Cricket 1889

122 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. MAT 16,1889, F . B. Spofforth the scruples of those who have objected to any interference with the Laws of County cricket would be satisfied, and as this would give the Derbyshire eleven the advantage not only of a fine all round cricketer, but what is perhaps of more importance, a skilful leader, I hope to hear that this solution of Derbyshire’s difficulty has met with favour. T he exceptionally promising batting shown at Lord’s by the two latest additions to the Lancashire eleven, Ward and Paul, has been the principal topic of conversation in cricket circles during the last few days. Ward, in particular, by the really fine cricket he displayed in each innings against the Marylebone Club and Ground, has proved himself to be, without a doubt, one of the best young batsmen who have come to the front among professionals of late years, and all the capable judges who watched him at Lord’s last week were very highly impressed with his capabilities for batting. He plays in fine, free style, drives hard, and as ho has in addition good defence, possesses every natural advantage to­ wards the making of a first-class bat. T he writer of the interesting notes contributed to the Star under the title of “ Mainly about People ” gives some par­ ticulars in Tuesday’s issue about Ward’s career. As they cannot fail to be in­ teresting just at the present time, when Ward’s name is so frequently in the mouths of cricketers, it will be best if I give them in extenso. A. Ward, the Lancashire professional, who has been the surprise of the cricket-world thus far into the season of 1889, is built on genuine cricket lines. He is a good 6 ft. in height, looks as strong as a horse, and as clean-limbed as Diana herself. In carriage face, and converse, he might hold his own with most of our “ gentleman amateurs.” He will be twenty-four years of age on 21st Nov­ ember. Ward was born at Waterloo—near Leeds, not Brussels. So we are likely to hear re- and re-quoted the apocryphal Duke of Wellington speech anent “ the playing-fields ” and “ Waterloo.” He started as an amateur, and for two years—1881-1882—played with the Rothwell Club. Bothwell is some four miles from Preston. At this time Ward was an assistant school­ master, a calling for which he admits a sort of open-air unfitness. He took to professional cricket three years ago, and at the fag-end of 1886 played for Yorkshire, by right of birth. In 1887 he played one semi-first-class match only, against the Gentlemen of Yorkshire. In 1888 he topped the thousand runs by seven in seventeen innings—a respectable averago of close on 60—and made over 100 thrice. This year and last week he was one of the successes of the Colts’ (North and South) match at Lord’s, scoring 25, run out. And on so much of the latter half of the week as our delicious climate made fit for cricket, Ward played for Lancashire, and made 33, caught at the wicket, and 62, not out. He can bowl a bit, and his catch out deep, by which he got rid of Mr. Nepean, on Thursday, was evidence he can field. Altogether the assistant teacher that was bids fair to make his name not less known than that of his namesake, the historic Mr. Ward, whose 200 and something stood for years as a “ record ” score, until his cricket- deseendants took to making 300’s and 400’s. F rom information I have reeeivedmyself I am able to vouch for the correctness of the assertion that Ward was asked by the Yorkshire Committee to play for the County last year, but for reasons of his own was not able to accept the invitation. His introduction to Yorkshire cricket in 1886 was not a success, it may be added, as his average for the four matches in which he figured was only small. His scores .at the end of that season for the. Yorkshire eleven were 22 against Middlesex, at Bradford, 1 and not out 0 v. Gloucestershire, at Cheltenham, 13 and 3 against Sussex, at Brighton, and 2 and 26 against Derbyshire, at Leeds. A rthur P aul , whose show so far has only been second to that of Ward, was born in the Isle of Man, on July 24, 1864, and is consequently about sixteen months older than his new mate. He has been better known of late in the football world in his position as full back of the Swinton Club, and but for his absence with Shaw and Shrewsbury’s football team in the Colonies would in all probability have had a cricket trial in 1888. He figured prominently in loeal cricket at Nottingham a few years ago, and Arthur Shrewsbury it is stated was very favour­ ably impressed with his style as a bat. His brother, the Rev. F. W. Paul, is vicar of Emmanuel Church in Nottingham. P aul ’ s father is Lieut-Colonel Paul, who was till last year chief constable of the Isle of Man. The younger Paul was intended for an architect, but evidently preferring cricket, has taken it up as a profession, and apparently with every chance. It is a little singular that the three new cricketers introduced into the Lancashire eleven last Thursday at Lord’s, Albert Ward, Arthur Paul, and Arthur Mold, all of whom are about six feet in height, should, too, be of very much the same age. The Athletic News gives the dates of their respective births as Paul July 24, 1864, Mold May 30, 1865, and Ward Nov. 21, 1865. I rish cricket has just lost, or is losing, one ol its most prominent representatives by the departure of Mr. J. P. Fitzgerald for Greater Britain. According to Sport Mr. Fitzgerald left Kingstown last Friday night for London en route for Australia. He will be much missed in Irish athletic circles, for besides being an exceedingly useful all-round cricketer he was in the front rank of footballers, and could take his own part at the Association as well as at the Rugby game. As a cricketer he was good all round, a capital bat, a reliable fast bowler and a skilful captain. He was one of the Irish amateur team which visited the United States and Canada last fall, and did excellent service with both bat and ball. For that tour he had a batting average of just under seventeen runs, while he delivered 1,689 balls at a cost of 561 runs and 54 wickets. His average was 10.39 per wicket, and in bowling his figures were only second to those of Mr. J. W. Hynes. As far as he has gone it is satisfactory to note that M. R. Jardine, who had such an extraordinary average as a bats­ man at Fettes College last year, has certainly not failed to maintain the pro­ mise of his Public School cricket in the trial' matches at Oxford. His all round play during his captaincy of the Fettes Eleven in 1888 was quite out of the common. Nor were his successes con­ fined to the bat alone, for he took twenty- four wickets during the summer at an average cost of just over six runs, con­ siderably the best figures of the four bowlers who shared the work for Fettes. His batting, though, was very much above tho ordinary, and his average of over 77 runs was really extraordinary, especially remembering what a wet season that of 1888 was. R. A. A. B eresford , who came off so successfully as a bat in the Freshmen’s match at Cambridge University last week, will be remembered by many C ricket readers, no doubt, as the hero of a re­ markable piece of batting last year. Play­ ing for Oundle School House against Laxton on May '28, he scored 102 and 307, and in each case was not out. This feat was referred to in C ricket of June 7 last in “ Pavilion Gossip,” and I am still in­ clined to regard it as a record in its way unique. A nother young cricketer who did some noteworthy performances last year, and is also in the running for one of the University Elevens of 1889, is G. Cuming, the left-hand fast bowler who proved so successful in the recent Freshmen’s match at Oxford. Several of his feats with the ball for the Clergy Orphan School at Can­ terbury were duly chronicled in the re­ cords of 1888. Four times, if I remember rightly, he took three wickets with suc­ cessive balls, but his best show of all last summer was in a match against the South Eastern College at Ramsgate. On that occasion he took all ten wickets in the first innings for nine, and eight in the second for the same number of runs. I t is not an unmixed blessing so far as the best interests of the game go, at all events, in every case when a really good player is drawn into the ranks of military cricketers. The exigencies of the service are not conducive as a rule to the con­ tinuance of the best practice, and though there have been of course notable ex­ ceptions, the Army as a general principle does not form the best of Schools for the maintenance of cricket form, or the development of real promise. This reflection is forced upon me by the appear­ ance of Lord George Scott’s name in the team representing the 10th Royal Hussars in a mateh against Captain Savile’s eleven at York on Thursday last. Among the spectators of the game, by the way, was H.R.H. Prince Albert Victor, who, as everyone knows, also belongs to the Tenth.