Cricket 1886

452 8 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. OCT. 28, 1886. TjlO B SALE.—W isden’s A lm anacks 1864 to 18&5; John L illyw hite’s C om panion, 1877 to 1884 ; Jam es L illyw hite’s Annual, 1875 to 1886; C r ic k e t , N os. 1 to 135. Sets w ill n ot be brok en . W hat offers ? B .L.G ., 47, O akhurst-grove, E a st D ulw ich. YX 7A N TE D .—A situation as G rou n d M an or v v P rofessional B ow ler fo r next season. G ood references on application. A p ply to T . Grant, L ongthorns, near W areham , D orset. Cricket: A W E E K L Y R E C O R D O F T H E G A M E 41, 8T. ANDREW’8 HILL, LONDON, E.O. THURSDAY, OCT. 28 th , 1880. IM P O R T A N T NOT ICE . Results of the Season, and Averages of the Principal Clubs will be inserted in the forth­ coming Winter Numbers at the rate of 3s. 6d. a column, with a minimum charge of 2s. 6d. To insure insertion in the following number, they must be reoeived not later than the Thursday previous to day of publication. The Winter Monthly Issues will appear on the last Thursday of October, November, December, January, February, and March, commencing on October 28. The dates will b e: No. 137, OCT. 28. No. 140, JAN. 27. No. 138, NOV. 25. No. 141, FEB. 24. No. 139, DEC. 80. No. 142, MAR. 31. The six numbers will be forwarded imme­ diately on publication for Is. 3d., to be sent to M r . W. R. W r ig h t , Manager of C r ic k e t , at the office, 41, St. Andrew’s Hill, Doctors’ Commons London, E.C. AN SW E R S to CORRE SPONDEN TS . C. R . J e f f (E ton C ollege).—(1) H e is an estate agent and auctioneer. (2.) We believe his 106 against K ent in 1876. (3.) T hey have been appearing in the last few num bers. E . C. J a c k m a n (P ontabella, B arbad os).— (1.) It is the um pire’s business to c all over, and until he ca lls it the bow ler m ust continue. (2.) H e can bow l w ith both feet beh in d the crease. T . L . Adam s (Tarram ia, Coraw a, N .S .W .}—M r. W . G . G race w as born on July 18,1848. A n A n x io u s E n q u ir e r (A m pthill).— T he Sec. G loucestershire C ounty C lub, D r. E . M . Grace, T hornbury, G loucestershire. H e w ill give you all particulars. JjaMIitftr <& 0 ssip. The abstract and brief ohronlole of tha Hm«.— __________________________ Hamlet A n old correspondent sends me the following extract from a letter he has just received from a cricketer now settled in Nicaragua, O.A. I have instituted your favorite old game, crifcket, among the natives, but they are such a lazy race that half-an-hour of it at a spur completely does them up. I, however, wrote home to our Directors, and they imme­ diately kindly sent the officers out a complete outfit. We call ourselves the Anglo-Nicara- guan Team, and I have no doubt you would manage to put us all out in half-an-hour, provided you escaped from your innings alive, as the native bowling is very uncertain. I t will be of interest to C b i c k e t readers generally to know that the author of the Cricket Field, the best book ever written on the game, whose pen has not been so freely wielded for the last few years as the readers of the excellent work just named could have wished, has been busy just o f late. As many as 130 pages of the second volume of his “ Oxford Memories, a Retrospect after Fifty Years,” recently published by Messrs. Bentley & Son, are devoted to cricket recollections, and those who know how indefatigable have been Mr. Pycroft’s researches in cricket lore, need not to be told that they contain instructive and entertaining reading. The October number of London Society, too, has an article by the same author. The title is “ Cricket; Bowling, the old style and the new.” The following challenge, taken from the Motueka Herald, will show how the game is advancing in New Zealand. C h a l l e n g e . —Eleven of th e Marahau girls hereby challenge eleven of the Biwaka cricketers to play a game of cricket at Marahau any time they like. A dinner pro­ vided and a dance. All welcome. After this notice I shall not be greatly surprised to find some of the more enter­ prising Secretaries of wandering clubs seriously contemplating a tour New Zea­ land way. The editor of the paper from which I take this announcement is of opinion that Marahau must be a jolly place to live in. T h e Crystal Palace Club announces its Second Annual Evening Smoking Concert for Wednesday, the 24th of November, at the Crystal Palace. Tickets, 2s. 6d. each, may be had from H. Aste, Rosslea, South Norwood Hill, who, in his capacity as manager, has already, I am told, secured a sufficiency of “ talent.” Last year’s Concert was, as I am able personally to vouch, a great success, and I am sure that nothing will be wanting to ensure an equally satisfactory result next month. A l l being well, the thirteen pro­ fessionals who left England on the 17th of last month should by this time have arrived safely in Australia. The “ Cuzco” was due at Adelaide, at least, on Tuesday last, and there was some idea at one time even of arranging a match to begin in that city on Saturday. The latest advices from'Australia, though, give the following information with regard to some of the fixtures to be arranged on behalf of the team. According to the [files just received, the Englishmen were to play at Adelaide on November 5, 6 and 8, though this does not agree with the report of the meeting'of the Victoria Association, in which Mr. J. P. Tennent, the agent in Melbourne for Shaw, Shrewsbury and Lillywhite, asked on their behalf for the patronage of the Association for a match to be played on the Melbourne ground against a Victorian eleven on November 6, 8, 9 and 10. A c c o r d i n g to the Sydney Mail the Englishmen are to play in Melbourne on November 12, 13 and 15, and at Sydney on November 19, 20 and 21. There is a probability, it is said, that the team will go to Queensland after the match in Sydney, and then play a return match in Sydney on December 10, 11 and 13 against New South Wales. It was also in contemplation to have a fixture be­ tween the English players and a team of Juniors, to take place at Sydney on D e­ cember 17 and 18. A recent number of the Sydney Mail adds that arrangements have been completed for Shaw and his merry men to play Twenty-two of Orange during the month of February. Negotia­ tions were pending when the mail left for a visit of the English team to Bourke and Bathurst. W As I know that the following letter represents the sentiments of the secre­ taries of several of the most influential clubs in the neighbourhood of London I have much pleasure in giving it publicity. S ib ,—I should like to call attention in your columns to the custom that has grown up of late years amongst metropolitan and suburban cricket clubs of commencing to arrange the fixtures for the following season almost imme­ diately after the close of the last season. As we all know, the chief fixtures are not decided on till the meeting of secretaries on the second Tuesday in December, yet I think I am not far wrong in saying that by that time nearly all the most prominent clubs have completed their list of fixtures for the following season. This leads necessarily to clashing of dates, and good club matches are fixed for the same dates as the best fixtures of the season, which greatly adds to a secretary’s difficulties in getting them together. X for one cannot see what advantage is gained by the present custom. Would it not be a far better arrangement for a meeting of secretaries to be convened about a week later than that at Lord’s. If this were done everyone would know what they were doing, and I feel certain that in about two hours a list of fixtures would be arranged whioh now gives a secretary many a long evening’s correspondence.—Yours truly, Oct. 25,1886. M o r t o n P. B e t t s . I may add that more than one commu­ nication identical in tone has reached me just lately. I need hardly say that C r i c k e t will be glad to do anything in its power to meet the general wish. A r r a n g e m e n t s had not been completed when the last number of C r i c k e t ap­ peared for the fixtures to take place between the Australian team now on their way home and the English professionals. I have heard, though, from Major Wardill, Secretary of the Melbourne Club, that tho dates for three matches had aotually been fixed. The two first of these are to be played on the ground of the Mel­ bourne Club, the third at Sydney, the earliest in the middle of December, the last two at the beginning o f January. The Australian team will be without the help of their captain, Mr. H . J. H . Scott, who is pursuing his medical studies at King’s College Hospital, and, as at present arranged, will prolong his stay in England for a couple of years. I h a v e had occasion to notice—and, if I remember rightly, on more than one occa­ sion—the tall run-getting of a New Zealand batsman, W . E. Barton, of Auckland. His consistently high scoring proves him to be very much above the average, and his Next Issue November 25