Cricket 1886

JUNE 17,1886 CEICKET: A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. 205 U rg en t private business has compelled Mr. A. B. Patell, the secretary of the Parsee Club, to return home to Bombay. He left London yesterday morning to spend a day or two in Paris, before joining tho train to Brindisi carrying the Indian mails from London to-morrow night. In his absence Mr. D. H. Patell will act in the double capacity of Captain and Manager of the team, and all communi­ cations should be addressed to him. S ome fairly good scoring was recorded in a match played on April 24, at Sandhurst (Victoria)—the home ofseveralwell-known Australian cricketers, notably H. F. Boyle, and W. Midwinter—between the Carlton and Bendigo United Clubs. The latter, who were in all the afternoon, scored 320 for the loss of only six wickets, of which number 190 not out were contributed by J. D. Edwards. This batsman, ac­ cording to the Australasian, had an extraordinary record for the Bendigo United Club during the Australian season just over. He played 22 innings (ten not out) and made in all 1,217 runs, giving a remarkable average of 101. C r ic k e ters will be glad to learn that Spofforth, who Lord Bessborough thinks ought to be called the “ angel ” rather than the “ demon ” bowler, is getting on better than at one time seemed likely. His finger, I understand, has been healed some little time, and though he is unable to move the joints well as yet, he hopes to be very soon out in the field again. Spof­ forth, who has been during the last few days wasting his sweetness in the country air of Derbyshire, will, I expect, re-appear very shortly like a giant refreshed. T he American Cricketer of June 3 is responsible for the following announce­ ment— We hear that Butler, the professional of the Staten Island Cricket Club, has been chosen for Shaw and Shrewsbury’s English team which goes to Australia this autumn to play a series of International matches, and that he has just cabled that he will meet the team at Melbourne. F. Butler played some few years ago occasionally for Notts, and many C ricket readers will remember him well. “ T h re e Cheers for W. G.” Such is the title of a song advertised in the Daily News of yesterday, to be published to-day by a firm in Bishopsgate Street. Lest, however, C ric k e t readers should be mis­ led, I think it is as well to say that the song in question is not addressed, as they might well suppose, to His Grace of Cricket. The composition is meant to refer to another Grand Old Man, one who does not seem to have just at present the best of pitches to play on, in fact, no other than the People’s William—William Ewart Gladstone to wit. Why the E. has been suppressed, I do not of course know, unless it is an artful device of the publishers to secure the sympathy of cricketers. Anyhow, the latter can have “ Three Cheers for W. G.” on their own account. More power to his elbow. A pecu liar incident occurred in a match between the Surbiton and Oatlands Park Clubs at Surbiton on Monday. Sur­ biton went in first and were dismissed for 194. When the two last batsmen of Oat­ lands Park were in, 190 went up on the board, and after hits for three and two had been made one was bowled. Of course it was thought that Surbiton had lost by a single, but when the runs came to be added up it was found that the scorer had improperly credited Oatlands Park with a couple, and this reversed the positions, making the latter losers instead of winners by one run. I daresay many C ricket readers will remember a match at the Oval some ten years ago, August 10,1876, between Surrey and Middlesex, in which a similar examination of the books saved Surrey from defeat. Though the telegraph board announced that the tenth wicket of Surrey had fallen for 244, an inspection of the score sheets showed that a run had been omitted in the case of one batsman, and accordingly after the error had been verified the Mid­ dlesex players were compelled to accept the result as a tie. I AM indebted to an Aberdeen cor­ respondent for the following table giving the batting and bowling averages of the Australian cricketers up to Saturday last. Up to that date the Colonists had played eight matches, of which they had won three, drawn three, and lost two. BATTING AVERAGES. Inns. Runs. Not out. Aver. Trumble ... ... 7 ... 121 ... 1 ... 20.1 Bonnor . ... 16 ... 274 ... 2 ... 19.10 Jarvis........ . ... 12 ... 172 ... 2 ... 17.2 Jones ........ . ... 16 ... 2:34 ... 1 ... 15.9 Bruce ........ . ... 10 ... 120 ... 1 ... 13.3 Giffen........ . ... 15 ... 150 ... 3 ... 12.6 S co tt........ . ... 16 ... 176 ... 0 ... 11.0 Blackham.. . ... 14 ... 150 ... 0 ... 10.10 Garrett . ... 12 ... 93 ... 1 ... 8.5 Mcllwraith ... 6 ... 47 ... 0 ... 7.5 Evans........ . ... 10 ... 43 ... 4 ... 7.1 Palmer . ... 11 ... 52 ... 1 ... 5.2 Spofforth ... ... 7 ... 17 ... 3 ... 4.1 BOWLING AVERAGES. Overs. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. Spofforth... 174.3 ... 79 ... 219 ... 33 ... 6.21 Giffen 227.2 ... 87 ... 309 ... 36 ... 8.21 Garrett ... 229.3 ... 113 ... 291 ,... 27 ... 10.11 Evans 90.3 ... 46 ... 93 ... 6 ... 15.3 Palmer ... 133 ... 61 ... 184 ... 11 ... 16.8 Bruce........ . 44 ... 14 ... 68 ... 3 ... 22.2 Trumble bowled 10 overs, 4 maidens, 16 runs, 1 no ball, and no wicket. Jones bowled 2 overs, no maidens, 5 runs, and no wicket. Spofforth bowled 5 no balls, and Bruce 2 wides. I h ave received a ch aracteristic letter from “ F.G. ” on the su bject o f strategy in cricket. In a ground match played this year, no matter when or between what elevens—let us call them the “ A’s ” and the “ B’s ”—the batting and bowling was superb. The A’s could not lose the match as there was not time for the B’s to get the sufficient number of runs to win, but there was the off-chance of the A’s getting their opponents out before seven o’clock. One of the best judges of cricket in England said to me •*this is rare bad cricket on the part of the A’s.” “ Bad cricket?” I asked, “ I never want to see better batting and bowling! ” “ Just so,” was his reply, “ I never saw better bowling, but what good is it to men set like those two batsmen on a perfect wicket ? If they were to put on any man who could pitch ball after ball well up, dead on the middle, lobs, full pitches, anything, and put the field out, the odds are that one of those fellows would lose his patience, and there w ould be ‘ an accident somewhere! ’ ” This is what we have never tried with the Australians b ar the Lyttelton over. E nglish cricketers will heartily endorse the kindly wishes in Punch of last week for the speedy return of “ the demon” to active work. The lines are well worthy of reproduction :— TO THE DEMON BOWLER. Disabled by accident, Spofforth ? That’s hard! To the world let it go forth Punch wishes you cure As prompt as it’s sure ; Good luck, lots of wickets, and so forth ! T he eleven to represent the Gentlemen of England at the Oval to-day in the return match with the Australians will be as follows:—W. G. Grace, Hon. M. B. Hawke, W. W. Read, W. E. Roller, F. M. Lucas, W. H. Patterson, M. C. Kemp, G. Kemp, C. Toppin, C. E. Horner, and J. A. Turner. I t is much to be regretted that Mr. C. W. Rock, who has done well against tiie Australians, should have been unable to play. Still, though weak in bowling, there is plenty of batting on the side, and as several of the eleven are just now in the vein for run getting, if the weather only keeps fine, there should be every reason for predicting some good scoring. G i f f e n ’s bowling record just lately for the Australian team is of such an excep­ tional character that a summary of his figures will be of interest. In the last three matches in which he has taken part he has got as many as forty wickets in five innings, as will be seen from the following table— 1st Inns. 2nd Inns. Total, Derbyshire .. .. 7 .. 9 .. 16 Cambridge University .. 8 .. — .. 8 Lancashire .. .. 8 .. 8 .. 16 In the first match his wickets cost 101, in the second 56, in the third 65, so that his forty wickets were obtained at an average of a trifle over five and a half runs. P la y in g at Croydon on June 12th, for Croydon v. Hampstead Nondescripts, T. P . Austen accomplished the “ hat trick”—the three wickets being clean bowled. R u l e s o f C r ic k e t suitable for hanging in Pavilions and Club Rooms sent post free for 3 stamps. Thoroughly well mounted and framed, price 3s. To be had of the Publisher, 41, St. Andrew’s Hill, Doctors’ Commons, E.C.