Cricket 1887

AUG. li, l®t). CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 829 As it will be of interest, too, to know the principal county matches which have yet to be decided, the following list can not fail to be of use. Aug. 11.—Huddersfield—Middlesex v. York­ shire. ,, 11.—Kennington Oval—Surrey v. Lan­ cashire. ,, 15.—KenningtonOval—Surreyv.Derby- shire. ,, 15.—Cheltenham—Gloucestershire v. Lancashire. ,, 15. —Brighton—Sussex v. Yorkshire. ,, 15.—Nottingham—Middlesex v. Notts. „ 18.—Kennington Ov;.l—Surrey v.York- shire- ,, 18.—Manchester—Lancashire v.Notts. ,. 22.—Brighton—Sussex v. Lancashire. ,, 22.—Clifton - Gloucestershire v. Mid­ dlesex. ,, 22.—Kennington Oval—Surreyv.Kent. „ 22.—Sheffield—Yorkshire v. Notts. ,, 25.—Clifton—Gloucestershire v. Kent. ,, 25.—Manchester—Lancashire v. York­ shire. „ 25.—Nottingham—Notts v. Sussex. ,, 29.—Kennington Oval — Surrey v. Sussex. ,, 29.—Maidstone—Kent v. Notts. A t r u s t w o r t h y correspondent informs me that Ardingly cricket has lost its two chief supporters of late years,Messrs. W. Newham and G. Brann. The two amateurs, who have, the former in par­ ticular, done good service in the Sussex eleven, my informant states, have just re­ signedtheirappointments atArdingly Col­ lege. Nextmonth,too,will seethemontheir way to Australia as members of the team which Arthur Shrewsbury is “ personally conducting” to the Colonies under a guarantee from some body—I should say somebody—in Sydney. I aminformed, too, though time alone can show whether this part of my information is correct, that it is not altogether unlikely the two Sussex amateurs may settle per­ manently in New South Wales. Asso­ ciation footballers will be sorry to learn that Mr. Brann will be lost to English football this winter. M o ld , the Northamptonshire profes­ sional who is engaged at Old Trafford, to judge by his many good performances, may, I think, fairly be adjudged the most likely fast bowler of the professionals who have come out, at least in any promin­ ence, this year. Last week he did a noteworthy performance at Old Trafford for the Manchester Club against the Uppingham Rovers. Of the twenty wickets he took as many as seventeen, and he had the satisfaction of getting the whole ten in the first innings of the Rovers, an achievement of great merit against such a team. In another way on Saturday last, Mold, too, gained distinc­ tion as a fast bowler. In the match be­ tween the Manchester and Longsight Clubs, played on the ground of the latter, in aid of the Manchester 'Warehousemen and Clerks’ Orphan Schools, he bowled one of the Longsight batsmen with a ball which sent the bail fifty-three yards. My informant, one of the Manchester eleven in the match, saw the distance measured and guarantees its correctness. The best record, though, of the kind, belongs to M r . HughRotherham,who,playingfor the Uppingham Rovers v. the Gentlemen of Derbyshire, at Derby, on Aug. 6, 1881, bowled Mr. D. Docker the first ball the latter received, the bail flying sixfcy- two yards. A l t h o u g h not able to repeat their brilliant performances of last year, the Kent eleven had no cause to be dissatis­ fied with the cricket they showed during the Canterbury Week just over. This time it was their defensive powers that were taxed, and even if they were fortu­ nate, to a certain extent, in avoiding a defeat at the hands of Yorkshire, it was by no means a bad performance consider­ ing that they were 430 runs to the bad in the firstmatch, and 171 in the second, at the end of an innings, to get through the week without an actual reverse, lt will be eminently satisfactory, too, after the bad luck which attended them in the fix­ ture between the Players of theNorth and South, at Becitenham, to know that in a financial aspect, at least, the Canterbury Week of 1887 is entitled to claim a best on record. T h e Canterbury week, too, by the way, has not been overlooked, it is satisfactory to notice, by the genial Mr. Punch, who touches this week on one of by no means the least agreeable features of the annual gathering on the St. Lawrence Ground. BY A CANTERBURY BELLE. (Song at the End of the great Cricket Week.) F in e weather, fair cricket, the b o ld “ Men of Kent ” To flirt and bet gloves—thirty pairs are my winnings !— Why,yes,on the whole I’m extremely content; ’Tis the nicest of outings to witness such innings. Chorus —A Cricketer should be an excellent match Because he is certain to be “ a good catch.” A w e e k or so ago I gave particulars of a series of extraordinarily high scores made by Mr. C. J. M. Fox for the Crystal Palace Club, of which he is one of the most regular players. Last week the same gentleman, who, as many will no doubt remember, played, while still at Westminster School in 1876, for Surrey, added another to his many big innings of this season in his 261 not out for the Crystal Palace against Charlton Park. This score is the more noteworthy as it is, I believe, the largest ever made on the Crystal Palace Ground. Mr. Fox is now residing in Kent and will be available for that county if required next summer. T h e presentation to Mr. W. de Chair Baker, who has had the management of the Canterbury Week, now, for many summers, was only a fitting recognition of years of hard work cheerily performed in the interests of Kentish Cricket. It wasmy fortune in the past to attend a long succession of Canterbury Weeks, and as one of the many who received courtesy at Mr. Baker’s hands, I feel sure he will not take it amiss if I venture to add, my personal congratulations to those he received last week, and also my own grateful recollection of many little acts of consideration and good feeling he showed to me during the years it was my privilege to have to record the varied entertainments of the Canterbury Week. A J e r s e y correspondent informs me that the Australian giant, G. J. Bonnor, who does not seem to evince any great inclination to return to his native heath, is at the present time on a visit to that Island. He is enjoying the hospitality of some friends there, but has not been as yet seen ona Jersey cricket-field. Mr. H. J . H. Scott,theAustralianCaptainof1887, played at Lord’s for M.C.C. and Ground against Somersetshire on Monday and Tuesday, and will, I believe, form one of Mr. C. I. Thornton’s, eleven to meet the Gentlemen of Canada at Norbury Park on Saturday fortnight. T h e Gentlemen of Canada, who, by-the- way, express themselves highly gratified at the kindly reception they have met with everywhere, have agreed to play the Gentlemen of Cheshire, at Birkenhead, on the 24th and 25th of this month, and the match on Mr. J. W. Hobbs’ground, at the close of that week, will bring their pro­ gramme to a termination. The majority or at least several ofthe teamcontemplate a short tour on the Continent after they have disbanded, and it will in all pro­ bability be the end or towards the end of September before they leave England on the return journey. W h i l e onthe subjectofthe Canadians I may take the opportunity ofcorrecting an error which appeared in one of the sporting dailies of Tuesday with regardto the change of the wicket at the Oval on Monday. They had in fact nothing to do with, much less did they suggest, such a change, and indeed it was at the solicita­ tion of the Surrey Captain that they assented to the pitch being altered. T h e Yorkshire elevenhave, indeed,good reason to be proud of their performances during the last week. At Canterbury againstKentUlyett, Hall andLee eachgot a 100—an achievement never, as far as I know, before accomplished in an im­ portant match by the first threebatsmen on a side, andto thiswas addedonMonday another best on record at Bradford, where 484 runs were got in the day with only two wickets down, or 71 more than were got by the Australians against England at the Oval in lt84, previously the biggest achievement of the kind. Two records in a week, and such records too! “Ma conscience ! ” I n their last seven completed inn­ ings, the Yorksliiremen have totalled over three hundred four times, besides their scores of 258 and 208 for fourwicketsagainst Eighteen of Hastings. In the last three Inter-County matches, too, in which he has represented York­ shire, Hall has each time scored over a