Cricket 1889

18 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. FEB. 21, 1889. with the ball rather than with the bat that have contributed to make his name. As an underhand slow bowler, w l en at his best, he was always very difficult, as he came along at a faster pace than is common with those who try lobs, and sending the ball from the hip, he was never high enough to be very easy. About 1872 he was especially success­ ful, and some of his doings at that time were very much above the average. One of his performances in that year is unique. Playing for Wood Green against United Willesden, on July 22, he had a hand in the downfall of all the twenty wickets, a feat, as far as we know, unparalleled. Of these twenty ten were bowled, two hit wicket, six were caught off his bowling, and the two others he caught. In the same summer, playing for Mr. W . J. Page’s Twenty-two against the United All England Eleven at Tufnell Park, he bowled W. H. Iddison, John Smith, of Cambridgeshire, and T. Hayward, with successive balls, and also got Luke Green - wood with the fifth ball. In a single wicket match in the following year, after the comple­ tion of the match between the United South of England Eleven and Twenty-two of the New Cross Albion, he did another excellent performance, getting rid of Mr. W. G. Grace, Mr. W. R. Gilbert, andCharlwood in nineteen balls, at a cost of only six runs. That he is able still to keep up his wicket, although in the seventies, was proved by his record of last summer, from which it will be seen that he carried his bat through the innings no less than three times for the Pall Mall Wanderers, and on one of these occasions was at the wickets three hours, running out, too, all bis runs. Mr. Absolon is a notable instance of the bene­ fits of moderation —aurea mediocritas — in the ordinary affairs of life. He has not only been a total abstainer from intoxicating drink, but also'from tobacco, for over thirty years. He retains his strength, too, in an extraordinary degree, and can. it is said, still take the half­ hundred weight on his little finger, and make his mark seven feet high. A thoroughly worthy man, Mr. Absolon has not only been the cause of good cricket in himself, but in others. Numbers of players have good reason to be grateful for the practical assistance he has given them when help was needed. His record has, in fact, been not only one of personal success on the cricket field, but of much use­ fulness to others. The following table, show­ ing the number of urns and wickets got by Mr. Absolon during the last fifteen years, taken from C ricket of Nov. 29 last, may be reproduced with interest to complete this biography. Yrs. Runs. Wkts. Yrs. Runs. Wkts 1874 ... ... 1,CG6 .. ... 500 1682 ... ... 1,047 . . ... 289 1875 ... ... G58 .. ... 233 1883 ... ... 1,049 .. ... 222 387G... ... 1,151 .. ... 356 1684 ... ... 1,190 .. ... 263 1877 ... ... 1,179 .. ... *62 1885 ... ... 1,021 .. ... 320 1878 ... ... 974 .. ... 300 1886 ... ... 1,075 .. ... 204 1879 ... ... 685 .. ... 178 1887 ... .. 1,070 ... ... 222 188)... ... 910.. ... 254 1888 ... ... 1,055 .. ... 129 1981 ... ... 924 .. ... 230 A match was played at Putney on Christmas Day between elevens captained by Mr. G. H. Harnett and Mr. Gorrum, of the Pall Mall Wanderers. J. C armichael , who played occasionally for Surrey some years ago, has been engaged as profess'onal by the St. John’s (N.B.) C.C. for 1889. I t is proposed to give James Lillywhite a benefit match on the ground of the Priory Park Club, Chichester, on June 2, 3 and 4. L ord L yttelton has resigned the office of Land Commissioner. “ I nter -U niversity R ecords .”— Full particu- of all Competitions in Athletics, Bicycling, Bil­ liards. Chess, Cricket, Cross Country, Lawn Tennis, Polo, Racquets, Rifle Contests. Rowing, and Tennis between Oxford and Cambridge, from 1327 to 1887. Most valuable as a reference. Rent post-free on receipt of 1/2 in stamps, by Wright <kCo.. 41, Andrew’s Hill, Dot-iors’ Commons, E.C CROSSING THE ST(YX)ICKS. The following is contributed by the funny man of one of the principal journals in Cape Colony. The references are to the chief per­ formers in the second match of the English tour, against Fifteen of Cape Colony on Dec. 26, 27, and 28 Yes, my dear boy, I was one of the happy throng assembled on the Newlands Cricket ground during the recent matches. And what went I out for to see ? you ask. Well, I saw the Wood, or rather timber, well manipulated by Bowden, and as each man went out stumped it only realised the ioxe-Bowden I had entertained. The rigs of Mr. Johnny Briggs were excessively amusing, and the funny little Lancashire player fairly rose (red) to the occasion. Maurice proved anything but a broken Bead , and Abel wielded a Ctowe-handled bat in such a manner as to worthily sustain his reputation, and his opponents were not Surrey when he went back td the Pavilion. Frank thoroughly Hearne-d all the applause accorded him for so splendidly point -ing a moral and frightening the tail of the fifteen ; in Smith we could C. A. good cricketer and judicious captain, and although McMaster omitted to mak* masterly strokes, he fielded at times in good form. There was no occasion at any stage of the game to send Grieve (whose underhand action in no way disgraced him) to Coventry ; and the left-handed fish with a Fothergill bowled well, and proved very effec­ tive. As for the collapse of the fifteen just at the time when they ought to have pulled the chestnuts out of the fire, the band should have struck up a tune from “ Maritana,” and played it as “ A las! those Nine ! ” the unfor­ tunates who presented such a choice stock of poultry to the scene. Poor Dunell ought to have Dun-elle gantly better ; and Stewart, the hitherto “ invincible,” bore no resemblance whatever to the sturdy batsman who did such big things in previous tournaments. But at cover-point he distinguished himself as of yore. Theunissen's works have been read with interest, although his action is too tragical to have any poetical element about it ; and Ash­ ley found his way past the willow-i ree more than once. It was very much Paradise Lost (from a Colonial cricketer’s point of view^ when M ilton failed to come up to the scratch. Cox Baleigh-ed the hopes of the supporters of the fifteen by his agressiveness and clean-hand hitting ; and Tancred went on a good Crusade , just as his namesake did in the days of “ Auld lang syne.” The Richards were not up to Dick in this match ; and a Grimmer bowler than the Kimberley handler has often been seen on our ground. Evidently something was Ale-ing with Porter when he run himself out in so ridiculous a manner, and the mighty cheer that went up when he went down was a perfect caution to lizards. A repeat of Howe's victory was denied to the onlookers, and with the exception of Yintcent and Smith’s useful displays the rest seemed fairly off their feed, and unable to score. Won by eleven runs only ! Yes, my boy, it was a well-run victory. T he Hastings Week begins on Sept. 12. J ames L illy white ’ s C ricketers ’ A nnual for 1889 contains a photograph of the Surrey Eleven ol 1838. R. C arpenter has been engaged as umpire by the Gentlemen of Philadelphia for their tour in England next summer. T he annual general meeting of the Surrey County C. C. will be held at Kennington Oval on Thursday, May 9. Fore's Sporting Notes and Sketches for January contains an article entitled, “ Sen­ sational Cricket of lt88,” by Somerville Gibney. WILLIAM BATES. To the E ditor of “ C ricket .” D ear S ir ,— I am sure that no cricketer can have read the account of the sad catastrophe which has happened to poor “ Billy ” Bates so recently, without feeling something might —yea, ought to be done to alleviate the suffer­ ings of this deservedly popular player. I have no doubt whatever that the M.C.C. will follow the very good 'example shown by our Australian cousins, by arranging a match on his behalf. But as all classes of cricketers would not be able to swell the gate by their presence, in the eyent of such a match being played, could not a general fund be raised for his relief ? Trusting you will see your way to insert this letter in your widely read and valuable paper, and that its publication may arouse a spirit of benevolence in all kind-hearted—and my experience tells me that there are but few other than kind-hearted people in connection with the noble game—cricketers. I have the honor to be, dear sir, yours respectfully, A. P oint . COLOMBO CLUB. BATTING AVERAGES. Times Most in Inns, not out. Runs, an Inns. Aver. E. Cave-Browne 15 ... 1 ... 355 ... 66 ... 25.5 G. Vanderspar 25 ... 1 ..,. 425 .,.. 61 ... 17.17 A. E. Browne... 14 ... 2 .... 151 ... 40* ... 12.7 C. Gordon 17 ... 3 ... 126 ... 29 ... 9.0 H. C. P. Bell.,. 11 ... 1 ... 80 ... 17 ... 8.0 G. L. Taylor ... 24 ... 2 .... 139 ,... 34 ... A. S. terwick... 8 ... 2 .. 85 . 24* H. Goodwyn ... 17 ... 1 ... 65 ... 17* ... 4.1 H. W. Green ... 9 ... 1 ... 32 ... 11 ... 4.0 11. P. Roberts... 10 ... 1 ... 33 ,... 9 ... 36 Capt.Mackenzie 10 ... 2 ... 20 ... 15 ... 24 W. E. Mitchell 7 ... 0 .. 7 ... 4 ... 10 A. Aytoun 5 ... 1 ... 25 ,... 12 ... 61 F. N. Payne ... 6 ... 1 ... 89 ... 28 ... 17.4 W. Somerville 4 ... 0 ... 25 ... 20 ... 6.1 Wm. Moir 4 ... 0 .. 4 ,... 3 ... 1.0 F. Stephens ... 6 ... 0 ... 49 ,... 27 ... 8.1 H. H. Capper... 2 ... 1 .. 9 ... 9* ... 9.0 W. Courtenay 3 ... 0 ... 13 ,... 11 ... 4.1 P. D. Warren... 4 ... 1 ... 33 ...23* ... 11.0 L. E. Dalton... 2 ... 0 .. 1 ... 1 ... 0.1 G. J. Jameson 3 ... 0 ... 21 ... 16 ... 7.0 J. G. Fort 4 ... 0 ... 27 ... 27 ... 6.3 E. Vanderspar 3 ... 0 .. 1 ... 1 ... 0.1 Capt. Morland 3 ... 0 .. 4 ... 2 ... 0.1 E. Benham ... 4 ... 2 .. . 64 ... 53* ... 32.0 J. H. Alston ... 1 ... 0 .. 5 ... 5 ... 5.0 G. W. Carlyon 1 ... 0 .. 0 ... 0 ... 0.0 F. B. Peat son 1 ... 0 .. 2 ... 2 ... 2.0 James Forbes 1 ... 1 .. 1 ... 1 ... 1.0 H.McDWilliams 2 ... 0 .. . 25 ... 24 ... 12.1 C.A.Walker-Leighl ... 0 ., 0 ... 0 ... 0.0 BOWLING AVERAGES. Balls. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. G. Vanderspar ...:1715 ... 82 ..,. 678 . 74 ... 9.12 G. L. Taylor......... 478 ... 13 ..,. *33 . 24 ... 9.17 E. Cave-Browne... 655 .... 31 ..,. ?63 .... 27 ..,. 920 C. Gordon ......... 8h7 . .. 62 .. . 2W3 ... . 23 ... 12.7 A. W. Browne ... 498 ... 93 ... 231 .. . 10 .. . 23.1 R. B. Roberts ... 238 ... 13 ... 113 .... 11 ... 10.3 L. E. Dalton......... 30 . ... 1 .. 4 .. . 1 .. ,. 4.0 F. N. Payne......... 25 . .. 0 .. .. 4 .. 1 .. .. 4 0 r .A.Walker-Ltigh 65 ... 7 .... 20 ... 5 ... 4.0 W. E. lvitchell ... 50 ... 2 ... 14 ... 3 .,.. 4 2 H. Stephens......... 95 . ... 1 . .. 36 ... 4 .. 9.0 W. Com t*nay ... 70 ... 2 .. 27 .... 3 .. . 90 A. Aytoun ......... 130 .... 5 ... 58 ... 4 ... 14 2 H. Goodwyn 21 . .. 0 .. 17 .. 2 .. 1.0 P. D. V\arren ... 20 . .. 1 3 ... . i . 3.0 T he S portsman ’ s E xhibition .— This exhi­ bition is this year arranged to open on April 4th, at the new “ Central Hall,” Holborn. On December 22nd, James Mansfield died from the effects of a fall from his horse on the Queensferry Road. Mr. Mansfield was head boy of Loretto in 1856, when he left for Rugby, He was well-known for some time as captain of the Gjange, and of Scotch teams at cricket, and afterwards as a golfer,— Lor* Woman.