Cricket 1886

90 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME* 'APB1L 29 ,1086 M o n d a y ’s match was noteworthy in another way. Messrs. E. J. Diver and W. R. Gilbert, who had previously done good service, the latter for many years, for Surrey and Gloucestershire respect­ ively as amateurs, appeared for the first time as professionals. Instances of tlie kind are of the rarest. The one which will most readily occur to the mind is, of course, that of Richard Daft, who liad represented the Gentlemen against the Players before lie made up his mind to take to cricket as a regular means of livelihood. Writing from memory I am unable to recall any similar change just of late years, though, unless I am mistaken Wood-Sims, who has figured in the Derby­ shire Eleven for the last two or three seasons, originally took his place in it as an amateur. Titchmarsh, of Herts, too, came out as an amateur. C ir c u m s ta n c e s have caused, as was the case with Daft, the two cricketers named to join the professional ranks, and the public will thoroughly appreciate the motives which have prompted them to take a step which involves, as everyone will readily understand, no small amount of moral courage. The relations between amateurs and professionals, though well defined and strictly kept, are of such a pleasant character that the change is not after all such a hard one, and as both are excellent players their prospects ought to be of the best. In any case cricketers of every class will hope that success will follow the resolution they have taken. T h o u g h cricket has already commenced and under the most favourable auspices at the Oval, witness the match between Surrey and Gloucestershire concluded yesterday, the ground does not open for the purpose of regular practice till Satur­ day. The first trial match of Surrey youngsters is to take place at Kennington on Monday, when an eleven of the Comity, including most of the usual members of the team, captained by Mr. M. P. Bowden will oppose Sixteen Young Players of Surrey, under the command of Mr. W . W. Read. "While on the subject of the Surrey County Club I am asked to state that members desirous of being present at the dinner to the Australian team, to be held at the Oval on May 20, should apply for tickets to the Secretary on or before May 11. The tickets will be 7s. 6d exclusive of wine. In a match between Hoxton Hall and Priory Glub, played at Hoe-street, Walthamstow, last .Saturday, Carley went in first for Hoxton Hall, and carried out his bat for 34. On Monday last A. R. Smith for Sphinx against Hatcham Park at Chisleliurst, bowled 6 overs and lball (5maidens) for no runs and 9 wickets. He got four batsmen wiih consecutive balls. SURREY v. GLOUCESTERSHIRE. A county match during the Easter Week is a novelty. As far as we know such an event is without a precedent in the annals of cricket. As a rule the trial of the Colts on the Trent Bridge Ground at Nottingham has been the only fixture on EasterMonday,andthe advisa­ bility of even .this fixture has often given rise to great question. It was really to a fortunate combination of circumstances that the public has this year been indebted for the opportunity of witnessing some good cricket in London during the present holiday time. In the first place Easter fell unusually late, later indeed than it will fall for many yearsto come. E ven then in all probability the occasion would not have been utilised had not the decision of the Melbourne Club to send a team to England to represent the Australian Colonies, owing to circumstances over which the authorities in Melbourne had certainly ' no control, been deferred so long, that a second meeting of the representatives of the County Clubs was required to re-arrange the fixtures made at the previous conference in order to admit of the arrangement of a suitable programme for the Australian cricketers. Surrey and Gloucestershire had, in fact, originally agreed to play the first match of the season at the Oval, on June 3, 4 and 5. These dates, though, it was found subsequently, were the only ones convenient for the decision of the match be­ tween the Gentlemen of England and the Australians, and the fixture was accordingly made for that date. With aview, however, to secure as representative a team as possible against the Australians, and at the same time to prevent collisionwith one of the chief events in the Marylebone programme, the respective managements of the Surrey and Glouces­ tershire Clubs set to work at once to find another suitable date. This was by no means an easy matter, as can be readily understood, and it was due to a happy suggestion of Mr. W. G. Grace, which was accepted by the executive at the Oval, that the match com­ pleted yesterday was ultimately fixed. The experience of the previous month led to the belief that the weather would not be of a kind to encourage the display of good cricket. A long succession of easterly winds was cer­ tainly calculated to favour the notion that the play would suffer materially from the lack of opportunities of practice possible to the twenty- two players engaged. Happily the game, during the first two days, was favoured, certainly, much more than might have been expected in the weather. The play on both sides, for an opening match, surpassed the general expectation. The wicket, too, played well even to the last, and the interestwas sustained to the very close. The last hour’s play was indeed full of excitement, and had Mr. Bush not allowed the ball to leave h is hands before he put the wicket down, in trying to utilise a chance of stumping offered by Maurice Read just after Mr. Shuter’s arrival, the finish would in all probability have been too close to be pleasant for Surrey. As it was, with only 65 to get to win, half the wickets were down for 30, and but for Read’s useful, though certainly lucky, score of 33 not out, the finish would have been a very near thing. Both sides had almost their full strength for this opening match. Dr. E . M. Grace, unable to X>lay last year owing to an injured knee, broke down in the previous week; and Mr. W. E. Roller, who had not quite recovered from a recent illness, was an absentee from the Surrey Eleven. Dr. W. G. Grace was fortunate enough to win the toss, and Gloucestershire accordingly had first use of a good wicket. Surrey began well, and three good wickets, those of Dr. Grace, Mr. Brain, and W. R. Gilbert, who figured in this match for the first time as a professional, were out for . 21 runs. Mr. Radcliffe, the ex - Somerset­ shire cricketer, who made his debut for Gloucestershire on this occasion, then joined Mr. Townsend, and the aspect of the game underwent a material improvement for the visitors. Mr. Radcliffe played very steadily, while Mr. Townsend batted in fine form, hitting the Surrey bowling, which was by no means on the spot, with great freedom. Just after the hundred had appeared, Mr. Radcliffe was caught for a very useful thirty.eight, having helped Mr. Townsend to add 79 runs to the total. Mr. Page stayed, while Mr. Townsend continued to score freely, and another addition of fifty runs was made before the Oxford cap­ tain was bowled. Mr. Townsend, who went in with two Wickets down for nine runs, was at last bowled, retiring the seventh wicket at 194. Of the 185 got during his stay he had made 106, and certainly, as far as we could judge, without an actual chance. His play was quite up to his best form, and his fine batting was the more remarkable as he was suffering from a bad finger which at times evidently caused him great pain. Among his figures were sixteen 4’s, one a fine off-hit over the covered stand. The last four wickets only added the same number of runs, and the innings closed for 195.* ‘ Surrey went in at twenty minutes to five, and by six o’clock had secured 82 for the loss of two batsmen, Messrs. Shuter and Key, Abel not out 38, Mr. W.W. Read not out 32. The play through­ out the day, it may be added, had been wit­ nessed by a large crowd, 13,788 persons paying for admission to the ground. The game was resumed on Tuesday under equallyfavourable circumstances,and although not so numerous as on the first day the attend­ ance was again good, 7,209 passing the pay turnstiles. The two not-outs continued to play good cricket until Mr. Read was unluckily stumped by a rebound of the ball from the wicket-keeper’s pad. Mr. Read, who had batted in his best style, contributed no less than 69 of the 102 got during the partnership. Maurice Read and E. J. Diver, who also appeared as a professional for the first time, both hit freely. Abel meanwhile kept increas­ ing his score steadily, until at last just as he was likely to carryout his bathe was caught at extra mid-off. His score of 110 was a very fine performance, thoughnot without chances He gave a hard chance to Gregg at mid-on when he had scored 60, and at 81 was again missed by the same field in the same position. His innings, though, was an excellent display of really sound cricket. He was batting alto­ gether for four hours and a quarter, and his success was cordially and highly appreciated by the public. The Surrey tail, like that of Gloucestershire, only made an indifferent show, six wickets falling after the interval for an addition of only 31 runs. Gloucestershire, 80 mi arrears, again made a bad start, Gilbert bein&out with the score at 4. Messrs. Grace and Brain, though, punished the Surrey bowling severely, and the total was 64 before Mr. Grace was smartly stumped. After his retirement things went badly for Glouces­ tershire, and when play ceased on Tuesday /night seven wickets were down for 108, only 28 runs on. '-"Rain stopped the play for some time yester. day, and as in addition the game was ap­ parently so much in favour of Surrey, the ground presented a very deserted appearance in comparison with the two preceding days. Mi*. Hale, aColtwho though born in Australia is qualified by his family home in Arderley to represent Gloucestershire, played in very promising style, and chiefly through his aidthe total was raise 1 to 154 before the teu ;h wicket fell,