Cricket 1888

MAE. 29, 1888. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECOED OP THE GAME. 41 approvingly, adding “ Hout, hover,” and he quietly walked down to his position behind short leg. "We fancy this takes the cake. At all events, it beats ail Australian records. Si non e vero c ben trovato, as the Italians happily say of stories of this veracious character. T h e “ Old Buffer ” loq : In turning over some copies of “ Fores’ Sporting Notes ” for 1884 I came upon some­ thing which I really had forgotten in the shape of a cricket theory of Fuller Pilch’s, adapted to the language of Sternhold and Hopkins’ old version of the “ Psalms of David” ; which contain some of the most original writing of two centuries ago, though amongst them is one psalm which rouses up a British Lion now as much as “ God Sava the Queen”—I mean the “ Old Hundredth.” In an article on cricket, I thought that I could convey my meaning best in a kind of Memoria Technica (which the old Sternhold and Hop­ kins’ editions of the Psalms was for the benefit of those who could not read, but could learn a psalm by heart—-and absurd though some of the words seem, the meaning of the Psalms is admirably explained to illiterate people). Here it is—and if Young England will go to a wicket and carry out in practice what is here printed as Fuller Pilch’s theory, they will not want their pads at all hardly. HYMN APPROPRIATE TO A CRICKET MATCH. L et those who want to plaie ye game To Fuller Pilch attende; W hat he told me, I ’ll tell ye same To all who ears will lende. Five yards behind ye stumps first stande And let ye Umpire bee, When he doth judge, ye bowler’s hande W ill let ye balle go free. And let ye middle stumpe be seen In line, ’twixt him and you, And in that very line I weene W ill be your block so true. Behind ye crease your right foote place, All of the wicket cleare, Your left leg forward throwe and faice Ye bowler without feare. If your left shouldere you can see And ye bowler’s hand alsoe, W ith a straight bat, you’ll surlie bee All ready for ye foe. Keep that left shouldere up, and wait, Watch when the ball doth bounde, And on her put your bat full straight, And drive her on ye grounde. Beware of balls that never rise, To plaie low do not fail, For shooters sinners will surprise; They’re like ye serpent’s trail And if you thrive, before you die, Till’ a hundred yeares be past, They’ll say he scored a “ centurie,” And his bails are off at last. A m en . I t may be of interest to the authorities at Cambridge to know that in all proba­ bility a young Australian cricketer of no small promise, to wit, Mr. John Wood, of Sydney, will shortly come into residence at the University. Mr. Wood, who is at present a student at Sydney University, distinguished himself about Chiistmas time with a fine innings in the Inter- University match of Australia, and soon afterwards added still more to his reputa­ tion by an excellent score of 81 in the return Intercolonial, when Mr. H. C. Moses carried out his bat for ‘297. He has, I saw it stated in a Sydney paper, decided upon coming to England to finish his studies at Cambridge University, and some of the critics of New South Wales are bewailing the gap his retirement will cause in the cricket of the Colony. Mr. Wood, I may add, appears also to be by no means a bad bowler. At least, in the Intercolonial match just referred to, he delivered altogether in the two innings of Victoria, 304 balls for 97 runs and four wickets, a very creditable perform­ ance. Cambridge elevens have in the past had reason to be grateful to cricketers of Colonial birth. It is only necessary indeed for me to mention Messrs. R. C. Ramsay and C. W. Rock in proof of the assertion, and it may be that Cambridge cricket of the near future will find Mr. Wood in turn as useful an all­ round cricketer as Mr. Rock. If rumour be reliable, too, there is just a chance that a public school player who made a very promising debut in county cricket last year may be qualified to assist Cambridge this summer. I f not as successful as could have been wished, from the stand-point of cricket alone the visit of the American team to the West Indies at Christmas time seems, to judge from the accounts sent me by a trusty friend in Philadelphia, to have been of the mest enjoyable character. My informant states that the travellers had throughout a most hospitable reception wherever they went, indeed, enough could hardly be done for them everywhere. The match days were turned into public holidays, and from eight to ten thousand people turned out to see the games. The grounds were fairly good, very fast, and there should have been some good scoring at times. The sea journej^s between the matches were not, however, conducive to the display of the best form, and to judge by his figures, I am inclined to think that the play of one batsman at least ofwhom much might have been confidently expected under favourable conditions must have suffered from this cause. Altogether, though, the trip cannot fail to do good to cricket in the Islands, and this alone will amply repay those who were fortunate enough to be for the time recipients of West Indian hospitality. S om e t im e since I called attention to the report circulated in some American papers, and bearing apparently a certain air of authority, to the effect that there was a movement on foot to send a team of American cricketers to Australia. On the face of it the scheme did not seem altogether free from difficulties, and I am assured by a correspondent thoroughly well informed on all matters relative to the game in America that there is no likelihood of its fulfilment. The hope though is general, it is pleasant to hear, among the cricketers of Philadelphia that they will in a year or two be able to try their skill again on English grounds. Judging by the letter I received, dated March 15th, our good friends in Philadelphia about that time were not in the most enviable of positions. A real Dakota blizzard had been raging for the last three days, the train service between Philadelphia and New York had been altogether suspended, and there had been cases of death from frost on the Broadway. According to my correspondent, weather of such severity had never been known before in Phila­ delphia. T h e r e is reason to fear, C b ic k et readers will be very sorry to learn, that the injury to Bates’ sight will be permanent. The Yorkshire player, who came home in the Orient steamer “ Orizaba,” reached Lon­ don on Saturday, the 10th instant. On the following morning he underwent a careful examination at the hands of Mr. Critchett, the eminent oculist, himself at one time an ardent cricketer, who took the most kindly interest in the case, and showed the greatest sympathy with Bates in his misfortune. The blow the York- shireman received must have been a most severe one, and the right eye seems apparently tohave been partially damaged, to judge from Mr. Critchett’s statement, which I may say came to me direct, with small, if any, hope of recovery. Complete rest of the eye lor a time has been prescribed, and there is every chance that in time Bates will become accustomed to the defect which at present troubles him considerably. At the same time, as I have already said, there is grave cause for the fear that cricket will lose one of its best players as well as one of its most popular professionals. It is satisfactory to notice that the Melbourne Club instituted a benefit match lor Bates just prior to the departure of Mr. "\£ernon’s team, and though the fixture itself does not seem to have been a great success, I feel sure that the peculiar circumstances of Bates’ accident will enlist the sympathy of Australian cricketers. Mr. Vernon, I hear, has, as was only to be expected, been interesting himself earnestly in the case in Australia, and he can count, I am confident, on the assistance of the English public generally. Indeed, I hear that there is already a movement on foot in Yorkshire, with a view to arrange, if pos­ sible, for a fixture with the coming Aus­ tralian team as a benefit for Bates. A r u n out from a hit back by a batsman is a rare event in cricket of any class. I can recall very few instances of the kind myself in important matches, though I have a vivid recollection of a very hard hit by Mr. W . H. Game, in the match between Surrey and Gloucestershire, at Cheltenham, some fifteenyears ago,which, much to the batsman’s chagrin, rebounded off Mr. E. M. Grace’s hand, and into Jupp’s wicket, to the discomfiture of the latter, who was out of his ground. A case of this character occurred during the match between Shaw’s team and the mixed eleven of New South Wales and Victorian players, at Sydney, last month. Messrs. Newham and Smith were at the wickets, and Garrett was bowling to Mr. Newham, who drove a ball straight back and just breast high. Mr. Smith started NEXT ISSUE, APRIL 12.