Cricket 1888

JULY 19, 1888. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 281 numbers on the plates correspond with those attached to the names of the various players on the card, and by this means every one on the ground can, if desired, know the bowlers who commence and each change as it is made. Though to those who take real interest in cricket the provision is of great use, to the uninitiated it is an equal source of trouble. In the recent fashionable gatherings at Lord’s this latest innovation ereated no small perplexity, and it was my good fortune to listen to one of the most ingenious explanations of its objects during the course of a recent fixture of general interest. The numbers at the time on the board were 7 and 4, and a fair student of cricket, lost in wonder­ ment at the game generally, was asking the meaning of these—to her—mystic symbols. Before her companion had time to answer, though, a happy thought explained the whole matter to her entire satisfaction. “ Oh ! I see,” she added, “ Seven of England against Four of Aus­ tralia. That makes the eleven.” And pleased to have got rid of a difficulty so easily, she proceeded with a running com­ mentary on the game in the same artless and original style. T h e hopes of Canadian cricketers that they would be able to repeat their triple successive victory in Internationalmatches was doomed to bitter disappointment this year. The game, which was played on July 4 and 5 on the new ground of the Toronto Club, resulted in a complete victory for the United States, who were able, in a measure no doubt due to their good fortune in winning the toss, to out­ play their opponents at every point. Though the Americans were deprived at the last moment of the valuable bowling of Mr. W. C. Lowry, both sides were, on the whole, representative, and the Canadians seem to have been fairly beaten on their merits. W. Brockie, who will be remembered in connection with the visit of the Gentlemen of Philadelphia to Eng­ land, was the chief scorer for the United States, and F. E. Brewster, who played more than once for the Surrey Club during the off-days of the Philadelphian tour, and H. I. Brown the most success­ ful bowlers. The Gentlemen of Canada, too, were in evidence in the match, as Dr. Ogden, their captain, took five of the ten American wickets, and G. W. Jones was the principal run-getter with scores of 22 and 6. It is gratifying to learn from all parts that the visit of the Gentlemen of Canada to England last year has borne good fruit. G. W. Jones states that the muster roll of the Cricket Club at New Brunswick has been trebled through the interest taken in the Canadian trip. T h e well-known Australian cricketer, who, as I stated in last week’s “ Gossip,” is settling permanently in England, reached the Old Country in the Orient steamer “ Orizaba,” on Monday with his wife and an infant “ Spoff,” who first saw the light when the ship was a few days out from Melbourne. As they were nearing Home—with a big big H, if you please—one of our best known and most popular amateur cricketers was just leaving England for the Colonies. Mr. W. E. Roller, who left London on Satur­ day last in a sailing ship for Mel­ bourne, intends to spend the winter in Australia, with the object of recovering his health, which has not been of the best lately. I understand that, in all, probability, Mr. Hugh Rotherham, of Warwickshire, will also be at the Anti­ podes during Mr. Roller’s stay, and I commend the two amateurs to the kind offices of all C ric k e t readers in Greater Britain. Every one will trust that the long voyage and the genial climate of the Southern Hemisphere will restore Mr. Roller to his friends, whose name is legion, in England, sound and well. T he following are the averages of the principal batsmen of the year in the matches between the nine chief Counties and other important fixtures up to Satur­ day last:— Completed Highest Inns. Runs. score. Aver. W. W. R e a d .......... 17 ... 896 ... 338 ... 52.12 A bel........................ 17 ... 650 ... 160 .... 38.4 W. G. G race......... 29 ... 993 ... 215 .. . 34.7 Briggs ................. 19 ... 524 ... 126* ... 27.11 Sugg........................ 12 ... 314 ... 102* ... 26 2 Painter ................. 14 ... 3G8 ... 150 ... 26 2 W. N ewham .......... 14 ... 361 ... 128 .... 25.11 W . W. Rashleigh... 13 ... 335 ... 56* ..,. 25.10 S.M .J. Woods ... 16 ... 406 ... 79* ... 25.6 Lee ........................ 17 ... 419 ... 83 ... 2411 H. B. Daft .......... 13 ... 318 ... 68* ... 24.6 F. H. Gresson 12 ... 293 ... 114 .. . 24.5 G. M. K em p ......... 14 ... 331 ... 64 ... 23.9 J. G. W alker......... 18 ... 414 ... 97 ... 23 Hon. P. J. Thesiger 11 ... 246 ... 88 ... 22.4 J. Shuter................. 17 ... 364 ... 69 ... 21.7 M. R ea d ................. 13 ... 272 ... 64 .. . 20.12 J. Hide ................. 14 ... 289 ... 130 ... 20.9 S.W . Scott .......... 12 ... 246 ... 121* ... 20.6 Gunn ................. 24 ... 485 ... 73 .... 20.5 J. Eccles................. 17 ... 343 ... 99 .. . 20.3 In giving the results of the Eton and Harrow matches, the Sporting L ife of Monday last states that the two schools have met sixty-three times. The list includes the first fixture of all, that of 1805, in which Eton were successful. It was clearly an irregular match, though, as was the meeting in 1857, won by Harrow. Neither of these contests was in reality an actual match between Eton and Harrow, as neither was made between the captains of the two schools, and clearly neither should count. By the way, in “ Scores and Biographies ” Charles Lloyd is entered as the Harrow captain in 1805, but the Earl of Bessborough tells me C. L. himself stated that it was his brother J. H. Lloyd who was captain. Lord Bessborough states, too, that he can show by an old bill of the school that J. H. Lloyd had left at the Whitsuntide Holidays, which then were the Spring Holidays. He was captain of the Harrow Eleven in 1805, and made the match which has been allowed to appear as between Eton and Harrow, but it was distinctly not the School team that played. Accepting these facts as beyond doubt, sixty-two matches have been played, of which each school has won twenty-six, and the other ten have been drawn. P. S. J ackson , who did such good ser­ vice for Harrow against Eton, is, it will be interesting to C r ic k e t readers to know, a son of Mr. W. L. Jackson, M.P. for the Northern Division of Leeds, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. He remains at Harrow for another year, as do A. C. Maclaren, the hero of last year’s match, and Hoare, who showed such excellent cricket at Lord’s last week. Greaves, Watson, and Giffard are all going to Oxford, while Cambridge will next season, at least, not be able to claim any member of this year’s Harrow team. On the other hand, while none o f the Eton eleven are bound for Oxford, Yate-Lee, who batted so well in the first innings against Harrow, and Gosling are both, I understand, going to Cambridge. I hear that Pechell, Hodgson, and Goad aro expected to leave, but the other six members of the team will, in all proba­ bility, be available next summer. T h ouoh most of us would have pre­ ferred the result to have been reversed, no one, I am sure, will hesitate to con­ gratulate the Australian team on their latest and the most important of all their successes. Winning the toss was, of course, a great factor in the result, and the luck was theirs no doubt. At the same time, the element of luck has always to be dealt with in cricket, and no one can gainsay that the play ofthe Australians at Lord’s was, all round, of a high class, particularly their out cricket, which was of the most brilliant kind. This great achievement will be the more gratifying to McDonnell and his men lrom the fact that they left Australia amidst the most gloomy prognostications on all sides, and, with some few exceptions, a general pre­ diction of failure from their dear friends, the Australian critics. T u r n e r ’ s unbroken successes in Aus­ tralia had prepared the English publio to find him,as he has proved, a Terror in deed as he is in name, on sticky wickets, and his more recent performances here have been of a most extraordinary character. I question, indeed, whether any bowler can claim, in important matches, to havo done what he has done in the last three fixtures of the Australians, to have bowled unchanged throughout six succeseive in­ nings. A correspondent kindly points out that in the last six matches Turner has the following remarkable figures:— Overs. Hdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. 319.1 ... 161 ... 371* ... 70 ... 53 “ R. T.’’ writes thusly:— The Cheltenham team this season is a particularly good one, not only having in it Mr. Champain, a batsman who has made his mark by long scoring, but also having other batsmen who don’t take long in m oving towards the century, as well as capital right and left-hand bowling, which latter delivery Marlborough were short of to work the change. Although the best side won on this occasion, it is but just to state that Marlborough were heavily handicapped by losing their elected captain, who was prevented from playing through a recent severe accident. B ut there * Is this not 361?