Cricket 1888

451 CRICKET: A WEEKL I RECORD OF THE GAME. NOV. 29, 1888. “ He was worse than ‘ Chanticleer’ in one way; you might as well bowl at a barn-door. He never took the slightest liberty with any but the loosest balls, and those he sent skimming along the green for twos and threes between the fielders. “ ‘ 150 ’ had been hoisted some time, when we decided to put on ‘ lobs *as a last resource, and I was pitched on to try my ‘ twisters. ’ The two batsmen now changed roles, ‘ Cock’ treated my curly ones with contempt, giving them a lick with one hand, turning round to hit them through the slips as though he were a left-handed bat striking to leg, and other antics of like nature ; while his partner began lessening the gap between the two records at an alarming pace, and all the time the ‘ national debt’ kept growing bigger, as we grew more weary, till at last, I believe, all hope of getting a wicket died out in the breast of every Goadby player on the field. “ It’s no use dragging you through the remainder of that wretched match. Suffice it to say, that when ‘ time ’ was called the partners were still together; and as we dressed, visions of old Huddlestone rose vividly before me, and I inwardly prayed that I might not come to any serious trouble through that ancient shepherd. “ When we neared the Lodge I looked out, and there, sure enough, the croaking old brute stood waiting for us. ‘ “ Tune up like distraction, Charley!’ I cried. ‘ Y ou’re asleep, you young duffer!’ “ ‘ Don’t you know we’ve won in one innings with sixty runs to spare ? ’ put in Rowbotham, suggestively. “ Whether Charley was a little dazed in his ideas, or whether he went into the spirit of the thing, I don’t know, but he kicked up no end of a row; and we backed him up with such shouts of triumph that the old man might well feel doubtful. And when I bawled out aa we passed, *Another licking, Huddlestone; bigger than ever! ’ he turned away with a puzzled expression on his face. So, for the time, we escaped his caustic tongue. “ The next morning, however, he met me in the stackyard, and it was evident that he had been weighing the matter over, for he said— “ ‘ Excuse me, Mr. L ------, but who won the toss yesterday ? ’ “ ‘ They did,’ I replied. “ 1 Haw ! haw ! then yo niver got in at a ll! T o war leather-huntin’ all day ! Haw ! haw ! I told yo bo. Do yo keep; this side o’ Harby bridge.’ “ The next day, of course, was Melton market, and I met Wildes as usual. “ ‘ How did you get on at L angar?’ he inquired. ‘“ Oh, we got what that wretched old shep­ herd of Hinton’s called a hidin.’ ’ “ ‘ W h at! old Huddlestone ? ’ “ ‘ Yes. You know him, then ? * u ‘ By going there to buy the wool. He’s a queer card.’ “ ‘ What did he mean by saying we had got Wrong side of Harby bridge ? ’ I inquired. “ 1He meant you were too near NottinghamI That why I offered to make the bet. Swiper could easily get players on Saturday, when he Went to market there, especially now the row is on in the eleven. What were the scores ? ’ “ ‘ Oh, they got nearly 300 for no w icket! A fellow named Cock got most of them.’ “ ‘ Cock! Cock! I know nobody of that name! Here, Swiper! who was that man you had knocking the Goadby, bowling about yes­ terday ? ’ “ ‘ There were two men who seemed pretty well at home with it, ’ replied Swiper, who had just entered the room; ‘ but I expect you mean “ Cock Selby.” ’ “ ‘ Selby the professional ? ’ I asked. “ ‘ Yes.’ “ ‘ That accounts for my thinking I had seen him somewhere before. But is he a Langar man ? ’ “ ‘ Oh, n o ; the fact is, the Langar element in yesterday’s team began and ended with Sedgebrook! How far did the Goadby element go beyond Tom Rowbotham ? ’ “ ‘ Not far.’ “ ‘ I thought as much. Well, at any rate you have the satisfaction of knowing that if you didn’t win you were beaten, as far as you were beaten, by “ your own weapons.” ’ ” CRICKET IN HOLLAND. [From the Cambridge Review .] W e are continually reminded by the coming to England of cricket teams from either hemi­ sphere of the truth in the remark that wher­ ever an Englishman goes the first thing he builds is a church, and then he makes a cricket ground. That estimable person “ A Constant Reader” sees in the Field , continual reports of cricket matches in foreign parts, in wnich all the players are not always English, Cricket, however, has not as yet established itself definitely as a national game in any country which does not speak English. Still, in Holland, it seems probable from the growing popularity of the game, that in a few years it will have no formidable rivals. Most people seem rather surprised at the idea of Dutch cricket. You say you are going over on a cricket tour to Holland. ‘ ‘ To Holland ? ” (with an interrogatory accent of amazement, as if you had said Timbuctoo), “ but you play against Englishmen, I suppose?” and when you reply that the Dutch play a good deal, you are received with an air of polite incredulity, “ and how do they play ? ” I have had a fair opportunity of observing Dutch cricket as I have been over there on two trips, playing about six matches on each occa­ sion. I shall not give the name of the club for 1 (which I was playing,as it would be of no general interest; but I may say that its members are all connected with a south country school, and that the team itself is pretty wellknown west of Exeter. We arenot, o f course, the only English team that has played cricket in Holland; there have been others, though not many. Cricket has not been a Dutch institution for more than about eleven years; the oldest cricket club in the Hague, the “ Concordia Cricket Club,” which has since changed its name to the “ Hague Cricket Club,” celebrated its tenth anniversary not long ago, and anyone who goes into the dressing room of the club will perceive a large wreath, the gift of the sister club, the “ Olympia Cricket Club,” on the occasion of the attainment of double figures. During these ten years cricket has spread en­ ormously ; there are now more than a hundred" clubs scattered over Holland, and the popularity of the game is growing in spite of all difficulties. And the difficulties are considerable. In the first place the Govern­ ment, with the customary continental care for the safety and well-being of its citizens, was inclined to regard with suspicion the hardness o f . the cricket ball. Experience has since caused them to modify their opinions to some extent, but as one of our team on making a large and discursive hit while prac­ tising was greeted by one of the onlookers with the remark, “ I will beg you to pay attention, for if anyone should be hit the game will have to be stopped, ” it seems that the game is still on trial. Then again the elder people, and the parents of many of the players, strongly dis­ approve of a game which was unknown to them in their young days, and which they regard as a waste of time. The English idea of exercise is of no weight. The time ‘ ‘ wasted ” in cricket should presumably be devoted to study, though whether the non-cricketers always avail them­ selves of the opportunity is at least doubtful. One student we met had no time for cricket. On inquiring, it appeared that he got up at one or thereabouts, this lateness being consequent on the fact that he seldom went to bed till four. Did he then spend the small hours in study? Well, no, the proceedings were generally con­ vivial. But last year the cricketers had a great triumph, for a cricketer carried off the chief academic honours, and his comrades were able to oppose the heavy weights of theory with the magic ounce of practice. These difficulties are being gradually over­ come, but there are others. As the elders are not cricket patrons, the cricketers have little command of money, except what they get from their own subscriptions. As land is exceedin gly dear in Holland, it is impossible for them to obtain grounds of their own. Consequently they have to resort to various expedients, and cannot secure a field in permanency, which they can improve from year to year. At the Hague, for instance, cricket is played on the Malibaan (which sounds to the careless ear something like Marylebone) but this is the only resemblance, for the Malibaan is public pro­ perty. It is a large grass common about a quarter of a mile long by three hundred yards broad, surrounded by splendid trees, altogether a most picturesque place. Cricket is played by small boys, all over it, and by cricket teams at the end nearest the woods. But then all sorts of things besides cricket habitually go on there. People walk over it and ride over it. The whole Dutch army is perpetually drilled on it. The cavalry exercise there, and I have heard that the artillery occasionally assist in the rolling of the wickets. People take Out bottles and leave them on it, and the broken glass, after an exhibition or something of the kind, is considerable in quantity. In 1887, there had been some show just before we went, and the out-field had to be very careful of his fingers, just under the grand stand. Theglass mostly burrows away in time, but still one comes acrDss pieces every now and then. This year I was attracted by something glitter­ ing on the wicket and I went out to pick it up. It was a small portion of a bottle which, to judge from its colour, had once contained hock. I mentioned the grand stand just now. It had belonged to the show aforesaid and was left up for our benefit; it was filled with people who took a considerable interest in the game. This year we had no grand stand, and were sepa­ rated from the rest of the Malibaan by a high wood boarding. A conjecture was hazarded that it had been erected in order to prevent the ball being hit among the troops who were drilling further down, but we afterwards dis­ covered that it was to enclose another exhibi­ tion, which appear to be as common in Holland as they have lately been in England All these public uses prevent the wickets on the Malibaan from having the care devoted to them which Englishmen regard as indispen- able. In fact, the cricketers have often to give way to necessity, and the marchings to and fro of the Dutch Army. The captain of the Hague team had some considerable difficulty in ob­ taining the ground at all for our last match in 1887, and the moment the stumps were drawn the troops took possession. Besides the troops, the occasional passer-by sometimes claims a right of way. A soldier on a horse displayed his interest and knowledge of the game one day by riding up and taking his position just about the place of forward short-leg. He had no objection to moving when requested, but had apparently no idea that what he did was unusual. On another occasion, between the innings, two equestrians rode on to the ground and would have gone between the wickets, had not it been for the shouts of the crowd. One day, when the Dutch were field­ ing, a sturdy baker insisted on going right through the play, with his basket on his back, and an expression of bumptious unconcern on his countenance. As he crossed the pitch the bowler sent what sounded like abuse after him, but nothing else was to be done. The baker was within his rights. Little incidents of this kind reminded one that one was not playing cricket in England. Besides passers-by, the moles on the Malibaan assert a continual right of way, and impart a devious irregularity to the course of the ball in the deep field, which adds to the proverbial uncertainty of cricket, “ bu t” as one of our out-fields said, looking round him ruefully “ I suppose they are not as far civilised as mole-traps.” I have said enough, I think, to show that the ground is necessarily very rough. The wickets were soft, but the grass was long, and the holes and ridges numer­ ous, so the ball at times performed very extra­ ordinary feats. When the w’ickets do get dry they must be exceedingly dangerous. As it was, the first year, when they were not quite sod­ den, about half the team got hit on the head NEXT ISSUE, DECEMBER 27.