Cricket 1890

100 CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. MAT 8, 1890. JUNIOR CRICKET IN VICTORIA. [ F r o m t h e M elbourne Age .] About 11 years ago, when cricket in Aus­ tralia was booming, the then newly-estab­ lished firm of Boyle and Scott presented a valuable trophy for competition amongst junior clubs in the Metropolitan district with the laudable desire to unearth fresh talent and develop the skill of rising young players. Since that time the Melbourne Sports Depot and other firms have similarly contributed to the fostering of the national game amongst the rising generation with most satisfactory results. At the time of the inauguration of the Boyle and Scott’s Cup competition, Con­ way’s first Australian Eleven had just returned from their substantial and successful tour through England and America, the result of which fired public enthusiasm throughout the length and breadth of Aus­ tralia. Mr. H. F. Boyle, who was a prominent member of that band, saw the desirability of bringing forward men who could be qualified to take the places of himself and his com­ rades, when the relentless scythe bearer should command them to “ move on,” and the veteran has been rewarded by living not only to seethe full accomplishment of hishopes, but to take to England a team of cricketers, one of the most accomplished members of which (Trott) was brought into prominence through the excellence of his performances in the early competitions for that trophy of which Boyle and his popular partner, “ The Almanac,” were the originators. Since the time referred to cricket in Australia, and in Victoria especially, has undergone strange vicissitudes. Through a variety of causes, some explainable and some inexplicable, senior cricket, of even the best quality, lost favour with the public of Victoria, until the leading club elevens, whose competitions had previously attracted their tens of thousands, experiencedtheweekly disappointment of play­ ing to empty benches. Through all that long, dreary term of depression, however, junior cricket, which had been so well fostered, bravely held its own in public esteem, and while the well appointed and commodious grounds of the senior clubs were deserted by former patrons, huge crowds of interested spectators continued to assemble weekly on the hard surburban patches to watch the play of the juniors. For a time it appeared that the endeavour to form the junior clubs into a nursery from which eligible players might be drafted to strengthen the senior ranks would be comparatively fruitless, numbers of the leading junior players declining to accept the proffered h®nour of advancement. The transition and subsequent successof a few, however, aroused a spirit of emulation in their former comrades, and to-day several of the senior clubs number amongst their best players youths who have been taken from the ranks of junior clubs competing for Boyle and Scott’s Cup and other trophies of similar character. H. Trott, who at the present moment is perhaps the best bats­ man that Victoria can claim, gained his early distinction as a member of the all- conquering Capulet club, which was for several years invincible. M. Morris, one of the most promising young cricketers that the colony has produced, left the junior ranks to achieve immediate success in the first eleven of the Melbourne Club, which lost a valuable player when Morris started on the pleasure trip round the world which he is now enjoying. Two of the most efficient players in East Melbourne’s present senior team, Drysdale and Letcher, came from the junior ranks, which also gave Marshall,-Tarrant, and Rains to South Melbourne, Kelly, C. M’Leod and R. M’Leod to Port Melbourne; Hogan to Carl­ ton, Brideson and Hayes to Fitzroy, and the brothers Howlett, Smith, Carlton, and Wal. Johnston to North Melbourne; while amongst the present celebrities of New South Wales who merged from the junior ranks to spring into senior prominence at a bound may be mentioned Ferris, Charlton, Gregory, and Deane. The contests for Boyle and Scott’s trophy are managed and regulated in a most complete and excellent manner. At the beginning of each season a meeting is held, at which the donors present the trophy, the competition for which is from that time left in the hands of a committee composed of one delegate from each competing club. From the inception of these matches the hon. secretary to this oommittee has been Mr. N. Batchelor, of the Capulet Club, who, by the way, left in the Liguria for a pleasure trip to the old country, where it would not surprise me to hear that on behalf of the juniors of Australia he had thrown down the gauntlet to the junior strength of England. By the exercise of energy, courtesy, tact and unwavering im­ partiality, never favouring his own or any other club, Mr. Batchelor, who is un­ mistakably the corner stone of Victorian junior cricket, has succeeded in conducting these interesting competitions through a term of over ten years with amazing success, and an absence of bickering and dispute, which, considering the excitement amidst which the matches are played, is not a little remarkable. The height of his ambition was reached when 15 juniors selected from the clubs competing for Boyle and Scott’s Cup played a creditable drawn match with Shrewsbury’s powerful English eleven on the North Fitzroy ground. “ Nin ” was as excited over Drysdale’s splendid performance on that occasion (though from a different cause) as that exuberant supporter of North Fitzroy who had evidently been drinking the ^popular left-hander’s health ; and who poked his head through the dressing-room door, and to the intense aston­ ishment of the genial English captain, C. A. Smith, exclaimed as well as his thick utterance would permit, “ ’Shay! whar d’ye think o’ Jockey ? ’E’s a ’ot 'un, ain’t ’e ? ” I shall never forget the half astonished, half amused look on the English captain’s face as he replied, “ Ah 1 yes, a very good player! ” and the inebriated enthusiast’s face under­ went a horrible contortion intended for a smile of satisfaction as he retired probably to drink again in honour of “ Jockey.” For several years after these matches were instituted the Capulets were giants in the junior cricket world, indeed, it seemed at one time as though no junior team would ever be forthcoming to defeat them. They carried off Boyle and Scott’s Cup in each of the first three years of its existence, 1879-80, 1880-81, and 1881-82. In the season of 1882-83 they were defeated, but not disgraced, being runners-up to North Fitzroy, who, by the way, have played an almost equally important part in these competitions. The Capulets re-asserted their superiority in 1883-84, and Queensberry were the winners in the follow­ ing year. Each had been beaten in one match by North Fitzroy, who beat all comers in the two following seasons, the runners up in each year being Ormond. The latter’s per­ severance was rewarded by the acquisition of the coveted trophy in 1887-88, and again at the end of last season they came off with flying colours, North Fitzroy being singularly enough the runners up each time, from which it will be seen that these two clubs had the finish to themselves in four successive years. B u c x h u b s t H il l . WALTHAMSTOW v. BUCKHURST HILL. Played at Walthamstow on May 3. Waltham btoW. W. Willis, b Tween... 2 D. Nicholson, lbw, b Tween ................. 8 H. Tuck, b Francis... 3 M. Heath, run o u t... 10 J. Gunton, b Tween 7 A.F. Heath, b Francis 14 H. M. Collard, b Francis ................. 0 B.H. Heath, b Tween H. J. Cook, b McEwen.......... J. Waterer, not out F. Walsham, h w, b Tween ... B 8, lb 3 Total . W. W. Tween, b Tuck 0 H. G. Nicoll.b Collard 1 H. H. Francis, c Gunton, b Collard 21 R. L Allport, b Tuck 8 G. McEwen, b Wal­ sham ........................ 9 W. J. Philips, b Tuck 1 A.Richmond.b Tuck 0 W. Sworder, b Tuck 2 R. W. Muir, not out 5 T. S. Barwell.b Tuck 0 R. W. Smith, b Tuck 0 Total ... 47 HONOR OAK v. KINGSTON. Played at Honor Oak on May 3. K in g s t o n . A. Chester, b Avery... 39 E. W. Pratt, c King, b Murden................. 7 J. Robertson, not out 58 J. Hearsum, b Lett... 37 F. Hawkins, lbw, b Swain ................. 4 B l l , lb 6, w l ...18 Total ..........163 The rest did not bat (innings declared finished). H o n o r O a k . G. Harrison, b Colley 63 F. Harrison, b Hear­ sum ........................ 30 G. Smedley.b Colley 2 A.. C. Hayes, b Hear­ sum ........................ 4 F.Lett, b Hearsum... 11 W. Murden, lbw, b Hearsum................. 0 T. Swain, b Mas- kell ........................ 8 A. J. King, not out... 6 C. H. Mayo, not out 16 B ........................ 54 Total ...137 E.Avery and C. A. Turner did not bat. ARMY v. NAVY. Some high scoring marked this annual match between the two branches of the Service, played on Saturday on the ground of the United Service at Portsmouth, when the.Navy were easily defeated. Lieut. Hamilton scored 269, or 107 more than the opposite eleven. His hits included twenty-eight 4’s. N avy . Commander H. Car­ penter, hw, b Elliot 32 Capt.Hast(R.M L.I.), b Hamilton ..........69 Mr. G. Miall (R.N.), c Loring, b Hamil­ ton ........................ 0 Rev. F. A. Stebbing, b Elliot .................14 Mr. G. ti. Cave (K.N.), c and b *riend ... 15 Hon. R. J. Boyle, b Elliot........................12 Mr. R. S. B. Hornby, b Uriend................. 1 Mr. J. C. Shelford, not out .................10 Mr. G. W. Vivian, b Friend ................. 0 Mr. A. P. Stoddart, b Hamilton .......... 8 Mr. A. Farrington, b Hamilton .......... 1 Extras.................10 Total ...162 A r m y . Mr.Mainwaring(Mcd. B.C.), c Vivian, b Boyle .................52 Capt. Clark (Oxford L.I.),notout.......... 2 Extras.................19 L. A. Hamilton (K.O.Y.L.I.), c Vivian, b Hornby. ..269 Mr. Fairtlough, b Stebbing................. 4 Mr. C. M. Kendall (Innis. Fus.),c Hast, b Hornby.................27 Mr. C. B. Hill (Med. Staff), b Shelford ... 36 I Capt. Friend (5th Fus ), E. M. Lorins (R.E.), C. H. Stuart (Innis. bus.), Mr. Cobb (Oxford L.I.), and Capt. Elliot (South Lane. Regt.) did not bat. Total ...409 CRYSTAL PALACE v. BLACKHEATH. Played at the Rectory Field, Blackheath, on May 3. The Kent amateur, Mr. C.J. M. Fox, it will be seen, was in good form for the Palace. C r y s t a l P a l a c e . F.H.Nelson, st Monk- W. Bryant, lbw, b land, b G. Ireland... 9 Monkland .......... 3 H.Colegrave.stMonk- J. A. Kallender, b G. land.bR. B.Stewart 22 Ireland ................. 8 5 J. Aste, c sub., b G. J. M. Campbell, b Ireland ................. 1 Stoddart................. 37 2 C .J. M. Fox, c R. B. A.B.Cipriani,b Stod­ 8 Stewart, b Monk- dart ........................ 1 la n d ........................ 87 W. C. Lake, not out 1 2 H. M. Colegrave, c B 4 ,lb 1 .......... 5 11 Castle, b F. Ireland 15 — — Col. Campbell, b Monkland ... ... Total................ 208 72 19