Cricket 1884

MAY 1,1884. CRICKET; A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. 83 “ A pig—prize to whoever catches him by the tail.” Such was the programme of the sports which amused the homely old king and his family. The ‘ ‘ grinning ’ ’ and the1 pig-catch- ing” would be comical enough, and the queen doubtless during the day received many a puih in the side from her royal spouse, as was his custom when pleased, accompaniedwith the exclamation, “ That’s good, eh ! Charlotte.” Englishmen,from the highest to the lowest, have in all ages evinced a most ardent pre- deliction for athletio sports. The chase, tilting, and archery, along with quarter staff, were the sports and recreations of youth and manhood in the middle ages ; and thus were trained to the valour, hardihood and pluck that triumphed at Creasy and Agin- court, and have carried tho proud banner of St. George victorious over many famous battlefields. In these latter days, have not cricket and other contemporary sports had somewhat to do in forming the physique and muscle of men who fought in the Crimea or who tramped out the embers of mutiny in India? Surely it is believable that many a young warrior, at his first entry on active servioe, has had reason to thank the training he received in the cricket field. Indeed, the game is one whioh, while giving health, vigour and energy to the frame, has also a good sound moral tendency. It demands the exercise of both the physical and intellectual powers, requiring at once a cool head, a steady hand and a sharp eye, as woll as sound judgment. What the cultured brain wills to be done the trained arm must strive to exeoute. Tho game is, in short, beneficial in a double sense, conferring on the body health, and on the mind that calm, deliberate judgment which is so admirable a pre­ parative for the sterner duties of the world. The undoubted healthiness of the game of cricket has never been questioned, and the longevity of cricketers as a rule may be inferred from the following paragraph, whioh appeared in the Dundee Advertiier as this volume was being prepared for the press:— “ Lord Kinnaird recently ascertained that of the eleven members of the Bossie Cricket Club who played a match in which he took part forty years ago, ten, includ­ ing himself, are still alivo. It is very rarely that ten persons who met forty years sinoe could still meet again.” The compiler, conscious that the par­ ticulars of such a match would prove highly interesting to his readers, took the liberty of writing to Lord Kinnaird, asking him if he could kindly furnish them. His lord­ ship, with his customary courtesy and politeness, sent the following reply :— “ Eossie Priory, Inchiture, N.B. “ S ib , —I delayed answering your letter, as I expected to be able to furnish you with the information you call for, but I have failed to obtain it.—Yours truly “ K in n a ird .” Without the particulars, however, the fact is still significant enough to commend itself to the attention to young men, and induce them to become cricketers. Out of eleven cricketers, death has only bowled out one in forty years ! To the wickets, then, fellow- players, and may your innings be both bril­ liant and long. In England as a rule, cricket is not given up with youth, but in many instances its de­ votees continue to practise it until well on in middle life, when activity of locomotion is by no means the easy and pleasant thing it °nce was. Land and Water states that “ few names are better known to students of the history and antiquities of cricket than that of Mr. Hayward Budd, whose death at the ripe old age of ninety is just announced. He shared with Lord Frederick Beauclerc and Mr. William Ward, the credit of being the best amateur cricketer in the early part of the present century, and was in some respects superior to either of his memorable rivals. One of the best fields and bowlers of his day, he was certainly the hardest hitter and performed many a wondeiful feat, including a hit out of Lord’s old ground, where Dorset Square now stands, in a Surrey and England match, in 1808; and a forward drive for nine, ifairly fielded, and run out, on Woolwich Common. He first played at Lord’s in September, 1802, was chosen a gentleman player, in 1806, and followed the game for fully fifty years, playing well to the last, and ready to take any place in the field. He and John Jack­ son, the celebrated pugilistic tutor of Lord Byron, were reckoned to be, about the time of Waterloo, the two best made men in England, and he stood up to the fastest bowling of his day without any further defence than an oxtra pair of stockings rolled down so as to prevent his ankles from being hit. Few men have ever been so dis­ tinguished for prowess in all atletliic sports, and very few have lived a healthier and happier life. In his first recorded match he played with James Aylward, who was born soon after 1740, and knew cricket from its earliest start into fame. In him we lose the last connecting link between ourselves and those who first did their best to make cricket what it now is, and the place that he filled is empty for ever. It is probable that he was at least 20 years older than any cricketer of note since W. Beldham died at 96 in 1862, and that he was the last survivor of the old school of underhand bowlers, who were superseded, for all practical purposes, when James Broadbridge and W. Lillywhite introduced the present system of bowling in 1827.” Another notable instance of devotion to the game is that of Mr. Inwood, a well- known player in the North of England teams about 27 years ago. He had been a famed batsman all his life, and it was a treat of no ordinary kind to see the style in which he handled the willow. He was a pater­ familias—upwards of forty years of age and excessively corpulent, weighing, it was reported, at that time 252 pounds avoirdu­ pois ; and yet he was as lithe and active as the youngest and slenderest of the team. Although “engaged in business, he always managed to find time to play in the principal matches which took place during the season —especially if with crack clubs—and he seldom disappointed the confidence reposed in him for making a good stand and also usually a magnificent score. He was indeed a fine specimen and repre­ sentative of a thorough English cricketer. He has been dead many years, but his memory still is green in cricketing circles, and not a few “ Old Boys ” in the citios of Durham, Sunderland or Newcastle will yet raise their hats in respect when the name of “ Big Inwood” the cricketer is men­ tioned. Another enthusiast was of an odd scrt, He was an old man-of-war’s man, James Peters by name, and called by courtesy, Captain Peters. He had been a famed cricketer in his young day, and cherished to the end of a longlife, a love of the game. All his laurels had been won when a mere youth —when the century was young and before the generation was born, yet so recently as 1858 he was a delighted spectator of almost every match in the neighbourhood, arid would take a long journey to Edinburgh when the “ All England Eleven ” or other crack players were there, and few of even the interested spectators watched with more, interest the progress of the game. Of course, his age prevonted him joining personally in the contest, but his custom was to get a good seat in view of tho wickets, and, with a long pipe in his mouth, he would sit out the entiro game, giving audible expressions to his feelings with a .loud “ Brave-o 1 ” “ Brave-o ! ” when a good hit or catch was made, and shouting, just as loudly, “ Get out you long shore lubber” when some poor “ duffer ” made a slip, or came ignominiously to grief. He was usually accompanied on these occasions by a lad, said to be his sister’s grandson, whose duty it was to replenish the captain’s pipe. The lad enjoyed no sinecure, for, as the old man smoked the best shag tobacoo, and that incessantly in the open air, tho pipe fillings were numerous and the amount of tobacco vapourised considerable. He was a fine, noble-looking old fellow, and a true represen­ tative of a type of the British tar now almost passed away. It may not be generally known that the late baronet, Sir William Don, was a very skilful oricketer—his skill was acquired doubtless during his school and University life—and that he played frequently in matches at Kelso, Melrose, and elsewhere, before his final adoption of the stago as a rofession. As a cricketer, Sir William isplayed a great deal of that coolness and self-possession whioh afterwards so distin- guished him on the stage. He was never fussy or in a hurry, but when he had to move his length of limb sent him over the ground with apparent ease at such a pace that shorter men would ha/e to have done all they knew” to keep up with him. He had a pawky trick when fielding of pretend­ ing not to see the ball, although perhaps at the time quite near him, and would keep turning and looking about as if in search of it. If a “ novice ” became deceived by this manoeuvre, and attempted “ a run,” he was “ o u t” to a certainty. With a stride of colossal length, the ball was “ snatched ” in an instant, and in the next the wickets were down. This trick seldom failed at first, but repetition made it stale, and Sir William’s “ little game,” when it became once thoroughly known, was not in the end so successful. There were some “ remarkable ” cricket clubs in London long ago, probably some of them exist yet, only with another genera­ tion of members. One of these clubs was the “ Early Bisers.” During the season the wickets were pitched at four o’clock in the morning and play continued until seven, after which the cry was— “ to breakfast and business,” the constitution being braced and hardy, and the body quite set up for the day. The ‘‘ Mary-le-bone ” was the club most famous and select. The following is a brief account of it, which appeared in Temple Bar Magazine a few years ago :—“ The mem­ bers,” says the writer, “ included players from every degree in the peerage, Members of the House of Commons, and gentlemen of large landed property. The costume of the club was sky-blue ! and their chief delight, even before cricketing was the performance of practical jokes. One of the latter was played by the Bacchanalian Duke of Eichmond on