Cricket 1883

34 CRICKET ; A W EEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. a p r i l 19 , isss. was rarely unsuccessful, and the close of the season found him at the top of the hatting averages with an aggregate of 822 for thirty completed innings. Last season witnessed his first appearance for the Gentlemen against the Players at the Oval, and he was only prevented by the interference of a county match from also assisting the Gentlemen at Lords. Mr. Read’s batting achievements recently in Australia are too fresh to need recapitulation. It need only be remarked that he has, as far as it is known, the best batting average of a very strong bat­ ting side. As an all-round cricketer Mr. Read has few superiors. With excellent defence he can hit very hard, and his driving is clean and powerful. In the field he is useful anywhere. In the “ country ” he is always reliable, being a safe catch, but close in he is equally good, and at point proved himself quite first-class last season. Were it not that it is deemed advisable to save his hands for batting he would be one of the best wicket-keepers, and in 1881—in proof of his skill behind the sticks—it may be stated that for Surrey against Yorkshire at Huddersfield, he “ kept” for Surrey during York­ shire’s long innings of 388 without an extra. Mr. Read also bowls lobs, but with no great success. As a cricketer he is best known, but in other sports he has also made his mark. In Association football he has already established his reputation, and in walking also won more than one prize. In skating he is no mean proficient, and as a billiard player it may safely be said that he is much above the general average o! amateurs. THE LONDON AND SUBURBAN CRICKET ASSOC IATION . W e have been favoured by the Hon. Sec. with the annexed details relative to this society :—- The following clubs now form the Associa­ tion :—- N o r th of T h am es . —Ariel, *Bees, Belmont, ‘ Bow and Bromley Institute, Christ Church United, ‘ Dartmouth Park, *Bdmonton, ‘ Fins­ bury, Greville, Harconrt, Havelock United, *Holborn, ‘ Hounslow, JuniorMiddlesex, Lower Clapton, Navarino, Shakespeare, St. James’s, Tottenham, Woodford Wells. S outh of T h am es . — ‘ Alleyn, *Balham, *Brixton Wanderers, Brockwell Park, ‘ Cham­ pion Hill, Columbia, ‘ Elm, ‘ Hanover United, ‘ Heathfield, ‘ Lennox, ‘ Lower Tooting, South­ wark Park, Star, ‘ Trafalgar, Zouave. *Those marked with an asterisk have already entered for the newly instituted Challenge Cup Competition. The rules for the Cup are as follows :—- 1. That two Cups be given annually for com­ petition between the registered Clubs of the Association: one to be competed for between such Clubs as are locatedNorth, and one between clubs South of the Thames. 2. That the fee to such competition for each club be 10s., exclusive of the annual subscrip­ tion, which must be paid to the Hon. Sec. on or before March 31st in each year. 3. That every club shall send to the Hon. Sec. of the Association a list of its bona fide playing members, fourteen days prior to the Competi­ tion, and only such members be entitled to play. 4. The names of the clubs shall be placed by the Committee in one lot, and shall be drawn from such lot in couples at a time. These couples shall compete with each other by the time specified by the Committee ; the names of the winning clubs of the first round shall be placed in a lot, drawn in couples, and compete 3 ,s in first round, and so on until the final ties be played, when the winning clubs shall be en­ titled to the Cups. 5. That in the event of a club drawing a “ bye, ” the Committee at the next drawing shall first draw a club to play against it, and then proceed to draw couples. 6. That no substitute, under any circum­ stances, be allowed to bat in any of the com­ petitions ; but in cases of accident or illness, the umpires may permit a substitute to field in such aplace as allowed by the Laws of Cricket. 7. The players for each team may be changed in the various Competitions, but no individual shall play for more than one club during the season. 8. That no professional shall take part in any competition. A professional shall be deemed to be a person who holds, or has held, a situation as professional bowler or groundman, or who is professionally engaged in clubs of the Associa­ tion, or any other club. 9. The Competitions shall take place on Saturdays, to commence not later than three o’clock, or such other days as the Committee shall approve. The umpires shall decide the time for drawing the stumps. In the event of the match not being played out, the same shall be decided by the first innings. If the first innings be not completed, the umpires may extend the time for drawing the stump3, if in their discretion by so doing the innings may be concluded. The drawn games or ties shall be played off by such dates as the Committee shall from time to time appoint. 10. That the clubs drawn together arrange between themselves upon what ground they will play their tie; but in case they cannot agree the Committee shall decide. The final ties shallbe played on whatever ground the Committee shall appoint, and the two innings shall be played o u t; for this purpose the Committee shall fix upon two days for the contest. Wickets to be pitched each day at 11 o’clock. 11. That the competing clubs shall mutually elect competent persons to act as umpires, if differences arise, the same to be appointed by the Committee. 12. That the umpires shall arrange the runs to be counted for the various boundary hits, and thay alone shall decide as to the match being commenced or continued in case of rain. 13. That notice of the result of each match, and a full copy of the score sheet, with bowling analysis on Doth sides, shall be sent by the Secretary of the winning club, or in the event of a drawn game or tie, by both the competing clubs, so as to be in the hands of the Hon. Sec. of the Association within three days of the date on which the match was played. 14. On all points of dispute conneoted with the play going on, the decision of the umpires shall be final. Any protest must be formally intimated to one of the umpires, and to the Captain of the other oompeting club ; and must be lodged with the Hon. Sec. of the Association within three days. 15. All questions of eligibility, qualification of competitors, &c., shall be referred to the Committee of the Association, whose decision shall be final. CANADIAN CRICKET. A valoeo correspondent, one of the most en­ thusiastic supporters of the game in the Dominion, sends us the following notes on Canadian cricket:—Cricket can never be to Canada what it is to England and Australia. Still it is hoped by many enthusiasts that the standard may be improved, and they will do all they can to carry out their desires. It certainly never will be allowed to die out entirely. The present season opens with brighter prospects than usual. One of our two cricketing colleges has obtained a professional to coach the boys, and the indications are that the other will follow suit ere long. This will naturally improve the quality of the cricket which these two schools have been in the habit of supplying. The great Northwest has thousands of British emigrants, who have found, and arc continually finding out, that they cannot do without cricket, and already clubs are being formed, which will doubtless make it the mostpopular game in that boundless region. In Ontario and Quebec, however, the noble game is under a cloud. That portion of the public to whom we look for spectators of our matches, deny their support, and give it to our so-called national game of Lacrosse. This game is much more interesting to the native Canadian, more on account of its exciting'nature than on the score of its doubtful nationality, and accounts for the preference shown. But one would think that the Anglo- Canadian portion of the population, which is very large, would exhibit more interest in the game they have played and seen played so often in England. Considerable interest was manifested when Mr. Fitzgerald’s team visited Canada iu ’71, but the bad show made against this and other teams which have visited us from time to time, has so disgusted them, that little by little their patronage has been withdrawn, and instead of ten or twenty thousand, our matches are seldom played before more than one or two hundred spectators. I am a Canadian myself, and a lover of cricket, but I cannot attempt to screen either myself or my fellow cricketers by hiding one particle of the truth. We do not deserve the public’s patronage. When we are able to win the annual match between the United States and Canada with an eleven of native Canadians, and afterwards oppose an English eleven without sustaining a very disastrous defeat, then we may fairly demand, and, I hope, obtain the patronage of the public. It is an uphill game to play, but is not cricket made up of such games, and have not the Aus­ tralians proved how easily a game can be pulled out of the fire when pluck and determination are brought to bear. I have some grounds therefore for hoping that cricket may yet flourish in Canada. JOTTINGS ON BOWLING.* B~i A l f r e d S h aw . H aving been asked by many prominent admirers of the game of Cricket to write a few hints on Bowling with a view to the instruction of young cricketers in this department of the game, I take advantage of the present favourable opportunity to do so. Practice .—In the first place a young player should learn to hold the ball properly—that is, well in the fingers—so that he may have good command over it. The ball should be held with all the fingers and thumb, although a great many bowlers prefer the thumb and two fingers only; but the former way is preferable, as it gives greater command over the ball, especially in wet weather. The next point to be observed is to always bowl on awicket of twenty-two yards length ; as, if this precaution is neglected in practice, when you come to bowl in a match, botli your pitch and judgment are entirely thrown away. Always try to hit the wicket as often as you can, to ensure straightness. Having accom­ plished this you can then begin to study pitch, The pitch is the greatest thing in bowling, and 3 Reprinted by permission from Shaw and Shrewsbury’s Price tyst, (A most artistic and useful work o( its kind.)