Cricket 1883

march 16, 1883. CRICKET; A "WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 19 ADVICE TO YOUNG PLAYERS. From Boyle and Scott’s Australian Annual. 1. practising at a net or otherwise, Vie as careful as y o u ......,,,, in a matcli. 2. Avoid all “ swagger* au« —„ onpj attitudes in batting, which look bad, and often hua .. , man play late at a ball. 3. Remember all balls cannot be h it: some must be played. Too great an impatience to score is very unwise, for the loose balls are certain to come if you wait. When you do hit, hit hard, and do not hesitate; many catches are given through half-hearted hitting. 4. Do not let a slow howler frighten you into playing back at every ball he bowls, whether it be a half volley or not. This is often the case with young batsmen, especially if the bowler has a reputation, and batsmen in this way often make easy balls unplayable. Only in hitting go forward far enough so as to keep the ball on the ground. 5. Every youngster should practise bowling till he can bowl straight and a good length. Great pace, break, and spin are natural to some bowlers, and one perhaps not to be learnt by others ; but everyone can acquire straighness and good pitch by practice, and thus make him­ self a useful change bowler. A bowler of this sort can always stay the ran getting, and take the wickets of careless batsmen, or those who do not play with a straight bat. C. Practise fielding at all distances—stopping, picking up, throwing in, and catching. Remember if you are a bat, you may be unlucky ; if you are a bowler, the wicket may not suit you, or you may be out of form ; but if you are a good field you are certain to save your side more runs than many of your opponents will make in their individual innings. 7. Never be so certain of victory as to think it unnecessary to try your hardest. The chances of cricket are manifold. 8. Never lose heart, or be nervous. Re­ member, the weaker side often wins ; the last wickets often put on more runs than the best ones; and a player whose reputation may frighten you is not certein to come off. Do not let want of confidence take the dash out of your play, and so make average bowlers as effective against you as so many Palmers, Boyles, or Spofforths. 9. Never miss a chance of a run, as stolen runs disceoncert the bowler and demoralise the field. At the same time, be careful, as other­ wise you will perhaps endanger your partner’s wicket as well as your own, and perhaps even losej he match for your side. Never fail to “ back u p; ” run hard when called ; keep your bat on the ground at the run in. A “ run out” should be a rare occurrence, and should always P6 the result of good fielding, and never of bad judgment on the part of the runners. 10. Remember some one has to go in last. Always obey the captain—never argue. Never let your own ill luck affect your temper so much as to be noticeable in your play. U. Every one must have noticed how frequently the aspect of a match has been altered after luncheon. At a cricket lunch enough is better than a feast, and every superfluous mouthful you eat means so much less activity, and every unnecessary pull at the shandygaff deteriorates those visionary powers °u which all cricketers so much depend. \fJ,TKRS, ^ar^ on Club, Australia, did some aPid scoring against the Hotham bowlers on an. 6. The latter team put together 92, and at of* ({ <^ock Carlton had lost five wickets for 84, which Walters, who did nearly all the scoring, tfwi ^ no* ou*’ a Pretty g°ocl proportion to fall 10 lot of one batsman.— Leader, Jan. 13. CRICKET IN NORTH WALES. T h e prospects of the coming season, writes a cor­ respondent, are indeed bright, taking into consideration the lack of matches in former years. Carnarvonshire is lucky in having at last found such a patron of cricket as Mr. 5jHv,nvpiatt, of Bryn-y-neuadd, Llanfairfechan. That genMc— ij^t season laid down a magnificent ground in nis ^ 1 - au(j he has this season arranged a first class list ot diw ««s ex_ tending from May till September. During the summer time, the premier club of England is to visit his ground also some of the prin­ cipal London and Dublin clubs, in addition to others of local fame. He has also taken another step in the right direction, which, if well sup­ ported as it should be by all Carnarvonshire club3 will help to discover and develop promising young talent in North Wales. I refer to the arrangement of a oolts’ match, though it would have been better could it have been played earlier in the season. The Bryn-y- neuadd club has made fixtures with Bagillt, Beaumaris School, Stanley Club Liverpool, Crewe, Werneth, Friars School, Bangor, Llan- wrst, Liverpool Club and Ground, PhtBnix Dub­ lin, Leinster Dublin, Vale of Clwyd, Revellers, Incogniti, Neer-do-Weels, South Wales, Rossall School, M.C.C. and Ground, and Bangor. Passing on some nine miles further into Welsh Wales, we come to the ancient city of Bangor. Here again cricketers are not letting the grass grow under their feet, and already their matcli list is full. The club engagements are with Stanley Park, Liverpool, Lienster, In­ cogniti, Irish Civil Service, Argyle Liverpool, St'ygians and Bryn-y-Neuadd, a creditable programme, considering that the club is still in its infancy, being only of four years standing. Last season sixt sen matches were played, eight of which they won, six were lost, and two drawn. The Llandudno club unfortunately has been allowed to collapse, but othsrs are coming to the front. Conway are about to take the field again. Carnarvon Athletic have retired, but in their stead is a thriving youngster known as the Carnarvon Colts, which I believe embodies the Carnarvon Training College, and united ought to place a team in the field well capable of holding its own. Of school clubs, strange to say there is only the Friars, Bangor, which has a goodly number of matches arranged. Although cricket in Car­ narvonshire has been neglected, there is the right stuff in it if only the proper means of finding it out are utilised. Now that such an enthusiastic sportsman as Mr. Platt has taken the initiative, there is little doubt that a few years will witness a great development of the game in these parts. Asn’c a l M eeting of C o o t t y S e c r e t a r ie s .— - At the annual meeting of Secretaries of County clubs held at London, December 5th, two im­ portant resolutions were carried. The first was that each county send in two names of umpires to the Secretary of the Maiylebone Club before the commencement of each season, and that the Marylebone committee then select two for each match, provided that no umpire stands in a match in which his own county is engaged. Each umpire to be paid five pounds per match irrespective of distance. The other was an un­ animous- recommendation to the committee of the Marylebone Club to add the following to the laws of cricket:—That the captain of the match be at liberty to have the wicket rolled for ten minutes before the commencement of play on the second and third days of a match. In a match at Moradabad on November 27th, between two companies of 51st Regiment, Private Davis scored fifty runs in eight hits—one eight, one seven, five sixes and one five. THE SOUTHERN CROSS IN DARKNESS. The Melbourne Argus indulges in a little good- natured satire on the effusive article which ap­ peared in the Daily News on the result of the now historical message, misinforming the English public as to the result of the first match of Mr. Bligh’s men against Murdoch’s team. A London contemporary, the Daily Newi, will rejoice, to hear that there is no] reason for; its supposition that “ the Southern Cross has gone out in darkness.” On tho other hand, it may be saddened by the knowledge that, contrary to its anticipations, “ the pride of the colonial cricKei.cwo ” has not’‘ been humbled.” As to the astro­ nomical phenomenon predicted, we have to report that tho somewhat overpraised Southern Cross continues to duly perform its (apparent) gyrations, accompanied by tho brilliant Alpha and Beta Centauri, by the mysterious “ coal hole,” and by the striking clouds of Magellan, the whole constituting a pleasing and familiar spectacle, from which we could not bear to part. The Australian Eleven is all there also. As Palmer, tho premier bowler of the team, has re­ covered from his injury, it is not too much to say that the eleven is in better form than it was when it met Mr. Hornby’s selection for England on the Oval. Indeed, it has shown this by defeating the fine team captained by the Hon. Ivo. Bligh by nine wickets. The English team is pronounced by cricketing experts the most dashing we have had out here, and everyone is pleased that it is ac­ quitting itself with general credit. If the Daily News limits its remarks to the provinces, it can make out a fair case for saying that the “ Hon. Ivo Bligh’s team has been as successful in the colonies as Mr. Murdoch’s Australian Eleven was in England.” But all that the remark means is that a picked English Eleven will beat second and third rate colonial teams as readily, or nearly as readily, as a picked Australian Eleven will defeat similar teams at home. No one would think of denying such a proposition. Our relative population prevents us bringing anything like as many first-class teams into the fieldas are to be met within England, and all that we can venture to assert is that when we put together our best eleven it is remarkably hard to overcome. But the formation of that eleven is a drain upon the colonies, and as it took no part in the contests prior to the New Year’s day match, the Hon. Ivo Bligh had little difficulty in disposing of scattered towns and weakened celonies. Victoria was what Lancashire would be if the six leading players were taken from the county team, and New South Wales was what Yorkshire would be under similar conditions— and we have no other cricketing pro­ vinces. With the NewYear the English eleven ceased their promenade, and began a series of matches in Melbourne and Sydney with the cricketing strength of the colonies in united and in separate elevens. These will fairly test the strength of our visitors. Australia has made an au 3 picuous commencement, but there is no undue exultation amongst cricketers. Our players know that in the English cricketers they have redoubtable foes, and we are glad to record that the British team is as personally popular as it is profession­ ally respected. Beverting to astronomy for an illustration, we may prophesy that the comments upon any victory the Hon. Ivo Bligh may achieve will display the friendly influ­ ence of the Cross rather than tho grudging auspices of the Bear. WHAT THE PRESS TH INKS OP “ CR ICKET .” That excellent weekly paper C r icket . The Pavilion Gossip is as racy as of yore .—Sheffield Telegraph, Feb. 24. This interesting weekly record of the game.— Sussex Daily News, Feb. 24. That neatly got up little periodical .—Athletic Neios, Feb. 21. This excellent publication .—Liverpool Post, Feb 23. This popular little record of our national summer game .—Land and Water, Feb. 21. The paper so ably conducted.— Echo, Feb. 19. Instructive articles.— Daily Chronicle. That very useful and readable journal. Sup­ porters and admirers of the great summer game can certainly find in its pages much that will interest them .—Nottingham Guardian, Feb. 24. C r icket , an interesting contemporary, whose re-appearanee I am much pleased to note.— Figaro, Feb. 24. N e w Z e a l a n d can claim a Thornton of its own, if a big hit recently chronicled in the Canterbury Times is not a creation. According to that paper, one C. Cox, of Wanganui, New Zealand, hit a ball over a hedge, which stood by measurement 156 yards from the wicket. T he annual dinner of the Nondescripts Club will take place at the Holborn Restaurant, on Friday, April 27th.