Cricket 1889

470 CRICKET: A WEEKLY EECOED OF THE GAME. DEC. 27, 1889, against Yorkshire. In that match he took in all thirteen wickets, and his very effective bowling in Yorkshire’s second innings where he took seven wickets for thirty-five runs had very much to do in securing Lan­ cashire its brilliant victory by three runs. Last summer Mold bowled in all 686 overs for Lancashire, and took ninety-eight wickets which gives his':'average as under thirteen runs. It was in every sense a highly meri­ torious performance for a first season in important matches, and it is not too much to say that at one bound he has piaced himself in the forefront of professional c.iicketers. For a bowler of his speed he has indeed no superior. With a very easy action he does not seem to be so fast as he is, but he comes along at a rare pace. He has, too, the further advantage of a consistently good pitch, and as an addition, he often gets a lot of break on, it will be seen that for a bowler of his pace he has everything to make him formid­ able. As he has moreover, strength on his side, there is every reason to believe, as he is only twenty-four years of age, that he will do Lancashire good service for a long time to come. Our portrait is from a photogaph by Messrs. E. Hawkins & Co., of 108, King’s Road, Brighton. CRICKET IN AUSTRALIA. [ F r o m O ur S yd n e y C o r r e sp o n d e n t .] A very good attendance gathered together at the annual meeting of the N.S.W. Cricket Association, which was held on Monday, the 21st October. Mr. P. B. Walker, one of the Vice-Presidents, was in the chair, the other V.P.’s being conspicuous by their absence. The following annual report was read by the Secretary :— “ One of the most important events of the season has been the alteration in the manage­ ment of the inter-colonial match with Victoria; it will doubtless be in the recollection of the members, that a conference of delegates from the cricket associations of South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales was held in Melbourne in 1887, at which resolutions were adopted, the terms of which this Association could not concur in, and that after a lengthy correspondence with the Victorian Associa­ tion, resulting in no satisfactory conclusion. ‘Mr. J. M. Gibson was deputed to visit Mel­ bourne with a view to represent personally and formally the views of this Association. “ It is to be regretted that his mission, con­ ceived as it was in an amicable and friendly spirit, was not so received by the Association in the sister colony, and that it terminated unsuccessfully. The negotiations failing, and it being well-known to your Committee that the aotion of the Victorian delegates was not in harmony with the feelings of the majority of the cricketers of Victoria, and' that there was a widely-expressed desire to continue the inter-colonial matches as heretofore, Mr. Gibson was authorized to treat with any representative body he considered desirable. He placed himself in communication with the authorities of the Melbourne Cricket Club, with the result that after considering the pro­ posals made it was arranged that tlie inter­ colonial matches, which have always been looked upon as the most interesting and im­ portant matches of the season, were not allowed to lapse. “ The thanks of the cricketing community of this colony at least are due to the Melbourne Cricket Club for the manner in which it acted throughout a trying episode in inter-co!onial cricket. “ An agreement having a currency of five years has been entered into with the Melbourne Cricket Clubby which that body will have the arrangement of inter-colonial matches in Victoria with the right of passing it on to any representative body in Victoria, such right to be first sanctioned by this Association.” The Treasurer then read the Balance-sheet, which showed a debit balance of £233, a deficit caused by the expense of sending a team to Queensland, and also by the bad attendance at the Intercolonial matoh in Sydney. The Chairman then moved the adoption of the Report, and in doing so expressed his sense of gratitude to the M.C.C. for having come forward at a critical moment to prevent the intercolonial matches from falling through. He also referred to the great services Mr. Gibson had rendered the Associa­ tion by undertaking a visit to Melbourne in order to bring about a proper understanding between the two Associations. That he did not succeed was not his fault, and it was only as a last resource that he opened negotiations with the M.C.C. By the death of Mr. T. Nunn, cricket had sustained a loss which could not easily be made good. Mr. Nunn had been an earnest and liberal supporter of cricket, and his death was a great blow to his friends. The Chairman concluded a very eloquent speech by calling upon the Clubs to rally together and put more energy into their support. Club cricket, he added, had suffered from the visits of English teams. No such enterprise was likely to be entered on for the next season or two. There should thus be a revival of club cricket and an earnest deter­ mination on the part of all to once more raise cricket to that standard in the public estima­ tion which it used to hold. Mr. C. Beal seconded the motion, traversing the same ground as taken by the Chairman. He congratulated the Association upon the arrangement made with M.C.C. That body was strong, well backed by influence and money, and it was, indeed, tlie only body in Victoria that could offer any substantial guarantee for the efficient carrying on of the Intercolonial matches. Financially there had been an unprofitable season, but he hoped that earnest and honourable competition between the clubs would lead to greater public interest, and that our Intercolonial matches would prove successful. He concluded by saying that Mr. Walker, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Gregory deserved great credit for their efforts as financial committee. They had been com­ pelled to guarantee the deficit, and merited the approbation of the Association. Mr. T. M. Gibson, in supporting the motion, questioned whether anybody in Melbourne except the M.C.C. was at present in a position to fairly accept the responsi­ bilities associated with the conduct of the intercolonial matches. The report and balance sheet, were then carried. The following office-bearers were elected :—President, Mr. F. H. Dangar; vice- presidents, Messrs. E. Barton, F. Adams, W. C. Goddard, and P. B. Walker; hon. treasurer, Mr. V. Cohen ; hon. secretary, Mr. D. Gregory. Mr. Walker then returned thanks, express­ ing a hope that matches would be made with South Australia as well as with Queensland and Victoria. If the South Australian cricketers would visit Sydney the Association would have three matches, and the fund* would be thus materially benefited. The other officers also returned thanks. The following letter was read from the Melbourne Cricket Club :—“ The committee of the M.C.C. has received from the Victorian Cricket Association a letter asking if this club was willing to transfer the agreement made with your association, and I am directed by my committee to intimate to you that this proposal has been made, and that the M.C.C. is willing to comply, and to request the earliest intimation of your association’s views on the matter.— I am, &c., B. J . W a r d il l , Secretary.” It was decided to refer the letter to the in­ coming committee, on the understanding that it be dealt with in a very cautious and careful manner. The chairman presented to Mr. C. Richardson the Marks Cup won by the Belvidere 2nd Eleven. The toastof “ Success to Cricket ” was proposed by Mr. Angus Cameron in a very eloquent speech, and a vote of thanks to the retiring officers and the chairman closed the meeting. The annual meeting was a distinct success, despite the postponement, and the anticipated ructions did not come off, owing to the good sense of the members. The elected officers are all good men Mr. Dangar is in England, and is no doubt known to you. Mr. Walker has been an active V.P. for years; Mr. Barton is an old cricketer and is the.late Speaker of Parliament and now member of the Upper House. His influence is of great weight, whilst Mr. Adams is the manager of the Bank in which M’Donnell,'Turner, and Ferris are employed Mr. Goddard is deeply in­ terested on behalf of his business constituents in the financial success of the Association ground and is an able man, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Gregory are both high up in the Civil Service and men of experience and judg­ ment. The proposal now made by the Victorian Association to eat its resolutions is very awk­ ward, and M.C.C. have felt themselves com­ pelled to offer to resign. I thought a few weeks ago there would be no difficulty about the transfer, but I find a very general opinion now obtains that it would be a foolish policy to throw over M.C.C., wholly apart from the lack of courtesy which, inmy opinion, would thus be shown. The Victorian Asso­ ciation is a body without cohesion or judg­ ment. It never can be trusted to hold the same opinions for two seasons together, and as any contract between the two Associations must contain a clause permitting withdrawal, on due notice, there is nothing to prevent it crying off next year. Most assuredly it is our policy to stick to M.C.C., and I am of opinion that will be the decision of the committee at the meeting to be held to consider the matter. Last Saturday was anything but a cricket day—cold and sometimes rainy. Belvidere and Carlton, however, started their match on the Association ground. There was not much change in the Carlton team, except that R. Marr was substituted for D. OgiMe, thus adding to the strength. The Carltons made no very prolonged stand. Alec Bannerman and YouiU were both out lbw, for 17 and 24 respectively. Leary hit out till caught in the outfield for 13, and P. Marr held his own for 25 before being bowled. The total was 127 with only 2 sundries. Ferris took three wicket for 23, but Charlton did most work, taking six wickets for 63 with 117 balls. Belvidere commenced very unfortunately, Harry Moses was caught at the wicket for 19, and the score was left at 24 for one wicket. On the Oval, University and Sydney con­ tinued their match. Sydney had four wickets down for 157, but the remaining six only brought the score to 224, Searle increasing his total to 52 before being bowled by Garrett. University fared very badly. Sam Jones and Tom Garrett manufactured a pair of spectacles between them, Loveridge was run out for 30, and Hulton was not out for 33, five wickets being down for 100 . East Melbourne continued their matoh with M.C.C., but could make no stand against Trumble, Bruce and Figgis. Drysdale made 24,and T. Horan 11 out of atotal of 67,and hav­ ing to follow on against 192 made by M.C.C. on the previous Saturday, they lost four wickets for 11. The averages were good. Trumble took three for 27,Figgis three for 14,and Bruce three for 26. Port Melbourne, with 115 on the board from the previous Saturday, played South Mel­ bourne, who totalled 145. Barrett topped the score with 32 and Trott followed with 25, In the second innings the Port made 65 for one wicket, Armstrong scoring 37 and M’Leod not out 23. Fitzroy on the previous Saturday had scored 126 against University,who put together 187, mainly due to Gordon and Roberts, who were respectively responsible for 75 and 59. In their second essay, being 61 in minority, Fitzroy could do nothing with the bowling of NEXT ISSUE, JANUARY 27.