Cricket 1887

JULY 7, 1887. CEICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 249 who is named as the most probable Con­ servative candidate to take Mr, Baggallay’s place at Brixton, has, I may also add, taken an active interest in our game of games. The defeat of Surrey by Middlesex at the Oval last week seems to have furnished a text for a series of homilies by scribes who do not as a rule show any friendly feeling to Surrey cricket or to those who manage it. One sporting paper whose chief interest lies far outside Surrey’s boundaries, indeed, devotes the greater part of its London letter to the causes of this defeat, and gravely publishes the results of an interview with one of the leading professionals of the Surrey team. The burden of this discourse seems to be, as, indeed, it is of most of the writers who affect a knowledge of County cricket, a wail that this same reverse will possibly be prejudicial to Surrey’s “ chances for the County Championship.” I quote the expression used by the professional said to have been interviewed. T he whole idea of the ordinary run of cricket writers, in fact, seems to be this craze for the championship, a title, by- the-way, of their own conception and be­ stowal, It never seems to occur to them that there can be a higher aim even than a championship, i.e., the development of county cricket, which I think few will dispute has been very materially assisted by the extension of the programmes of some of the leading county clubs, a policy which has at least been in a great measure due to the initiation of those who are responsible for the management of Surrey cricket. In the particular case in question the writers who find such valuable material for their discourse in Surrey’s reverse seem to ignore the good cricket which gave Middlesex the victory. The Surrey men, I think, would be the very first to admit the excellence of the all-round play which enabled their op­ ponents to reverse the result of the pre­ vious match at Lord’s. W k itin g to me on Monday last W . G. —there is only one W. G.—adds that he had not quite got over the stiffness conse­ quent on his exertions of Saturday. What a “ grand old man ” he is to be sure. In eleven days he will have completed his thirty-ninth year, and still, as his record of last week proves conclusively, he is without a superior after nearly a quarter of a century of hard work. W. G. is one of our national institutions, and his suc­ cesses are a subject for national congratula­ tion. For a player on the verge of the forties his four innings of last week can only be described as extraordinary. Here are the figures—■ 1st Inn. 2nd Total. M.C.C. & G. v. Cambridge Univ.... 31 116* ... 147 loucestershire v. Yorkshire ... 92 183* ... 275 422 T he Committee of the Melbourne Club, as I can vouch, are most anxious that Mr. Grace should accompany the team to leave England in September for Australia under Mr. Vernon’s care, and his latest doings should add considerably to this anxiety. I am inclined to think, indeed, that W. G’s. presence in Melbourne would be the very best recipe for a revival of the interest which used to be taken in cricket by the Victorian public. S ome few weeks since I heard from a well-known Australian player that the Committee appointed by the Victorian Cricketers’ Association to consider the best means of reviving the interest in cricket in that Colony, contemplated the recommendation of a material reduction in the interchange of visits between Eng­ lish and Australian cricketers. Few will, indeed, be surprised to hear that some action in this direction has been thought advisable by the Victorian authorities in the evident lack of interest exhibited re­ cently in even the principal fixtures played in Melbourne. The Committee recommend that the patronage of the Victorian Association shall not be granted to any English team visiting the Colonies for three years after the season of 1887-88, nor to any Australian team visiting Eng­ land for four years from this date, that only one Inter-colonial match be played each season, that 10 per cent, of the profits of all matches played under the auspices of the Association shall be set aside for distribution among the clubs providing players, and that the wickets be widened from eight to nine inches in all matches, with the exception of Inter­ colonial and International matches. The last recommendation, though, is an inter­ ference with the Laws of the Game, which I am inclined to think the Victorian Association will hardly ratify without very careful consideration. C ricketers will find some very pleasant as well as instructive reading in Mr. Frederick Gale’slatest work, which Messrs. Swan, Sonnenschein, Lowry and Co. have just published under the title of “ The Game of Cricket.” “ The Old Buffer,” who I need hardly add has been a valued contributor to this paper since its infancy, is so enthusiastic in his love of the game, and as a natural consequence so anxious for its proper conduct, that his ideas never fail to command the attention and respect of all classes of cricketers. His views, too, are always expressed in a plain and straightforward way, and the Cricket Homilies, which form one of the most interesting portions of the volume under notice, can claim a high testimonial in the shape of a hearty expression of approval from the greatest cricketer of this or any other age, W. G. Grace. To those who do not know Mr. Gale in person it will be of interest to know that “ The Game of Cricket ” has as its frontis­ piece a likeness of the “ Old Buffer,” from a photograph by Barraud. I have much pleasure in asking the assistance of CRiCKET-readers on behalf of the deserving cause referred to in the following letter from “ a Member of the Committee ” :— Allow me to suggest through the aid of your valuable columns, that the readers of C b ic k e t would be granting a great boon to the members of the Working Lads’ Institute, opened by H. R, H. the Princess of Wales, in 1885, if they would forward any bats, balls, stumps, &c., that have been laid aside, to Mr. George Day (Manager of the Institute), 136, Whitechapel Road. Fourteen of the fifteen Cricketers forming the party to represent the Gentle­ men of Canada in their English engage­ ments, to be commenced at Dublin on Thursday next, left New York in the Anchor Line Steamer “ Furnessia ” on Sat­ urday last, for Moville, where they will disembark en route for Dublin. Dr. E. R. Ogden, the Captain of the team, has been in London for the last fortnight, and I had the opportunity of witness­ ing him at work at the practice nets at the Oval yesterday. He leaves for Ireland to - day and will join the rest of the team at Dublin, where they should be due early next week. The fifteen will consist of Dr. E. B. Ogden (Captain), D.W. Saunders, W.W. Vickers, A. C. Allan, and W.W. Jones, of Toronto, G. W. Jones, of St. John’s, C. J. Annand and A. W. Henry, jun., of Halifax, W. C. Little, of Ottawa, B. B. Ferrie and A. Gillespie, of Hamilton, and another, in addition to G. G. S. Lindsey, the Manager, C. N. Shanley, the umpire, and B. C. Dickson, the scorer, all three of whom hail from Toronto. T he following are the averages of over 27 runs for not less than seven completed innings in the nine principal County and other first-class matches up to last Satur- Completed Innings. Runs. Highest Score. Aver. \V. W. Read ... ... 11 ... 921 ... 247 ... 83.8 W. G. Grace ... ... 13 ... 935 ... 183* ... 71.12 F. Thomas........ ... 8 ... 367 ... 114 ... 45.7 W. E. Roller ... ... 11 ... 482 ... 120 ... 43.9 J. Hide ....... . ... 10 ... 381 . 115 ... 38.1 K.J. Key ......... ... 16 ... 605 .... 281 ... 37J3 K. J. Thornton.. . ... 7 ... 265 ... 137 ... 376 Quaife............. . n ... 403 ,... 91 ... 36.7 A M. Sutthery..,. .... 7 ... 254 ,... 72 ... 36.2 J. Shuter ....... . ... 11 ... 385 ,... Ill ... 35 <^unn ............. . ... 10 ... 348 ,... 78 ... 34.8 Ulyett............... ... 14 ... 480 ... Ill* ... 34.4 Lohmann........ ... 11 ... 374 ... 79 ... 34 G. W. Ricketts... ... 7 ... 226 ... 92 ... 32.2 Peel .............. ... 11 ... 316 ... 91 ... 31.5 A. E. Stoddart... ... 13 .... 404- ... 151 ... 31.1 Flowers ........ ... 10 ... 310 ... 63* ... 31 J. Eccles ......... ... 9 ... 279 ... 79* .... 31 Briggs.............. w. Rashleigh ... ... 13 ... 402 ... 68 ... 30.12 . ... 14 ... 413 ... 105 ... 29.7 S.W. Scott ... ... 12 ... 351 ... 99 ... 296 Ro>inson ....... . ... 9 ... 265 ... 54 .. 29.4 F. Marchant ... ... 1<> ... 292 .... 72 ... 29.2 G. F. Vernon ... ... 8 ... 234 .... 95 ... 29.2 Rawlin............. .. ... 9 ... 263 ,... 84 .. 29.2 Hon. M. B. Hawke... 15 ... 415 . 78* ... 27.10 Bates ............. .. ... 14 ... 385 ,... 103 ,. 27.7 Hall ............... ... 14 ... 384 ... 92 .,. 276 Up to date Shrewsbury has played six completed innings for an aggregate of 504 runs. E n glish cricketers will hear with regret of the accident to G. E. Palmer, the cele­ brated Australian cricketer, particulars of which reached England by Monday’smail. While out shooting he fractured his knee cap, and from the information to hand there seems a chance that he may not be able to take an active part in cricket any more. The game in Victoria just now does not seem to be in such a flourishing state that the Colony can afford to lose one of its very best all-round players.