Cricket 1886

JAN. 28, 1886. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 13 Club to send a team to England in 1886, the second conference of English Secretaries was convened for Dec. 21, with what result is now well-known. The foregoing remarks will show that the delay of the Melbourne Club was only to be expected after the receipt of the unfavourable telegram from England before- mentioned. The correspondence which follows will serve to satisfy the public of both Great and Greater Britain that there was really no cause for a charge of anything like discourtesy on the part of the authorities in Australia. The two letters appended will explain them­ selves :— “ To the Editor of The Sportsman. “ S ir, —A paragraph which appears in your columns of the 5th inst., as copied from The Australasian , conveys the impression that the committee of the Marylebone Cricket Club have expressed an opinion as to the compo­ sition of the Australian team about to visit England. This is not the case. Mr. Wardill cabled to me ‘ Would the inclusion of certain players jeopardise the success of the team.’ I replied that ‘I thought it would.’ This was my own independent opinion. The M.C.C. committee have expressed no opinion as to the composition of the Australian team, but will cordially welcome anyone who may be selected by the Melbourne Club. “I have to-day cabled a summary of this letter 13Australia.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, “ H . P erkin s . “ Lord’s, January 12,1886." “ To the Editor of The Sportsman. “ S ir , —I think I owe this explanation to the Melbourne Cricket Club, that if I had known that their endeavours to send home a team had been checked by a telegram bearing the appearance of the authority of the M.C.C., which undoubtedly that of Mr. Perkins did, I should certainly not have moved the resolu­ tion I did at the second meeting of the county secretaries at Lord’s on December 21.—Faith­ fully yours, “ H arris . “ Carlton Club, Pall-mall, S.W.” Below will be found the programme of matches so far as at present arranged. There are some slight variations, it will be seen, from the original list. The return match with Surrey will be played at the Oval, on July 29, instead of Aug. 9, and the match against Past v. Present of Cambridge Univer­ sity, fixed for the former date, has been altered to Aug. 23. The Colonists will play Lord March’s Eleven at Priory Park, Chich­ ester, on June 28, the match in which the Earl of Sheffield and Mr. Morton P. Lucas have also promised heartily to co-operate, being for the benefit of the well-known Sussex cricketer, C. Howard. Several English officers who served in the Soudan with the New South Wales forces are stationed at Portsmouth, so there is a peculiar fitness in the fixture on Aug. 20, against the United Services, which is sure to be popular with the Australian as with the English public. It will be noticed that the only vacant dates are before the three England matches, which have been purposely kept clear for the Melbourne Club to fill up or not as may be thought advisable. MAY. 13—Sheffield Park, Australians v. Lord Sheffield’s XI. 17—Nottingham, Australians v. Notts 20—Kennington Oval, Australians v. Surrey 24—Lord’s, Australians v. M.C.C. and Ground 27—Oxford, Australians v. Oxford University 31—Manchester, Australians v. North of England JUNE. 3—Lord’s, Australians v. Gentlemen of England 7—Derby, Australians v. Derbyshire 10—Cambridge,Australiansv.CambridgeUniversity 14—Manchester, Australians v. Lancashire 17—Kennington Oval, Australians v. Gentlemen of England 21—Nottingham, Australians v. Players of England 24—Lord’s, Australians v. Middlesex 28—Chichester, Australians v. Lord March’s XI. JULY. 5—Manchester, Australians v. England 8—Nottingham, Australians v. Notts 12— Sheffield, Australians v. Yorkshire 19— Lord’s, Australians v. England 22 —Huddersfield, Australians v. Yorkshire 26 —Stoke, Australians v. An England Eleven 29— Kennington Oval, Australians v. Surrey AUGUST. 2—Canterbury, Australians v. Kent 5—Clifton, Australians v. Gloucestershire 12— Kennington Oval, Australians v. England 16 —Cheltenham, Australians v. Gloucestershire 19 —Portsmouth, Australians v. United Services 23 —Leyton, Australians v. Past and Present of Cambridge University 26— Brighton, Australians v. Sussex 30— Gravesend, Australians v. South of England SEPTEMBER. 2— Scarborough, Australians v. Gentlemen of England “ Felix” in the Australasian has the follow* ing comments on the trip, and the probable composition of the team:— Since the emphatic approval accorded on Saturday by a large assemblage of members of the M.C.C. to the proposal of the committee that an Australian eleven should visit Eng­ land in 1886, under the auspices of the club, the committee has actively prosecuted the work of organising a first-class team, and making necessary preliminary arrangements. On Tuesday evening at a meeting of a sub­ committee appointed to conduct the business, Spofforth, Blackham, Bruce, Horan and Palmer consented to join the team, provided that leave of absence could be obtained, and that their domestic arrangements would per­ mit of their taking the trip. George Giffen, Jarvis, and Percy M’Donnell, if they will go (Jarvis has already promised),may be regarded as certainties. Thirteen men and a manager will be taken, but the final selection of the team will not be made until after the return intercolonial in Sydney in February. The M.C.C. committee will pick the thirteen, but they will give every attention to suggestions from those who have had sound experience on English grounds. A match will commence on New Yfear’s Day between eleven of those who are looked upon as most likely to be taken to England and a combined eleven or fifteen to be chosen by the Victorian Association. A similar match will be played in Sydney after the intercolonial there, and a farewell match in Adelaide early in March, prior to departure either by the “ Lusitania” or “ Rome,” which will leave on the 11th and 19th of March re­ spectively. Evans will be asked to go, and there is no doubt that, if in true form, he will fully justify his selection. It is understood that Bonnor will not be invited to go. With all due deference to the M.C.C. committee, I venture to think that the giant, if in fettle, would be a great acquisition. His powerful hitting has won a match when it looked almost irretrievably lost, witness the match in Sydney against the English team last season, when he scored 128 on a bowler’s wicket; witness the match at Sheffield in 1884 against the Players, when he won the match for Australia. Bonnor may not be first, second, third, or even fourth in average, but he is just the man to win a match when no other man in the team can win it. This is a considera­ tion which should not be overlooked, for it might possibly be the means of gaining a victory for Australia against all England. All the financial matters, risk, and responsibilities, in connection with the tour from start to finish rest with the Melbourne Club. The club has expended thousands of pounds in the interests of cricket. Already the new stand has cost about A‘12,000. This takes some pay­ ing off, and if the M.C.C. should be successful financially in its present enterprise everybody knows that any money made by the club will be applied for the good of cricket pure and simple. If the M.C.C. can manage it they will bring a first-class English team out here next season. It is believed that Mr. B. Wardill will be unable to go as manager. This is to be regretted, for a better man to represent the club could not be found. We may rely upon it, however, that failing Mr. Wardill the M.C.C. committee will appoint a manager who will not only properly represent the club, but will give full satisfaction in every respect. The adjourned meeting of the Melbourne Cricket Club was held in the pavilion on Saturday, December 12, for the purpose of deciding as to whether a team should visit England next season or not. At the previous meeting, on November 21, the committee had received a telegram from Mr. Perkins, saying it would be advisable not to include any of the members of the last team in 1886, and it was then decided to wait until further news came to hand. Mr. Alcock, Secretary of the Surrey County Cricket Club, was then communicated with, and requested to officiate on behalf of the Melbourne C.C., with the proviso that the team must include Spofforth, Blackham, and Palmer. The chairman, Mr. F. G. Smith, the President of the Club, now stated Jthat the following telegram had been received from England:—“ The English fixtures are made. If you are coming do the best that is possible, telegraph immediately full authority. No objection to men.” In consequence of this the committee of the Melbourne Club were in favour of sending a team next summer. It was proposed that the tour be deferred till 1887, but this only met with slight support, a large majority being in favour of the visit. It was then decided to send a team of thirteen, the final selection to be deferred until after the return match between New South Wales and Victoria, at Sydney, in February. The chair­ man also said that the club intended consider­ ing the claims of the following with a view to making up the players: J. M’C. Blackham, G. E. Palmer, F. R. Spofforth, P. S. M‘Donnell, G. J. Bonnor, W. Bruce, F. Walters, J. M’llwraith, A. H. Jarvis, G. Giffen,W. Trumble, P. Marr, T. W. Garrett, T. Horan, H. H. Massie, E. Evans, and S. P. Jones. R ochford H undred C lub . — At the annual meeting of this Essex club, held at Southend, Mr. J. C. Page presiding, Dr. Dempster, the hon. secretary, stated that there was a deficit of iJ14, occasioned by the expense incurred in covering in the dining tent. It was resolved to call upon each member for an additional subscription of 5s. to meet the liability. Dr. Evan Jones was re-elected president, Mr. J. C. Page vice-president, Mr. C. J. Holthouse treasurer, and Mr. A. Walker was appointed hon. secretary in the place of Dr. Dempster, resigned. * T he C ricket Y ear B ook for 1886.—We have received from Messrs. Abel Heywood and Son, of Manchester, the first issue of a new annual under the above title. In addition to statistical information relative to the past season, it contains portraits of Messrs. W. G. Grace, W. W. Read, T. C. O’Brien, and Shrews­ bury, Emmett, Briggs, and George Hearne. A hasty glance shows that the compiler has not been so accurate as could have been desired. The obituary for 1885 includes the name of Mr. William Blackft urn (Sussex Amateur batsman), for which of course must be read Mr. William Blackman. Then again (p. 47) it was not in the Gentlemen v. Players match, but for M.C.C. d G. v. Yorkshire that Gunn and Barnes added 330 runs while together. Nor is the record of Briggs and Pilling, for Lancashire v. Surrey, at Liverpool, the best for the last wicket. The Derbyshire wicket-keeper, too (p. 40), is a professional, not an Amateur. * “ Tho Cricket Year Book for 1886.” Abel Heywood and Son, 56, Oldham Street, Manchester. Price 3d. Next Issue February 25« 1