Cricket 1889

SEPT. 5, 1889. CEICKET: ' A WEEKLY EECOBD OP THE GAME. 881 that Surrey, the champion county of 1888, can still claim the position, because no one has a better record this year, is entitled to quite as much weight. But there, the facts remain, and nothing will alter the fact that Notts, Surrey, and Lancashire, on the principle of computa­ tion recognised by all the papers, can each claim the same aggregate, and are de facto as well as de jure equal. It is a pretty quarrel, my masters. After all, though, the struggle is sure to be resumed next year with increased zeal, and no one will be any worse for this Trinity of Champions. P.H.C. writes me on the subject of the County Championship as under: Now that the county cricket of 1889 is over, I should like to suggest two things whioh I th ink would make the contest more interesting. The first is that the matches between the eight leading oounties should be reckoned as in chess and other tournaments. The second suggestion is that the best second- class county (which m igh t be decided by a second-class tourn&y) should at the end o f the season play the worst first-c lass ; one gam e o f even three, a nd if it should happen to come off the better o f the two, it m ight be reckoned as first-class the next year, a nd the other as second-class. I should think that Sussex would have a hard task to keep am ongst the leading shires under a rule of that description. In last week’s “ Gossip ” I gave a short extract from an interesting article in Baily's Magazine of this month, entitled, “ Hitting a Lost Art.” The remarks of the author, an old cricketer Well known in Surrey, on leg hitting have elicited the following: Sir,—As regards the statement o f “ Le B a la fre ” about the particular stroke on the leg-side, peculiar to G. Parr, as far as I can tell from his description o f it, this same stroke is a favourite one of Mr. 0 . G. Radcliffe, who frequently gets runs th is way by good w r ist- p lay . He is the only cricketer I have seen do ■ th is .—Yours tru ly , H. This communication was duly forwarded to “ Le Balafre,” in whom I am pleased to identify an old friend, and his reply will be of interest. I am glad to see that there are still a few who can play to the “ o n ” w ithout hitting across. Lockwood ’s innings for Surrey v. Notts was a treat. He had made 62 before the Notts captain thought of putting a man to stop him , and then d idn ’t put him in the right place. I am sorry t hat I have not had an opportun ity o f seeing Mr. Radcliffe bat. T he fillip given to the game in South Africa by the visit of the English cricketers seems to be tempting some of the principal clubs even to more ambitious flights in the same direction. At a meeting of the Wanderers, the leading cricket club of Johannesberg, held on the 2nd of last month, a discussion arose as to the possibility of getting an Australian team to come to the Transvaal. The general feeling seemed to be that it would joe pleasurable rather than otherwise to play Colonials against Republicans, notwithstanding the fact that the latter would in all likelihood get a severe drubbing. An offer made by one Mr. Francis, who was shortly returning home to Australia to negotiate for an Australian team to visit South Africa in the season of 1890-91, was accepted, and it was understood that that gentleman should cable the result of his negotiations at the earliest possible date. I f the suggestion made at the meeting of the Ontario Cricket Association held last month be accepted, the International match between the United States and Canada should be down for decision at a very early date. The Committee of the OntarioAssociation, aswill be seen from the following resolution passed at the meeting, are keen, andwith reason, on the establish­ ment of a principle that the matches should be played annually without any reference to other engagements on either side. The resolution, proposed by Mr. G. G. S. Lindsey, who brought the Gentle­ men of Canada to England in 1887, was as under :— That the association send an eleven to the United States this year to play the interna­ tional match on the earliest day after Sept. 1 8 on wh ich we can meet a s many of the Ph ila­ delphians who were in England th is year as w ill have returned home by that time, but on the distinct understanding that both asso­ ciations recognise as a principle that the inter­ national match should be played annually, n o matter what o ther important matches either country may be engaged in during the season, and although either country may be engaged in a foreign tour. T h e final selection of players for the two matches comprising the Hastings and St. Leonards CricketWe k, to be commenced on Thursday next, has been made. Messrs. J.A.Dixon and H. B. Daft of Notts, as well as some other leading northern amateurs, were asked, but none of them from various causes could accept the invitation to play. Though the eleven to represent the North as a consequence will consist entirely of professionals, it is nevertheless a very formidable side, although the absence of Shrewsbury and Briggs is, of course, much to be regretted. Mr. W. G. Grace, who will captain the South and the Gentlemen, has got a strong eleven together for th rm r, though I should have fancied on this seas n’s form,Maurice Bead might well have been included. A ltogether , though, the names of the players which are given below will show that the contending teams in both matches will be very strong, and fine weather alone is required to make the Festival of 1889 a pronounced success. N orth v . South, Sept. 12, 13, and 14. N o r t h .— Attewell, Barneg, Gunn, Lee, Peel, Richardson, Sherwin, F. H. Sugg, Ulyett, A. Ward and Hall. S o u t h .— Messrs. W . G. Grace, K. J. Key, E. A. Nepean, W. Newham, T. C. O’Brien, H. V. Page, W. W. Read and A. E. Stoddart, with Abel, Beau­ mont and Lohman. G entlemen v . Players, Sept. 16, 17, and 18. G e n t l e m e n .— w . G. Grace, K. J. Ko/, E. J. McCormick, E. A. Nepean, W. Newham, H. V, Page, H. Pigg, O. G. Badcliffe, W. W. Bead, A. E. Stoddart and H. Philipson. P l a y e k s .— Abel, Attewell, Barnes, Gunn, Lee, Lohmann, Peel, Bichardson, Sherwin, Ulyett and A. Ward. T he C ricket on the B ench . —Whenis a Metropolitan Police Magistrate like a well-bowled ball at the Oval ?—When he consents to take bail.— Punch. ON THE LA TE KENT ISH V ICT W e ll done, fair coun ty w ith the pro W e ll done, o ld shire, famed on scroll As Britain ’s shield what time fell e W ou ld blot her name from off the roll I W e ll d on e ! W e ll done I The chee proudly out From town and hamlet, upland, h d a le ; And Kentish boys who heard that shout A s Kentish men w ill tell the stirri Tim e was—not far remote—when stand H er ground ’gainst Eng land 's strength combined, R igh t proud s e well may be o f suc W orthy descendants in these days Engl nd is greater England now, b As Kentishmen, may fond ly quote Kent was old Eng land ’ s cricket nun Gould cricket die—be Kent its grave “ A fter shades lig h t :” the alouds h appeared, Brave arts, strong arms have w h ill figh t; Silenced the tongues of croakers,— feared The sun of Kent had set for aye in W e ll done ! W e ll done ! That villa beck L ong w ill remember how in 'E ight Kent gave all-conquering Notts a b i And dosed the year’s page w ith a line I ------------ H .F .A . I t will be of interest to the many friends they have left in England to know that Messrs. C . A . Smith of Sussex and M. P. Bowden of Surrey, who remained in South Africa on the completion of the tour of Major Warton’s team, are flour­ ishing in their new home. The two amateurs, who are now well established in Johannesberg as stock and share brokers, it is gratifying to be able to say, have been and are doing exceedingly well as joint partners in the firm of Smith and Bowden. Mr. Smith, who, as most cricketers know, is an all-round athlete, has given himself heart and soul to the development of cricket and football in the Transvaal, and his enthusiasm is sure to give a great stimulus to the two most popular of our British sports in that dis­ trict. At the annual meeting of the Johannesberg Wanderers, the chief cricket club in the district, he was unanimously elected to the captaincy. CH IEF F IX TU RE S FOR NEXT T h u rsd ay, Skpt. 5 .— Scarborough, North v. South, last match of the Scarborough Festival. F b id a y , S e p t . 6.— Stockport, Cheshire y. Lanca- shire. M onday , S ept . 9~Holbeck, L. Hall’s XI, v. R« Pilling’s XI.