Cricket 1883

APRIL 26, 1883. CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 57 bition. The recent petition of the Green­ wich District Board of Works, “ that this board, having in view the importance of Blackheath being continued as hereto­ fore as a place for the playing of recrea­ tive games, more especially of cricket, expresses a hope that the Metropolitan Board will permit all local clubs to roll, mow, and water such portions of the heath as is suitable for this purpose,” is a moderate one, and cannot be received with disfavour by the authorities. It will meet with the approval of the hundreds whose only chance of recreation would be considerably curtailed, if not altogether destroyed, were the threat of the Metropolitan Board to prevent all pre­ parations of ground to be rigidly enforced The matter is one of almost vital im­ portance to a by no means uninfluential section of cricketers, and the necessity of combined action is evident. On Monday night it was the subject of a question in the House of Commons, and the reply of Sir James McGarel-Hogg to the enquiry of Mr. Firth, was not altogether satis­ factory. The Chairman of the Board of Works, in his answer to the Member for Chelsea, stated that the Board “ had not issued, nor were they about to issue, regulations which would have the effect of ‘ prohibiting cricket, football, and all athletic sports ’ on Blackheath, Peckham Rye, and all other open spaces in Lon­ don. The regulations which the Board had made were merely such as were necessary in the interests of the general public.” No one has ventured to hint that the intention of the Board was to prohibit the sports specifically referred to. The objection o f those who have disagreed with its action is that in seeking to pre­ vent the preparation of grounds, it will not only jeopardise the existence of clubs who have spent much money and labour on the improvement of certain portions without detriment to the general interests, but also invest the pursuit of cricket with risks which, under the old system—-at least, in many cases— were unknown. Y o rksh ire C olts M atch . —The following have been selected for the match to be played at Bramall Lane Grounds, Sheffield, on Monday and Tuesday, May 28 and 29. Thomas Bur­ gess (Harrogate), Edwin Bowman (York), W. H. Blower (Keighley), John Bates (Hudders­ field), B. C. Bolton (Hull), S. Crossland (Wake­ field), G. Cooper (Sheffield), James A. Duroit (Leeds), Harry Haley (Wakefield), W. Harris (Parkgate), G. P. Harrison (Scarborough), J. M. Preston (Kawdon), T. B. Pullan (Beestou), Joe Redfern (Lascelles Hall), W. H. Bamsbottom Wakefield), Charlie Smith (Calverley), E. Skill- beck (Hovingham), James Sykes (Straithwaite), J. E. Shilton (Wakefield), John Wadsworth (Rawdon), Thomas Wardell (Middlesborough), and S. E. Yeoman (Scarborough). S core sheets for forwarding matches to C ricket can be had at the Office, 17, Paternos- ter-Bquare, London, E .C ., price 9d. a dozen.— Advi. - ^ p ^ Y m i 0 N v 6 0 g g i P ^ The abstract and brief chro .lcle of the time.— Hamlet. T he details of the last match of Mr. Bligh’s team in Australia are now to hand, and the whole statistics of the tour are engaging the attention of English cricketers. Of the seventeen matches played in the colonies, nine were won, five drawn, and three lost. Considering that the team was anything but represen­ tative of the full strength of England, the results must be regarded as satisfac­ tory. Indeed,when it is taken into account that their only fast bowler, Morley, of whose pluck in playing up with the injury to his rib too much cannot be written in praise, they deserve the warmest con­ gratulations on their successes. As Mr. Bligh remarked, too, at the farewell dinner, they were to a certain extent unlucky in travelling 16,000 miles to play Spofforth on a dry wicket, only to meet with an exceptionally wet season for Australia which did not give full scope for the full display of their bat­ ting strength. More than one of the team were at times on the sick list, so that they were not seen to the best advantage. In the face of much ill-luck their suc­ cesses were very creditable, and their two victories in the three matches against Murdoch’s eleven would alone satisfy the majority of English critics. O n the whole they were a fine fielding side, and their shortcomings on some occasions in this respect must alone have been attributable to the glaring light of Australian grounds. Mr. Read batted most consistently of the twelve, but the last match deprived him of the premier place in the batting tables, and Mr. A . G. Steel took a double first, heading the bowling as well as the batting averages. T he Lancashire amateur’s figures are perhaps the best by an English player in any of the Colonial trips, and his cricket allround was quite tlie feature of the tour. Mr. Leslie began with some high scoring, but fell off towards the end, and Messrs. C. T . Studd and Tylecote showed good cricket, though the former was hardly up to his English form of last season. Mr. G. B. Studd and Barnes did little with the bat, but the former’s fielding was throughout most brilliant, and Mr. Tylecote’swicket-keepingwas also deserv­ ing of high praise. T he fixtures of the Wiltshire Club for the season have now been definitely concluded. They are as follows :— June 28 and 29, at Marlborough, v. Maryle­ bone Club and Ground. July 11 and 12, at Marlborough, v. Surrey Club and Ground. August 3 and 4, at Trow­ bridge, v. Dorsetshire. August 9 and 10, at Kennington Oval, v. Surrey Club and Ground. August 24 and 25, at Lord’s, v. Marylebone Club and Ground. I t will not be the fault of the inde­ fatigable Hon. Sec., Mr. W. S. Bam- bridge, if Wiltshire does not prove to be a formidable rival to some of the minor counties. The Wiltshire Eleven for this year will include Messrs. W . J. Ford, H. Leaf, F. C. Batson, A. S. Batson, E . W. Wallington, Haggard and Potter, with some of the most prominent of the Marlborough College Eleven. O n Saturday evening next cricketers will have an opportunity of spending a pleasant hour or two at the Polytechnic, Young Men’s Christian Institute, 809, Regent Street. In response to an invita­ tion from some of the chief supporters of the Institution, Mr. Frederick Ga'e has consented to deliver a lecture on “ Cricket and other English sports,” illustrated by numerous cartoons. The chair will be taken by the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton. The syllabus is as follows :— Cricket:— Its history in the earlier days of thelast century, the old Bat and Ball at Hambledon, the Marylebone Club a century ago, patriarchs of the game, their hardiness and manners, old games from which Cricket sprang, description of a match in the last century, progress of thegame,first days of round-arm bowling, pre-railway Cricket, the grand old Kent and Sussex Elevens, Clarke’s tour with the All England Eleven, the first English visit to Australia, Inter-Colonial matches, Cricket of the past and of to-day, the great cricketing families, a day in a cricket ball factory, a modern Rip Van Winkle in an old cricket town, captaincy, individual influence, net practice, throw­ ing instead of bowling. Football— Association and Rugby, lacrosse, bi­ cycling, boxing, swimming, racquets, lawn tennis, and use and abuse of sports. T he American Cricketers’ Association is also impressed with the necessity of a revision of the laws of the game, if the action attributed to that body is correct. It has, it is said, appointed a special committee to revise the playing code of cricket ru’ es. The intent on is not to