Cricket 1887

JULY 14, 1887. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 265 As I expected, tlie recommendations of the Committee of the Victorian Cricketers’ Association, that the wickets should be widened from eight to nine inches in all matches played under the auspices of the Y .C .A ., except Inter-colonial and International matches, were not adopted by the General Meeting o f that Associa­ tion, though not for the reason that I anticipated, an interference with the laws of the game, with which I fancied Austra­ lian cricketers themselves would be loth to interfere without strong grounds. The objection on which the delegates based their reversal of this particular recom ­ mendation was that the additional inch would tend to increase rather than reduce the pottering or leg play, the reduction of which was admittedly, if they could not abolish altogether, the main object o f the Committee. The recommendation that their patronage should not be granted to any English team visiting the Colonies for three years after the season of 1887-8, or to any Australian eleven visiting Eng­ land for four years from this date, was however, carried by eleven votes to four. It will be interesting to see what view the cricketers of New South Wales take of this resolution. As was only to be expected after the unanimous recommendation of the Sub- Committee, the meeting at Lord’s, on Tuesday last, resulted in the appointment of a Council for the management o f affairs relating to county cricket. The growth of county cricket of late years has shown the urgent necessity of some properly constituted body for the settlement of matters, o f which there are many obviously requiring settlement, affecting county cricket generally. The result of Tuesday’s meeting is practically that the counties are all in accord that the Marylebone Club should not only remain the sole tribunal to decide on the laws of the game, but should also, as hitherto, be the court o f appeal in the event o f any disputes under the laws o f county qualifi­ cation. A t present the Council is to con­ sist o f a delegate from each of the counties represented at the meeting of Secretaries, held at L ord’s last December, though other shires can be affiliated under certain conditions. The Bye-Laws to be framed by a Sub-Committee, consisting o f one representative from each of the five leading counties o f the South, to w it: Gloucestershire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex, are to be submitted to a meeting of the Council to be held in the winter. “ E .G .,” otherwise “ The Old Buffer,” has sent me the following, one o f his experiences of the Oxford and Cambridge m atch ;— S ir , —There was one spectator at the Oxford and Cambridge match worth, in my eyes, more than ali the rest of the splendid crowd who were present. I saw a little fellow of about ten years old, in a knickerbocker suit—pro­ bably he was theson of some small tradesman— and whose head was very little above the top of the turnstile, planking down twelve pennies and walking manfully in. I have not the least doubt but that this little fellow had saved up his shilling penny by penny to see that grand sight; and I was fortunate enough to see him again in the orowd, and was delighted to see that he was having his shillingsworth well out. Fifty yearshence thatlittle fellowwill be an “ Old Buffer "(in the year 1937), smoking his pipe aud saying that “ heminded the time when Lord Scott, of Oxford, and Mr. Crawley, of Cambridge (who in 1937 will be seventy ears of age, or thereabouts), each scored a undred runs at Lord's in the Oxford and Cambridge match,” and all theyounger fellows of that day who hear him will say, “ A h ! there was no bowling in those days.” I would have given a trifle to have paid for the little fellow, but on second thoughts I found the so doing might have upset his independence and cricket zeal, and have disturbed the good seed which had fallen on fair ground, F.Gr. A n old Cricketer writes:— Considerable discussion has recently taken place as to the advisability of making the cricket pitch for boys twenty-one yards, but until recently I had no reliable evidence of a match having been played under this altered condition. I was present at a match between the Abbey School, Beckenham, and the Rev. O. T. Oldham’s School, at Blackheath (the boys’ ages being between.l2andl5),and,atthe request of the latter, the pitch was twenty-one yards. It appears to me that it is most detrimental to a boy’s form and style (which is usually getting settled about 15) to play on the shorter pitch, and I fail to see the slightest advantage in so doing. In the interests of cricket I should be glad to have your views upon the subject in your next issue. The innovation is not only contrary to the rules of cricket, but should be dis­ countenanced as most injurious to young cricketers. T he following are the results of the matches played by the nine leading counties up to Saturday last. Played. W on. Lost. Drawn. Surrey .................. 6 5 1 0 Nottinghamshire 4 2 1 1 Lancashire ....... 7 5 2 0 4 2 2 0 Middlesex .......... G 3 2 1 Yorkshire .......... 7 3 2 2 Gloucestershire .. 5 0 2 3 D erbyshire........... 3 0 3 0 G 0 5 1 T otal............... 48 20 20 8 I n spite of a recent and emphatic an - nouncement to the contrary, I hear on the very best authority, that in all prob­ ability a place will very shortly be found for F. H. Sugg, who has played in turn for Yorkshire and Derbyshire, in the Lancashire Eleven. Sugg has, I believe, qualified for Lancashire under the residen­ tial qualification, and the addition of a professional who could always be relied upon, would certainly not weaken the Lancashire Eleven. Sugg has recently been scoring very heavily, particularly in Scotland, and his batting should be of great service to the team captained by Mr. A. N. Hornby. T h e Players to meet the Gentlemen at the Oval to-day will be after all identi­ cally the same combination which showed to such advantage at every point of the game at Lord’s on Monday and Tuesday. It was intended that Wood should have kept wicket, but the Surrey stumper’s hands are not in a condition to warrant his taking part in the match, and Sherwin will be in charge o f the sticks. Messrs. E. A. Nepean, A. M. Sutthery, and A. H. Newnham, who, I believe, is off to St. Petersburgh almost immediately, will be substituted for Messrs. Roller, Marehant, and Appleby. These are the only changes in the two teams as they appeared on the Marylebone ground. I t will be interesting to University cricketers in particular to know that Mr. Henry Perkins has recently issued through the agency of the well-known publishing house, Virtue and Co., of Ivy Lane, a book giving the full scores of all the Inter-University matches from 1827 to 1887. An index to the names of all the various cricketers who have figured in these contests makes the book of addi­ tional value for reference, and to those who are interested in cricket at either University it should be of great use. T he Anchor Steamer “ Furnessia,” which brought the Gentlemen o f Canada from New York, arrived in Glasgow on Tuesday, having, I presume, disembarked the cricketers at Moville on the way. At least I learned by telegram from Dublin yesterday, that the party had all reached that city safely, and were duly installed in the Shelbourne Hotel there. According to the latest announcements Dr. Ogden and his men are to commence their first fixture against the Gentlemen of Ireland to-morrow, so that they will have not had much time to get their land legs. B o w l e y , the Surrey professional, who had accepted Mr. G, F. Vernon’s offer to join the English team which is to visit Australia this winter, under the auspices of the Melbourne Club, has, I hear, after careful consideration, felt reluctantly compelled to withdraw. He is doubtful that the extra work he would have to perform in the Colonies would not be so beneficial to him as the rest from Sep­ tember to May. I am inclined, too, to think that the hard wickets o f Australia do. not present a picture altogether of the most pleasing kind to Bowley’s mind. M e . A rthur F rederick J effreys , who is contesting the vacancy in the Basingstoke Division of Hampshire, caused by the elevation of Mr. Sclater Booth (Lord Dasing) to the Peerage, in the Conservative interest, against Mr. Richard Eve, Gladstonian Liberal, is, as many CRiCKET-readers are aware, a well- known cricketer. At Oxford, he had no mean reputation as a batsman, and during the last few years he has figured in the Hampshire eleven at times with distinct success. L in e s written on Saturday morning, July 9th, 1887:— The game as it stands looks a moral for Eton, And great the surprise if by chance they are beaten. But this we can state, on the highest authority, If they lose it will be by an Barrow majority.