Cricket 1884

8 CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. jan. si, im . B O Y L E & S C O T T ’ S AUSTRALIAN C R I C K E T E R S ’ G U I D E , 1 8 8 2 -3 . With full and complete account of Hon, Ivo Bligh’s Team in Australia, The Austra­ lians in England, America and Australia; Inter-Colonial Matches, Club Averages, and other Interesting Matter. PR ICE 2s. 6 d. PUBLISHED BY W R I G H T & CO . (T h e C ric k e t P r ess ), I T , P at er no st er S q u a r e , LONDON, E.C. N O T I C E S . Vol. II. is now ready. It contains P ortraits and B iographies of Twenty - One celebrated Cricketers, together with the most reliable Australian News, P avilion G ossip , Special Articles by Author of “ C ricket F ie l d ,” and the Best Writers on Cricket. C ricket can be had at W. H. Smith and Son's Book Stalls, and of all Newsagents. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. C ricket will beforwarded by first post after publica­ tion to any address in Great Britain, fo r twelve months , on receipt o f a Postal Order for 6 *. or Is. 8 d. fo r six Winter Numbers (with three last issues). Post Office Orders and Cheques can be made payable to W . R. W r ig h t , at the head office , and crossed “ London and County, Holborn.” C ricket is registered for transmission abroad and can be sent post free , at the regular newspaper rates ofvostage to any part o f the world. The remaining issuesfo r the Winter are Thursday, Feb, 28. I Thursday, &ar. 28 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 3/- per inch narrow column. Th e next number of Cricket w ill be published on February 28, 1884. Ctrtcftet: A. WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1884. ^ * P 7I Y I M 0 N v 6 ^ I P ^ The abstract and brief chronicle of the time.— Hamlet. M b . L. W> S t o b a b t , of 12, The Paragon, Blacklieatli, who was eight years in New Zealand, writes me as follows:— I see in “ Pavilion Gossip ” of last month’s number of C r ic k e t , that you are puzzled by an expression ih an Australian paper ( The Leader) of a “ fossicking secretary,” and want to know the meaning of the word ‘‘ fossicking.’’ It is a good digger’s term for a man who goes about hunting over all sorts of little streams and gullies in the hope of finding gold, and more especially on find­ ing colour (i.e ., gold), instead of trying down to the bottom of the wash dirt, tries for pockets under big stones or where there have been old pools of water. It is a common colonial term. I have often heard a man called an “ old fossicker,” or another referred to as given to “ fossicking all over the place.” As to “ striking a patch,” you are quite right; it means finding gold, instead of finding or “ striking ile,” as the Yanks say. I am lather surprised that after three teams of Australians have played over here the word “ fossick ” is still unknown. I think if there were a few more “ fossicking secre­ taries ” in this country, especially in the South, the game would be improved so far as unearthing likely talent goes. Mb. H. E. P e t h e r ic k , lately the Assistant Sec. of the South Melbourne Club, also writes me on the same subject:— This word, 1 fossicking,” which you refei to as coming from Australia, probably origi­ nated in California. It was a name given to those who hunted about the gold fields in search of the rich ore, and may have been formed from the words “ fossil’’ and “ seeker.” When the writer in the Melbourne Leader speaks of Mr. H. H. Budd (Hon. Sec. East Melbourne Club) as “ that prince of fossick­ ing Secretaries,” he referred to that gentle­ man as a noted hunter, and I can certify a most successful discoverer of cricketing talent amongst junior players. A m o n g the notices of forthcoming marriages is that of Mr. R. M. Curteis, of Windmill Hill Place, Sussex, with Miss Florence Sutton. Mr. Curteis was in the Westminster Eleven of 1867-68-69-70 (captain in the last- named year), and subsequently on some few occasions played for Sussex. From Westminster he went to Oxford, where his father, Mr. Herbert Curteis, was also educated. The latter repre­ sented Oxford against Cambridge in 1841 and 1842, and also played for Sussex. He was for several years President of the Sussex County Club. T h e cricketers of Victoria have recently been in a state of perturb­ ation over the action of the Melbourne Club in refusing to play off its match with South Melbourne for the Chal­ lenge Cup. It appears that the Com­ mittee of the Victorian Association ordered the match to be begun on the 3rd of November, but to this Melbourne objected on the ground that they could not comply then with rule 8, which provides that five days previous to the match a list of players from which the eleven were to be selected should be sent to the oppo­ site club. In consequence of the non- appearance of the Melbourne team on the appointed day, the match was awarded to South Melbourne by the Cup Committee. At a subsequent special meeting of the Association a resolution was carried by one vote that in so deciding the Cup Committee had exceeded its powers, but at a later meeting this was rescinded by a large majority, and as a consequence the action of the Cup Committee was confirmed. The attitude of the Mel­ bourne Club, as far as I can gather from the Australian press, has been generally condemned. T h e Melbourne pavilion clock is in danger. Bonnor— my good friend and gossip, “ Felix,” in the Australa­ sian, says—is going for it. According to “ Felix,” 30 to 1 has been laid that the giant will neither hit nor break the clock this season, either in a match or at practice, and a well-known player who has taken the odds is determined that Bonnor shall have plenty of practice to enable him to perform the feat. Every variety of ball calculated to result in a big hit will be bowled to the giant, and every effort will be made so that the tra­ jectory of the leather may be as nearly as possible in a direct line for the clock dial. I quite agree with “ Felix ” that “ if the giant can man­ age to get one stroke fair home on the dial plate, the hours of that clock are numbered. It certainly will never be able to come up to time again.” In C r ic k e t of Dec. 27 I made some slight comment on a proposed altera • tion in Law Ten, by the Earl of Bess- borough. Since those remarks ap­ peared Lord Bessborough has received communications from a few cricketers who were of opinion that by the words “ downward action of the elbow,” all high bowling would be made unfair. There seems to be some confusion be­ tween downward action of the arm, which would of course stop all high bowling, and downward action of the elbow, which would not of course affect the height of the arm. It is the elbow alone which furnishes positive proof of the throw, and it is to that part of the arm only that the eye of the um­ pire need be especially directed when he has any suspicion of a throw. Lord Bessborough has, however, slightly altered his suggested law, and this is the amended form in which it i Next Issue of CRICKET will be published Thursday, February 28.