Cricket 1885

FEB. 26, 1885. CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 19 LANCASHIRE COUNTY CLUB. The Annual General Meeting of this club was held at the Albion Hotel, Manchester, on Jan. 28. Mr. A. B. Rowley, one of the vice- presidents, occupied the chair, and there was a very large attendance of members. The annual report showed that out of sixteen county matches played, ten were won, four lost, and two drawn. With the exception of Gloucestershire, Lancashire had been victorious at least once over each of the counties played. The ground men engaged last seasonwereWatson, Briggs, Crossland, Copeland, Garner, Champion, and R. Pilling. A very large accession of mem­ bers had taken place during last season, an addition of no less than 510 having been made to the roll, which now showed 1,684, inclu­ ding 58 life members. Arrangements for a further renewal of the lease of the ground for another 20 years have been completed, and the members have secured the occupancy of the ground for a period of 25 years. During the past season upwards of 120,000 persons had paid for admission at the gates, proving the ever-increasing popularity of cricket in Lancashire. The thanks of the members, and all supporters of the game, the report added, were due to Mr, A. N. Hornby, the captain of the Eleven ; nor would it be just to omit an acknowledgment of the valuable help given by the well-conducted body of men who form the professional part of the Lancashire team. The Treasurer’s report was as follows :— R eceipts .— Cash at Bankers and in Trea­ surer’s hands, £2,705 5s. 8d.; subscriptions reoeived, £1,925 6s. ; gate-money received at matches, £5,797 13s.; stand-money re­ ceived at matches, £1,031 10s. 6d. : received from refreshment caterers, £130; sundry receipts, £56 12s. 6d.; interest allowed by bankers (less their commission and charges), £42 7s. 7d.—total, £11,688 15s. 3d. E x pen d itu re . —Payments to players, and travelling and other expenses in connection with county matches, £2,085 14s. 5d, ; Aus­ tralian team, £2,242 8s.; gatekeepers, £208 15s. ; bowlers and ground men, £403 12s. 6d.; police, £159 Is. l i d . ; print­ ing and advertising, £502 15s. 5d. ; painting, repairs, &c., £433 2s. li d .; rent, rates and taxes, £297 3s. 8d. ; new stand, &o., £1,197 7s. Id. ; new lease, &c., £2,282 8s.; coal, cinders, &a.. £26 2s. 3d. ; Bellhouse, &e., £392 15s. 3d.; horse hire, &c., £58 11s.lOd.; cricket balls, &o., £16 19s,4d.; score books, gloves, &a,, £49 9s. 3d. ; dona­ tions, £10 10s.; lavatories, £4 2s. 8d.; soli­ citor’s charges, £17 5s. lOd. ; Reynolds (sundries), £117 Is. lOd.; treasurer’s (sun­ dries), £6 7s. 6d.; assistant secretary’s sal­ ary, £150; Watson’s salary, £100; treasu­ rer’s clerk’s salary (two years), £70; auditor’s fee, £4 4s.; cash at banker’s and in treasu­ rer’s and assistant secretary’s hands, £825 16s. 7 d .; total, £11,688 15s. 3d. In reply to a question on the item of ex­ penditure, £2,085 14s. 5d., the treasurer said the amount was about £600 more than last year, which arose from the increased ex­ penses consequent upon the three Austra­ lian matches, and the fact of playing two matches each with Leicestershire and Ches­ hire. The amount paid to each player averaged from £180 to £190 for home-and- home matches, iucluding the luncheons to visiting teams and their own playing mem­ bers. The amount paid to players was £5 per match, and a sovereign extra if they won, and £6 for matches played away in the South, with a sovereign extra for a win. The chairman said it was well known that the gentlemen had their travelling and hotel expenses. There was no money paid to them, but the committee insisted upon them having their expenses, so that there could be no invidious comparisons. The treasurer’s report was ultimately passed in the usual manner. The election of officers for the ensuing year took place, when the following were re-elected:—Presi­ dent, Sir Humphrey de Trafford; vice-presi­ dents, the Earls of Derby, Sefton, and Elles­ mere, Sir Richard Cross, Messrs. R. N. Phil­ lips, J. Bannerman, J. Makinson, and A. B. Rowley; hon. see. Mr. S. H. Swire; hon. treasurer, Mr. Jas. iM’Laren, In the course of some remarks the chairman said he might definitely state that the com­ mittee had no intention of playing Notts this year. iEOLIAN CLUB. About sixty members and friends assem­ bled at the Greyhound Hotel, Dulwich, on Saturday evening, 31st ult., on the occasion of the seventeenth annual dinner of the club, which is now in the eighteenth year of its existence. Mr. R. Bartlett, the President, occupied the chair. The batting prize was presented to Mr. T, R. Pearse, the bowling prize to Mr. A. W. J. Corr, and the Presi­ dent’s prize to Mr. R. Heasman. The Hon. Sec. (Mr. R. J. Acres) reported that the numerical strength of the Club had been maintained during the past year, and the Treasurer (Mr. H. J. Henley) was able to announce a saving of a few pounds on the year’s receipts and expenses, which would be added to the reserve fund. Mr. W. Morris, the Captain, in responding to the toast of “ Success to the Club,” stated that during the past season 33 matches had been played, of which 15 had been won, 10 lost, and 8 drawn. During the evening there was some excellent singing by Messrs. Cate, Chammings, Bramley, Nicholls, Cowell, Jones, &c. SHROPSHIRE COUNTY CLUB. June 9,10, at Shrewsbury, v. Staffordshire July 7, 8, at Shrewsbury, v. Worcestershire July 13,14, at Shrewsbury, v. Northern District C.C. July 28, 24, at Shrewsbury, v. M.C.C. and G, July 81, Aug, 1, at Stoke, v. Staffordshire Aug. 8, 4, at Shrewsbury, v. Revellers Aug. 12,13, at Worcester, v. Worcestershire Aug. 28, 29, at Shrewsbury, v. Liverpool C. and G. HAMPSHIRE COUNTY CLUB. May 8, 9, at Southampton, North v. South of County, May 14,15,16, at Oval, v. Surrey. May 25, 26, at Southampton, Colts North v. Colts South of County. May 21, at Winchester, Gentlemen of Hants v. Win­ chester College. May 25, 26,27, at Brighton, v. Sussex. June 15,16, at Southampton, H.C.C. &G. v. M.C.C. &G. June 25,26, 27, at Southampton, v. Derby. July 3, 4, at Longwood, Gentlemen of Hants v, I Zingari. July 6,7, 8, at Southampton, v, Surrey. July 14, 15, at Sidmouth, Gentlemen of Hants v. Gentlemen of Devon. July 16, 17,18, at Taunto , v. Somerset. July 20, 21, 22, at Southampton, v. Kent. July 27, 28, at Bournemouth, Gentlemen of Hants v. United Service. August 3, 4,5, at Southampton, v. Sussex. August 10, 11, at Southampton, H.C.C. & G. v. Upping­ ham Rovers. August 13,14,15, at Buxton, v. Derby. August 18,19, at Southampton, H.C.C. & G. v. North Riding Yorkshire. August 20, 21, 22, at Southampton, v. Somerset. August 24, 25, 26, at Tunbridge, v. Kent. August 28, i9, at Kingston Park, Gentlemen of Hants v. Gentlemen of Dorset. * £ C 0 I ^ E 3 P 0 p E N C E - > THE BROTHERS WALKER. To th e E ditor of “ C r ic k e t .” As a veteran, one of the greatest pleasures of my life is to ruminate on bygone days, and, as I have been “ behind the stumps” since the days when genial Frederick Miller captained the forces of Surrey v. England, the doings of celebrities will float before me, and those of Middlesex—with whom I have been so long identified—especially, and so here follows a few more incidents to tack on to your interesting biography of Mr. I. D. Walker. In addition to the remarkable feat that Mr. V. E. Walker brought off at the Oval, in which he scored 108 for England, and secured all the wickets of Surrey in one innings—although Jackson was on at the other end— (and the parallel feat to which is when the Little Doctor, E. M. Grace, at Canterbury, for M.C.C. v. Gentlemen of Kent, 12 a side, took all the eleven wickets, and scored 192 not out)—V. E. has also, to my personal knowledge, performed the fe&t of securing all the wickets in one innings on three other occasions in Middlesex County matches, namely, v. Sussex, at Islington, in 1864; a fortnight afterwards in Gentlemen of Middlesex v. Gentlemen of Kent, at Maidstone; and again in 1865 v. Lan­ cashire, at Manchester. The very great secret of his success as a slow bowler was his consummate judgment in placing his field, added to which the extraordinary amount of ground he could cover (for he was the most active of the family), and the pluck with which he used to stop the hardest hits ofi his own bowling. As a fact, none of the brothers were much given to either gloves or pads, and that at a time when they had to face such bowlers as the Messrs. Fellows, with Bickley, Wisden, Jackson, Tarrant, J. C, Shaw, Freeman, Will- sher, Emmett, Hill, &c. , all of whom were far from “ parliamentary” in their deliveries. I have often reminded them, after their feeling the “ weight of the ball,” that they had got to get older, and might suffer from it • and during the whole of the career of the inimitable R. D. Walker—a batsman who had the rare gift of popping the bat on to the ball in all directions, and about whom Jem Grundy used to say “ thank goodness when R. D. -was on Mi side I never saw him but once take to the pads. That was at Scarborough, in the match Middlesex v. Yorkshire, in which he was top-scorer ; he was not out over-night of the first day, but had, during the after­ noon, received a terrible blow, full on the shin, from one of Tom Emmett’s expressers. On resuming, next day, I was astonished to see him hobbling from the pavilion with the pads on. W e ll! I thought to myself, he thinks that he is a long way from home and ’tis just as well to keep one leg right to get back again. R obert T hom s . T. A shdow n , a cricketer well known in connection with the Bexley Club, died sud­ denly on Feb. 13. C ricket C a le n d a r for 1885.—Fixtures for insertion in the C a le n d a r must be sent in to the Compiler, Office of “ C rick et ,” 41, St. Andrew’s Hill, at the latest by March 20. Next issue of Cricket March 26.