Cricket 1887

NOT. 21, 1887. C R IC K E T : A W E E K L Y RECORD OF THE GAME . 453 A club-house w as erected in 1873, at the south-w estern end of the ground. A t first it w as on ly a very m odest structure o f fram e som e 20 b y 12 feet in e x te n t; but as the in ­ creasing dem ands for m ore extensive aecom - m odation called for new additions, the original structure was, every year or tw o, enlarged by th e erection of large w ings, until, tow ards the end o f th e clu b’s stay at C am p W ashington, the buildin gs assum ed quite pretentious pro portions, and w ere fitted up w ith lockers, bath­ room s, lavatories, and all other accessories for the com fort and convenience of the m em bers, and surrounded by broad and shady verandas. A portion o f the clu b-h ou se w as also set apart as the quarters of the cricket professional and grou n d m an. A fter the club-house h ad been in use tw o or three years great inconvenience was often felt, during particu larly h o t and dry spells of w eather, from the lim ited w ater supply. T o obviate this nuisance, M essrs. A . E . and E . H. O uterbridge very generously cam e forw ard, and at th eir ow n expense and at the sacrifice of m u ch valuable tim e and personal labour, erected a w indm ill to pum p w ater from the w ell, w h ich proved such a b oon to the m en, that the clu b gladly consented to take over the fixtures fo r w hat it cost th e builders. T h e w indm ill w orked adm irably until the pipes of the island w ater system w ere introduced into the clu b-h ouse in 1881, w hen, its day o f useful- r ot"i b ein g past, it w as allow ed to fall into isuse. THE PROM INENT FEATURES AND PERSONNEL OF THB CLUB. T h e tastes and tendencies o f the original founders n o doubt had m u ch to do tow ards shaping the destinies o f the club in to those channels of sport w h ich are its chief ch arac­ teristics and attractions to-d ay, as w ell as givin g the cue to the social status o f such as should be eligible to m em bership, w h ich has alw ays been based upon th e broadest and m ost liberal interpretation o f the term s, “ gentle­ m an ” and “ am ateur.” T h e personnel of the clu b is second to n one in this or any other cou n try, and the dues and expenditures laid upon m em bers are w ithin the reach o f the m ost m oderate incom es. A t first initiation fees and yearly subscriptions am ounted to on ly $10 fo r each ; bu t during the last year it has been fou n d advisable to raise the annual ratin g to $15, for w h ich additional com forts and conveniences are, how ever, given. The m em bership consists of Am ericans principally, but there is a good sprinkling o f the B ritish elem en t; b u t so harm oniously and pleasantly do the relations of the different nationalities run together, that there is never the slightest friction . T n e m anagem ent and direction of clu b m atters is vested alm ost entirely in the hands o f Am ericans, the inhabitants o f Staten Island ; and w isely so, because to them and to th eir fam ilies is m ainly due the success and prosperity o f the club. O riginally, and prior to th e in trod u ction of law n tennis into the cou n try, baseball and cricket w ere the on ly gam es that took up the attention o f the m em b ers; bu t soon after the advent o f th e now extrem ely popular gam e of law n tennis, the clu b w as very largely aug­ m ented by its vota ries; and o f late years, too, th e baseball elem ent do n ot seem to have taken pains to keep up the practice o f the gam e, so that the interest has dropped off som ew hat, m ak in g the atm osphere o f cricket and tennis decidedly the all-prevailing life o f the club. In fa ct, it m ay be honestly stated that to-day the Staten Island C ricket and Baseball C lub has th e strongest and largest all-round tennis clientele in the country. Besides the gam es above m ention ed, the clu b has this year en­ grafted lacrosse on to its m ain trunk b y the en­ rolm en t am ong its m em bers o f the finest lacrosse clu b o f A m erica, the N ew Y o rk L .C .; and during the fall m onths the club can also fu rnish a fairly strong team of football players, w h o belong to th e N ational F ootball A ssocia­ tion ’s roll o f clubs, THE HISTORY OF TH E CLUB’ S CRICKET. T h e first regular m atches o f the club w ere played on the centre plateau of the Cam p W ashington grounds, and it does n ot appear that the lu xu ry of a professional coach was indulged in till the clu b had been in existence for tw o years. In 1874 W illia m B rew ster was engaged, and retain ed his position four consecutive years. H e w as a m ediu m -paced , round-arm vbow ler, a capital bat and excellent field anyw here, and, w hat w as of m ost im ­ portance to a you n g club, a splendid coach, able to detect and correct any w eak or d e ­ fective style o f h ittin g or defence in the players. In those days th e cricket team was com prised of such fam iliar nam es as D avis, L usk, M arsh, Peters, R idgw ay-M oore, A . E . O uterbridge, Joe Sprague, and others of lesser fam e. T h e clu b ’s inaugural efforts wrere, how ever, n ot attended w ith that brilliant success w h ich fell to their share in later years, and it w as n ot until the year 1875, that they gained their first really glorious v ictory over the G erm antow n X I., then, as now , one of the strongest cricket clubs of the cou n try. In this fam ous m atch the Staten Islanders w ere m aterially assisted by J. B otham -W hetham , the captain o f the X I ., a m agnificent batsm an, w ho practically gained the victory fo r his side by m aking the then unparalleled score of 116 n ot out. T h e X I .’s o f those days also found a sure run-getter in P. S. R on aldson, an enthusiastic and energetic cricketer, w h o did m u ch tow ards pushing the gam e in and around N ew Y ork and vicin ity. T h e principal opponents o f the clu b during th e first years were th e A lban y, Syracuse, St. G eorges, and the Y ou n g A m erica, M erion, G erm antow n and P h iladelphia Clubs, that hailed from the environs o f the Q uaker C ity. B u t in these early contests the arm s o f the clu b generally fell before their stronger rivals, and especially was this the case in the m atches against th eir near neighbours, the St. G eorge’s C lu b ; bu t as years w ent by the Staten Island C.C. alm ost entirely m on opolised the constantly increasing E n glish cricket elem ent that cam e to the country, so that w hile the St. G eorge’s C.C. becam e w eaker and w eaker, th e Staten Islanders becam e stronger and stronger, and eventually turned th e tide o f defeat into one of alm ost annual victory. One of th e principal causes that has done m uch tow ards the grow th and m aintenance of cricket in the U nited States, has been the p eriodical visits o f th e E n glish , Irish and A ustralian team s to th is country, and w hen­ ever these visits did occu r, the Staten Island C .C . took a very leading part in their en ter­ tainm ents, giving them the free use of th eir grounds fo r practice and m aking their visits pleasant in other respects. T h e first visit occurred in 1880, w hen an X I. of Irish gentle­ m en cam e over to m ake a cricketin g tour of the States and Canada. T h ey stayed on Staten Island nearly three weeks, being the guests of th e club, and playing th em tw o m atches, both w on b y the visitors. The m em bers o f this team w ere G eoffrey and W m . H one, S ir G eorge C olthurst, B rougham , M unn, R o ly M iller and Casey. In the follow in g year D ick D a ft’ s X I. visited th e club on th eir return from their A ustralian trip, and played a m atch w ith the Islanders, w h ich , though it proved a total defeat, taught th e hom e team m uch in the w ay of cricket. In 1883, th e E n glish X I., under Shaw and Shrew sbury, on the w ay out to A ustralia, stopped ever in N ew Y ork to plav a m atch w ith th e Staten Island C .C . L a st year saw the G entlem en of E n gla n d and an X I. of gentlem en from th e W est Indies on their new grounds. U nder the captaincies o f E . J. Stevens. R obert Sale H ill and C yril W ilson, th e cricket record o f th e clu b has been m ost successful, and at the present tim e there seem s to be as strong m aterial fo r the future w elfare o f th e gam e as ever there was during any period o f its existen ce. D . M . H e l l e r d u rin g this sum m er took sixty -five w ickets fo r the U n ited W estm inster S ch ools at a cost of 149 runs, givin g an average o f 2.2 runs per w icket. T H E H A S T IN G S W E E K . T h e final m eeting o f the G eneral C om m ittee o f th e H astings and St. L eonards W eek, for the purpose of receivin g the balance-sheet, w as held at th e Tow rn H all on th e 1st of N ovem ber. M r. R . L yd gate was in th e chair. T h e H on . Secretary read the report and the balance-sheet as fo llo w s :— T h e M atch C om m ittee beg to report the due carryin g ou t of the first grand C ricket W eek at H astings in accordance w ith the arrange • m ents, w'hich, th ey are glad to say, m et w ith the unqualified approval o f the G entlem en and P layers engaged in th e several m atches. T h e H on . T reasurer presents his balance- sheet, du ly audited, w h ich show s receipts £395 9s. and paym ents £407 6s. 3d. leaving a deficit o f £ 1 1 17s. 3d. T h e C om m ittee do not propose to call u pon th e guarantors for any contribu tion, and th e deficiency has already been defrayed by private subscriptions. T h e C om m ittee desires to express its opinion that the object fo r w'hich it w as appointed, viz., to carry out a C ricket W eek at H astings in w h ich first-class crick et should be show n, w as d u ly attained and appreciated b y the general public. T h e Com m ittee fu rth er considers that seeing its labours are com pleted it should n ow be dissolved and that the question of contin uin g the w eek annually should be left to th e e x ­ pression o f public opin ion on the m atter. R e c e ip t s . £ s. d. North and South M atch, Is..........................214 0 0 Gentlemen of Sussex v. Gentlemen of Surrey, 6d......................................................... 59 16 6 Gontlemen v. Players of Sussex................... 37 15 6 Sale of tickets prior to week ................... 53 2 0 Refreshment c o n tr a c t.................................. 15 0 0 Printing Programm es ...........................................710 0 Allowances by Messrs Taylor Bros., Love, Randle. Parsons, and P. H. T r e e ........... 8 5 0 Balance due to Treasurer .......................... 11 17 3 £407 6 3 P a y m e n t s . £ s. d. M atch expenses, including players, umpires and s c o r e r s .................. ...........2*9 5 6 Printing, advertising, and bill-posting ... 76 8 4 Grand stand and seating .......................... 46 7 2 Ground expenses, wages, cricket m a­ terials, etc........................................................ 87 17 11 Town Band, three d a y s .......................... • 6 0 0 Police ................................................................. 7 0 0 Postage, telegrams, and petty expenses, and entire cost of management of week 12 12 4 Town Hall for meetings .......................... 1 5 0 £407 6 3 T h e B alan ce-sheet w as adopted w ithout com m en t. T h e question o f h oldin g a cricket w eek next year w as then discussed, and it was resolved that a pu b lic m eeting should be called by the old com m ittee to get th e viewrs of th e tow n s­ people on the question. H earty votes of thanks w ere passed to th e H on. Secs, and to M r. R . L ydgate fo r their valuable services. R O Y A L M IL IT A R Y A C A D E M Y . M atches played 11—w on 5, lost 4, draw n 1, tie 1 BATTING AVERAGES. Tim es M ost in Inns, not out. Runs, an Inns. Aver. A. D. Kirby ... 13 ... 5 ... 160 ... 43 ... 20 J. R. Liddell ... lfi ... 3 ... 243 ... 113 ... 18 6 G. H. Nicholson 12 ... 3 ... 116 ... 81*,.. 12.8 J. Bellhonse ...11 ... 0 ... 134 ... 7 1 ... 121 H. R. Stockley... 15 ... 1 ... 1B8 ... 37 ... 12 E. L. Tomkins... 15 .. 1 ... 166 ... 32 ... 11.8 W. S trong ............ 13 ... 0 ... 147 ... 43 ... 11.3 G. Laird .......... 13 ... 0 ... 146 ... 50 ... 11.2 K. Edlm ann ... 14 ... 2 ... 1?2 ... 19 ... 1 U H.M. Barnes ...IS ... 0 ... 112 ... 3 4 ... 8.6 W. A r th y ........... 3 ... 1 ... 26 ... 15 ...13 BOW LING AVERAGES. Balls. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. H. R. Stockley . . 1498 . . 91 . . 604 . . f9 . . 8.7 E. Edlm ann ... .. 1263 . . 6 > . . 533 . . 44 . . 12 2 H. M. Barnes ... .. 740 . 24 . . 401 . . 27 . . 14.8 J. Bellhouse ... . 275 . . lo . . 130 . . 1> . . 13 W . Strong ... . . 20 .. 2 .. 14 .. 1 .. ------ W. Arthy................ . 2) .. 1 .. 14 .. 0 .. ------ E. H. Nicholson , 15 .. 1 .. 11 .. 0 .. ------ N E X T ISSU E , DECEMBER 29.