Cricket 1888

MAT 10, 1888. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 121 T h a t was an incomprehensibly funny mistake which appeared in one of the sporting papers, confounding the inoffen­ sive little Surrey professional, Robert Abel, with a pugilistic individual evidently bearing the same names, who appears to have assisted in the rece nt fight between Smith and Kilrain. T h is m ention rem inds me of the recent presentation to the popular little Surrey cricketer, an event of w hich he is, and w ith reason, proud. The presentation consisted of a handsome gold watch and an illum inated address containing the follow ing inscrip tio n:— Presented to R O B E R T A B E L , together with A G o l d W a t c h , As a mark o! esteem and respeot, by a few friends of Rotherhithe and Bermondsey, on his return from Australia. Chairman - Mr. W . Brown. Hon. Treasurer - Mr. E. A. Glover. Committee. Mr. J. E . Brook. „ T, G. Hobcraft. „ T. Salter. ,, T. Marshall. „ G. Gowers. „ F. Boyington. Mr. F. Best. „ W . L&que. „ J. A. Smith. „ T. Percival. „ W . Gowers. „ C. Smith. Hon. Secretaries. Mr. J. C. Hammond. Mr. W . Norris. 3rd May, 1888. I t will be useful intelligence to secre­ taries of suburban clubs to know that the interesting burglar has been recently burgling in the neighbourhood of London, to the damage of cricketers. A few nights ago the Pavilion of the Streatham Club was visited by one or more members of the profession, though, fortunately, as it happened, the goods removed were not of a very valuable kind, being mostly con­ fined to shirts, jerseys, and articles of an easily portable character. As the summer is the most profitable time of the year for the students, as well as the professors, of the burgling art, it will be well for the managers of cricket grounds round Lon­ don, not only to see to their locks and bars, but also to be on the watch for such visitors. any change to conduce to such a result. The Australian cricketers have received invitations to a smoking concert at the Oxford Town Hall on the occasion of their visit to the University next week, and also, I understand, to a dinne r wh the Australasian Club, as well as to a dramatic entertainment by the Footlights Club, during the course of their visit to Cambridge. E v e r y o n e interested in County cricket will be glad to hear that the executive of the Warwickshire County Club has already succeeded in getting clear of the debt incurred chiefly by the unfavourable weather prevalent during the progress of some of the principal fixtures of last year. As many will remember, rai l interfered considerably with both the home fixtures against Notts and Surrey in 1887, and it was mainly to the comparatively small gates on these two important occasions that the deficit of £350, at the end of the year, was attributable. At the first meet­ ing of the Committee, after the annual meeting, it was resolved to set about wiping off the debt, and the proposal met with such favour that sums making an aggregate of £280 were promised in the room. This stimulated the Committee to appeal to the members with a view to raise a fund to place the Club on a proper working footing, and the reception has been so far favourable, that not only has a sum of between four and five hundred pounds been promised, but many members have doubled the amount of their subscriptions. The Warwickshire Club, I may add, now numbers nearly eight hundred members. S o m e difficulty has arisen, I am sorry to say, with regard to the fixture against the Gentlemen of Scotland, which the Australians had hoped to be able to fulfil at Edinburgh, on July 12 and two follow­ ing days. It was overlooked at the time the arrangement was concluded that the Yorkshire eleven were down to meet the Gentlemen of Scotland in the Scotch capital on the same days, and hence a second match with the Australians is un- practicable. The authorities on the other side of the Tweed are hopeful of being able to find another suitable date, by alteration of existing arrangements, but as the Australian programme is filled up there does not seem to be much chance o* T h e many friends ofthe veteran Sussex cricketer,Mr. EdwardNapper, ofTismans, Horsham, will be glad to hear that he is at last well on the road to recovery from the severe accident suffered some weeks ago on the hunting field. He was able to leave his room for the first time on Sunday last, and now that he has advanced so far, his restoration to health should be speedy. The sight of one eye, C r ic k e t readers will be grieved to hear, has entirely gone, but everyone hopes that this will not prevent him from being in his usual place at Lord’s, the Oval, and on the Sussex County Ground during the summer. I h a v e much pleasure in giving pub­ licity to the following communication from Mr. F. W, Angus, of 621, Commer­ cial Road. May I appeal to the generosity of the readers of your valuable paper, by asking them to assist us in forming a cricket club at the Red Coat Sunday Schools, Stepney, by giving us any old bats, stumps, etc., which although useless to them, would serve admirably for a boys’ club. If any one wishes to sell a set at a low price we should be glad to communicate with them. All gifts will be most gratefully acknowledged by me. of Shrewsbury, who is staying to manage the football combination, and Mr. Docker, who is coming on in a week or two, is causing some little uneasiness in certain quarters. The “ Coptic ” was due to-day, but she did not leave Teneriffe until Mon­ day, and will consequently not reach Plymouth until Sunday. Maurice Read and Lohmann will, therefore, not have much, if any, time to spare before they appear at the Oval, being due there on Monday, to meet the Australian team. T h e advice I ventured to give some weeks since to those interested in the County Clubs of Surrey, Kent, and Mid­ dlesex, to look carefully into the details of the Local Government Bill, with a view to glean for themselves what effect it might have on their respective interests, seems to have caused little disturbance in the official mind or minds. A gentle­ man learned in the law, and a practical cricketer withal, Mr. H. A. Smith, in a letter which appears in another part of the paper, however, effectually dispels any fears which might have disturbed the slum­ bers of the moving spirits of the Counties which include a part of L ondon in their boundaries. A n o t h e r correspondent interested in this particular question, too, writes me as follows.—“ What is this absurd scare about the dismemberment of the County (Surrey) ? I took upon myself to ask the opinion of counsel upon th e subject, and send you his reply. ‘ No statement could be more absurd. Any Act of Parliament can define particular County boundaries for particular objects. The boundaries could not be altered except by a particular Act of Parliament on the subject, and then only with the greatest difficulty. The only alteration that would be at all possible in the County of Surrey, would be the inclusion of the Aldershot district within its boundaries, but this is not very likely to be passed.’ ” After this, I think the cricketers of Surrey, Kent and Middlesex may fairly resume their regular occupa­ tions without fear of disruption in the near or even the distant future. The delay in the arrival of the steamer “ Coptic,” which is bringing home from New Zealand the members of Shrews­ bury’s English team, with the exception T h e Duke of Buccleuch, it will interest C r ic k it readers generally to know, is the President of the Marylebone Club for the ensuing year. The out-going President usually vacates the chair during the course of the annual dinner at Lord’s, in favour of his successor, but as I have seen no notice of the last change as an incident of the events of yesterday week at Lord’s in any of the sporting papers, the name of the new President will perhaps be news to the great body of cricketers. M e n t io n of the Marylebone Club reminds me that Alec Hearne opened his first season at Lord’sin right royal fashion, on Monday last. The Y orkshiremen on several previous occasions have been thoroughly puzzled by his bowling, and