsible for the due regula­ tion of the stipulated time allowed for th use of the roller. But it must be remem­ bered that “ great events from trivial causes spring.” To use the effective figure of speech of Sergeant Buzfuz, in reference to the present of the warming-pan by Mr. Pick­ wick to the Widow Bardell, it may be “ a cover for hidden fire.” There may be more in the protest of the Australian captain against the appearance of Captain Holden, the hon. sec. of the Notts County Club, on what he calls the playing rink than meets the eye. We have been used to regard the roller as a harmless machine, devised in the special interests of batsmen, rather than one calculated to promote strife on the cricket field. We are, though, it must be admitted, a dull, plodding, almost effete nation, or we should have recognised the importance to be attached to any usurpa­ tion of vested rights, even in the matter of a roller. It had never occurred to us that there would, however, be a dispute to define its custody between the innings. The re­ port of the disagreement between Captain Holden and Mr. Murdoch, the captain of the Australian eleven, on the Trent Bridge Ground on Thursday last, shows how we had underrated the importance of the issues at stake. Mr. Murdoch’ s version of the disagreement may be given in his own words :— After the conclusion of the first innings of my team, considerably more than ten minutes, the interval allowed between innings according to the Trent Bridge Ground Rules, had elapsed, and the bell for play had been rung, but the roller was still on the wickets, and consequently I told the man in charge of the roller to remove it. Captain Holden, to my astonishment, in a most imperious tone told the men not to remove the roller, and to take no orders from anyone but himself. I immediately pointed out to Captain Holden that he had no right whatever inside the playing rink at that time, and requested him to leave the ground but it was not until the first two batsmen of the Notts team had almost reached the creases that Captain Holden complied with my request. So far there is little to show, except that the diplomatic relations between the repre­ sentative official of the Notts County Club and the captain of the Australian team were evidently strained to their utmost tension. The above remarks simply prove a material difference of opinion between the two per­ sons interested on the subject of the duties of a secretary, and they are worth, of course, nothing more than individual opinions usually are. But when the Australian captain goes on to “ emphatically assert, confident in the support of all crick­ eters, that it is “ no part of an honorary secretary’s duty to see wickets rolled,” he exposes himself to an answer distinctly in the negative, at least as far as English customs go. According to the strict ruling of the game, it is no doubt the duty of the captain of a side to attend to the due pre­ paration of the ground between the innings. The question may pertinently be asked, is every duty in cricket duly fulfilled ? We think not. It is distinctly laid down in the rules that the umpires shall pitch the wickets, but is not this practice obsolete, as many others in connection with the game ? Many other cases might be instanced in which custom has superseded the written as well as the unwritten law ; but this will be enough. To argue that the chief official of a club has no right even on the playing por­ tion of a ground when the game is for the time suspended, is, we cannot but think, manifestly absurd. What is the custom on Australian grounds we know not, nor would it affect the question here. We hold that the Captains are undisputably the masters of the position while the match is going on, and that any interference with them, even by a secretary, would be altogether out of place. But when the innings is over the case is entirely altered. On English grounds the captain of even the visiting team is not troubled with the unwholesome dread of un­ fair play, and he is content to leave the general arrangements in the hands of the officers of the home club. We do not for one moment deny that it is the province of the captain to see that every precaution is taken in the way of improving the wicket for the benefit of his side. On the other hand we assert as emphatically as Murdoch has, that the practice in England is more honoured in the breach than in the obser­ vance. We regret sincerely that there should have been a disposition on the part of any English officer to treat the Australian players without the full courtesy they deserve. A little tact on both sides might have solved even such a huge difficulty as that to which we refer. At the same time, while it is the general rule that the ground officials are responsible for the impartial use of that machine in the interests of each side, it is difficult to see how the hon. sec. of the Notts County Club could be out of order in superintending the arrangements. To quote Othello, “ I do perceive here a divided duty.” By all means let us have this great question settled and for ever. Is it the duty of the secretary or the captain to see that the wicket is rolled ? Like the policeman in the Pirates of Penzance, a secretary’s lot is often not a happy one. If it is a part of the captain’s duty to attend to the roller, let him do it and thoroughly. We commend under these circumstances to his notice the sentiments of Captain Beece in the “ Bab Ballads” in answer to his coxswain, “ I quite agree,” he said, “ 0 , B ill! It is my duty, and I will.” S peech Day at Cheltenham College is fixed on June 30th. Any O.C.’s who care to play in any of the matches would greatly oblige by writing to C. E. Greenway, Cheltenham College. C r ick et . — A song, written and composed by J- H. Smith, and dedicated to A. N. Hornby, Esq. “ It will be welcomed heartily by all lovers of the manly and truly national British game.”— Era. Post free, 18stamps, of the author, 22, Clifton-street, Wolverhampton.— [ A d v t . ]