Cricket 1889

MAY 2,1889. CRICKET:- A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 89 ivers, W. J. Whelan, W. A. Watson, Bass, Bradley, Blair, Clarke, Gooding, Manners, Bussell, Smee, Whitehead, Win- ship, and Wilmshurst. M b . B. W. M atz , one of the hon. secs, of the Sloane Park Club, has sent me the following 1 have just been looking through a book just published by Chapman and Hall, entitled “ From Pekin to Calais by Land,” by H. de Windt, and came across the following para­ graph, whioh may be interesting to your readers :—“ I attended a match on the latter (the cricket ground), in which was playing, in Chinese dress and pigtail (! 1), a lately cele­ brated English cricketer, well known at Lord’s and the Oval, who had adopted the native costume in accordance with the rules of the mission of which he is now a member. The loose, clumsy dress did not seem to interfere with his play much, for he was quite in his old form, and made over a hundred runs first innings.” The author does not mention the name of “ the lately celebrated cricketer.” But, doubtless, the figure of C. T. Studd will be recalled by all who read the paragraph. O ld Oxford men will be interested to know that Mr. A. O. Whiting, who, after making a name at Sherborne School, did good service for the Oxford elevens of 1881 and 1882, is now located in Ceylon. He is on the look out for a good invest­ ment in tea in that Colony, and bids fair to be a great acquisition to the Dimbula C.C., with which he has associated him­ self. Playing for that club a few weeks since, against Dikoya, he scored 100 not out, an innings, according to my corres­ pondent, marred by only one chance. To judge by the following extract from a Colonial paper, the Melbourne Club is by no means ungrateful for the services Spofforth rendered it during his stay in Victoria : There is now lying at the office of the sec­ retary of the Melbourne Cricket Club a hand­ somely framed photo of Spofforth’Bbaby boy. His name is Eeginald Markham Spofforth, and from all accounts he is a “ whopper, ” his age being 14 months; height, 3 feet; weight, 43 lbs.; and “ chest measurement,” 23 inches. Colonials wonder if he will ever develop such a power over the ball as his father did. They hope he will, and that F. E. S. will live to see the day. The portrait will be given a promin­ ent place in the pavilion of the M.C.C., the colours of which club little “ Spoff ” was taken in, with a ball in hand. It will not be the least attractive picture in the handsome struc­ ture above mentioned. It is perhaps a little early, though, to speculate as to the probabilities of the younger Spofforth attaining to the extra­ ordinary ability of his father. _ L a s t week I was able to give full par­ ticulars confirmatory of the Australian claim to the record in throwing the cricket ball. The information I gave was acknowledged as taken from the Pealc Down Telegram, a Queensland paper, Since I wrote I have, however, received from Mr. David Scott, of the firm of Boyle and Scott, the following letter, which cannot fail to be of interest, affecting as it does such an important matter as the establishment of a best per­ formance in connection with cricket. I give Mr. Scott’s letter therefore in extenso. D ear S ir , —When Mr. Crane, of the Amer­ ican Base Ball team, threw the cricket ball on the Melbourne Cricket Ground,on Jan. 6,1889, 128 yards 101 inches, it was reported here that it was the Australian Eecord. I grant it may have been the "Victorian Record, but I was positive that an Aboriginal in Queensland had thrown it 140 yards. I at once made it my duty to see Mr. Donald Wallace, a well-known sporting gentleman, who is the owner of Mentor, the winner of the last Melbourne Cup. Mr. Wallace was a good cricketer himself in his younger days, and as he took part in the cricket match where in the interval the won­ derful throw was made, and which he saw measured, Ithought his testimony would settle the point for all time. He told me he was certain the distance mentioned, 140 yards, was quite correct, but that he could not remem­ ber the name of the coloured gentleman. I then wrote to the Editor of the Peak Down Telegram, and here is his reply, whioh settles the matter beyond dispute. Telegram Office, Clermont, Queensland, Feb. 17. David S c o tt, E sq ., Melbourne. In reply to yours of the 29th re Crioket Eecord, I forward you some copies of yester­ day’s issue, which contains full information as to same. I also enclose some slips which you might send to Melbourne and English papers so as to establish this record beyond doubt. Six of those who played were old English University players, four of them Oxford, and two from Cambridge, and there cannot be the slightest doubt but that the ball was thrown 140 yards at least.—Yours sincerely, J ohn M c C arthy . Mr. Scott adds in a postscript, “ All the Colonial Press have accepted this as a genuine record.” Nor can I myself, con­ sidering the confirmatory testimony, see the smallest reason why it should not be be received and admitted here. T he announcements which have ap­ peared in C r ick e t that a team of English Amateurs intend visiting India at the end of the year, have, as was only to be expected, aroused considerable interest among the cricket fraternity in Ceylon. I gather from private letters that there is a general desire to extend a welcome to the tourists in case they should be able to see their way to touch at Ceylon en route. It would not be difficult, I learn, to arrange a fortnight’s tour in the Island, to include a big match in Colombo against the Colombo Club, one say atKandy against All Ceylon, and one at Kadella, in the dis­ trict ot Dimbula, against the Planters. All these places are within a few hours of Colombo by rail, and in a lovely district, and I am sure the Englishmen would have no reason to complain of their re­ ception, which would be of the most hos­ pitable character. The team could either take Ceylon by P. and O. on the way to Calcutta, cross India by rail to Bombay, and so home, or vice versa. There are out in Ceylon not a few good cricketers who have made reputations at home, and the representatives of the Colony might fairly hope, particularly as they would be playing on their own grounds, to make a good show. A snake in the grass is happily unknown in E nglish cricket. A ccording to the follow ing note, from the pen o f “ F elix,” the cricket critic o f the Austra­ lasian newspaper, though,they are not al­ together strangers to a Colonial ground :— An unusual incident occurred last Saturday on the Frankston cricket ground. The Rich­ mond Eamblers had journeyed down to play the local team, and during the course of the match, whilst the Bamblers were fielding, the ball was hit into the out-field, and the fields­ man, on stopping the ball, discovered a large brown snake within a few feet of him. He at once called the attention of the players to the fact, and both players and spectators rushed m masse to the spot, armed with bats, wickets, tin cans, and other weapons of destruction. The fatal blow was struck by the evergreen Bob Greig, who rushed up to within 20ft. of the snake, and then handed his wicket to another of the team with instructions to “ hit it with that.” It was hit with that and suc­ cumbed. The snake was about 4ft. 6in. long. The cricket match was then conoluded, and resulted in the defeat of the visitors, despite the bowling of Greig and the batting and wicket-keeping of H. Brock, who scored 16 in excellent style. The visiting team, after braving the terrors of the deep and perilling their lives in a cranky fishing boat, returned to town on Sunday night, having spent a very pleasant trip. Cbicket, it is satisfactory to know, will be represented officially at the Paris Ex­ hibition, now on the eve of inauguration. Mr. J. G. Davies, M.H.A., who is, accord­ ing to the Adelaide Observer, really the father of Tasmanian cricket, is to repre­ sent the tight little island at the big show in the French capital. Mr. Davies was entertained on the 15th of March by the local cricket clubs, prior to his departure to undertake the duties of Tasmanian Commissioner. That gentleman acted as manager of the Tasmanian team which visited South Australia several years ago, and has always been a prominent figure in the cricket of the Colony. The score of the North and South match, played in Brisbane early in March, given in another part of this paper, will show that Mr. Davies, though getting on in years, is still able to wield bat and ball to some purpose. As C bicket readers can vouch, Derby­ shire has had no more sincere sympa­ thiser or consistent upholder than the writer of “ Pavilion Gossip.” It is there­ fore with the less compunction that I venture to express my regret at the recent action of the executive of the County Club in their efforts to secure immediate use of Mr. F. R. Spofforth’s valuable ser­ vices for the Derbyshire Eleven. I t goes without saying that Cricketers of all classes would have gladly welcomed Mr. Spofforth’s appearance in the Derby­ shire team, and but for the establishment of a precedent, the dangers of which were only too clearly pointed out at the meet