Cricket 1889

JUNE 13,1889. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 185 P ersonally I had no intention of re­ ferring to a matter which has through­ out been discussed in anything but a reasonable or judicial spirit, and had not Mr. Spofforth spoken, the incident would have been closed so far as C ricket was concerned. But when he asserts that “ he only disagrees with the Council’s de­ cision because, as he declares, they have flown in the face of precedents formerly established by themselves, and conse­ quently have not been altogether fair to him,” he challenges a reply which can readily be furnished. He gives two reasons to show the grounds for his dis­ agreement with the Council's decision— the first, “ his belief that he has more right to represent Derbyshire than Mid­ winter had to represent Gloucestershire,” the second, that “ Burns, to the best of his belief, has no legitimate claim to be included in the Essex Eleven.” B ut , as a matter of fact, Midwinter was bom, or, at least, asserted that he was born, at a village near Cirencester. Singularly enough, as it happens, I was present at the first interview between Mr. W . G. Grace and Midwinter, as the former will attest. Midwinter’s state­ ment, moreover, that he was born in Gloucestershire was not, indeed, intended for Mr. Grace’s ears, and there was not only no reason to doubt it, but, as far as I know, it was never questioned, and, indeed, in the absence of any actual evidence to the contrary, still remains un­ challenged. Burns’ instance is even a worse one, as his residential qualification for Essex is undeniable. I f Mr. Spof­ forth’s facts are no more reliable than his illustrations, I fear his pleading would hardly convince an enlightened jury. T h e only redeeming phase to my mind of the Spofforth controversy, after all, is the humorous picture the principal artist has drawn of a meeting at the Oval in which lio was promised instant quali­ fication by a Surrey Committee-man if he would assist the County. What a powerful tableau it would represent, to be sure! Spofforth and the Committee­ man in solemn conclave, and a mythical eavesdropper concealed in the Bookcase taking mental notes of the whole con­ versation. Why, the Parnell Letters sink into positive insignificance in comparison! And what material for a cricket tragedy, or, rather, farcical drama, there is : “ The Mysterious Member and the Illicit Interview, or the Surrey Spofforth Secret Subvention.” No wonder, with a ground­ work for a piece giving scope for such continuous humour, that the Surrey Committee decline to spoil the fun by introducing a serious element into the plot, and to take “ Spoff ” au serieux. T he recent mention of Burns,the dimin­ utive pro. of Essex, suggests that particu­ lars o f his scoring for the Essex Club and Ground, so far, this season will be of interest. Up to the present time, as will be gathered from the follow­ ing list, he has played in seven innings, with three not outs, a nd has twice got over into three figures, one of these scores reaching far into the third hundred:— 86 (not out) against Walthamstow. 261 (not out) against London Hospital. 31 against Victoria Park Asso. 29 against Forest School. 59 against Buckhurst Hill. Y 8 against City Fruit Trades Asso. 103 (not out) against Beckton. This gives a total of 647 for four com­ pleted innings, or an average of 161.$ T he Gentlemen of Philadelphia, who are to spend the whole of July and the first few days of August touring in Great Britain, by the time the next number of C ricket sees the light of day should be already on the “ big drink,” bound for Queenstown and Dublin, where they play their first matoh on the 2nd of next month. C ricket readers who remember the last team, will be sorry to hear that Mr. Lowry, the slow bowler, who proved so effective, will not be able to accompany the party. Mr. W . Brockie, too, finds that business will prevent him coming to England this year, and the absence of the pair will be much regretted by the many friends they made in the Old Country in 1884. So far as I can gather from the infor­ mation which has come to hand, the following are certainties:—Messrs. D. S. Newhall (who will captain the team), F. E. Brewster, Joseph W. Sharp, jun., Newbold Etting, Dr. J. Allison Scott, Walter Scott, A. G. Thomson, David 1’. Stoever, George S. Patterson, W. C. Morgan, jun., and Henry I. Brown. It is probable that either Howard McNutt or E. W. Clarke will be selected for one of the remaining places, and either B. D. Brown or P. W. Balston for the other. Of these, Brewster, J. A. Scott, Stoever, Morgan, Howard McNutt, and E. W. Clarke were over here five years ago. The Philadelphians will make the Shelbourne Hotel at Dublin their headquarters, and in all proba­ bility will be located at the Tavistock during their stay in London. Their final match (on Aug. 8 and 9) will, I may add, be against the University Long Vacation Club at Cambridge. Mr. F. A. B ishop , the Essex amateur, writes me thusly— In a paragraph in your last issue, in men­ tioning the circumstance of Mr. K. J. Key being run out through the ball glancing off one of the fielders, you state that a parallel case had not previously occurred in Surrey cricket since 1872, when Mr. Game ran out the late Henry Jupp in a similar manner. Permit me to say that in the return match between Essex and Surrey at Leyton in 1885, Mr. W. W . Head drove a ball hard to myself which went off my hands into Maurice Head’s wicket and ran that batsman out after a very lengthy partnership with his namesake. Mr. Bishop’s reminder of an incident that had escaped my memory, I need hardly say, is very welcome. T he decisive defeat o f the Surrey eleven by N otts this week should do m uch to resuscitate the publio interest in cricket, w hich seems to have flagged to a great extent in N ottingham during the last tw o years. As a rule the N otting­ hamshire m en have not shown them selves to be good starters, but this summ er they have changed all that w ith a vengeance, and i f they retain the excellent all-round form they have shown, so far, this season, they w ill make the best o f the other Counties, to use a sporting phrase, “ sit u p .” T h ey have certainly proved them ­ selves this year to be a form idable side at all points, andCRicKET-readers, generally, w ill congratulate them on the successes they have thoroughly earned. A week or so ago, I pointed out that the rule recently passed, to terminate an innings, had been enforced in two matches played by the Crystal Palace C.C. in the same afternoon. The Northbrook Club, though, had even a more extensive experi­ ence of the new regulation on Saturday last, as it was singularly enough put into force in each of the three fixtures in which the members took part on that day. P ublic School cricket creates such general interest that I feel sure a list of some, at least, of the principal matches of the year will be valued by C ricket - readers of all classes. The following dates, I may add, do not profess to furnish a complete summary of all the Inter-School matches; they merely repre­ sent the information which has come into my hands:— June 21—Marlborough, Marlborough School v. Cheltenham College June 22—Tonbridge, Tonbridge School v. Lancing College June 28—Eton, Eton College v. Winchester College June 28—Repton, Repton School v. Malvern Coll. July 2—Haileybury, Haileybury College v. Up­ pingham School July 3—Brighton, Brighton College v. Tonbridge School July 5—Clifton, Clifton College v. Cheltenham College July 6 —Charterhouse, Charterhouse School v. Wellington College July 6 —Dulwich, Dulwich College v. Brighton College July 9—Uppingham, Uppingham School v. Repton School Ju?y 11 —Wellington, Wellington College v. Haileybury College July 12 —Lord’s, Eton College v. Harrow School July 31—Lord’s, Rugby School v. Marlborough College CHIEF FIXTURES FOR NEXT WEEK. T h u r s d a y , J u n e 13—Kennington Oval, Surrey v. Cambridge University ; Lord’s, M.C.C. v. Royal Artillery ; Scarborough, Lord Hawke's fcleven v. Sherwin’s Eleven; Repton, M.C.O. and G. v. Repton School. S a t u r d a y , J une 15—Second Round London and Suburban Association Cup ; Horley, M.C.C. and G. v, Horley. M o n d a y , J u n e 17—Lord’s, Middlesex v. Surrey; Leyton, Essex v. Derbyshire; Sheffield, York­ shire v, Warwickshire; Richmond, Surrey C. and G. v. Richmond Town.