Cricket 1890

Together joined in cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. Kegistor°a for^Transmis^'ion^broad. THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1890. P R I C E 2d. M R . K E N N E T H E D W A R D B U R N . So far T asm ania, th e sm allest of the A u stra­ lasian C olonies, has on ly furnished tw o cricketers to th e seven team s w h ich A ustralia has sent h om e during th e course of the last ou t o f th e com m on . P layin g for R ich m on d against Sonnell he h it up 60 out o f 140 in th e first innings, and even outdid this in the second, in w h ich he co n ­ tribu ted 144 (not out) to a total o f 228, fo r five w ickets, w ith ou t givin g a chance. U n til he w as tw en ty -on e Mr. B urn contin ued at R ic h ­ m ond, doin g good service for th e local club, for w h ich he h ad the best batting as w ell as bow lin g average in his last season. C ircu m ­ stances took h im to H obart in 1884, and there he has rem ain ed ever since, greatly to the benefit o f loca l cricket. H is brillian t batting contribu ted in no sm all m easure to th e success of the W ellin gton Club, w h ich fo r five entire seasons held th e prem iership o f th e H obart A ssociation . A n average o f 42 in his second season placed h im at th e head o f th e W e l­ lington batsm en, a position w h ich , w ith the exception o f one year w hen he fou n d it d iffi­ cu lt to get regular practice, he has held up to th e present season. O f m an y good p erform ­ ances his best perform an ces w ere against M r. V ern on ’ s E n glish T eam three years ago. F ollow in g up a creditable score o f 22 at L aunceston , he quite ou tdid this by a brilliant display at H obart ju st afterw ards. On a splendid w ick et th e E n g lish team scored 297, but th e Tasm an ian s w ere m ore than a m atch even fo r th is, and th eir total of 405 for thirteen w ickets w ill still be w ell rem em bered b y those w h o follow cricket closely. M r. B u rn w as the hero o f th e m atch , and h is innings o f 99, got w ith ou t a chance, w as characterised b y the E n glishm en as equal to any played against them during the tour. V isitin g M elbourne at the end o f th e season, he played tw ice fo r the M elbourne C lub and w ith the best results. A gain st F ifteen Capulets, the lead­ in g ju n ior team , he scored 78, and against R ich m on d 35 n ot out, so th at he had an aggregate of 113 for on e com pleted innings. In 1888-89 he h ad a double distin ction in the high est average fo r his clu b as w ell as for the A ssociation . T h at year h e w as in p articu larly good form , and his record show ed fou r scores of three figures, three in clu b m atches an d one fo r th e S outh against th e N orth o f T asm ania. A capital d isplay of batting fo r the Tasm an ian E leven during th eir visit to M elbourne brought him directly u nder the n otice of the V ictoria n section o f th e organisers o f the S ixth A ustralian Team . H e w as tried, indeed, w ith a v iew to jo in in g th e party, bu t of th e fou r in n in gs he had, three w ere on a bow ler’ s w icket, and h is form as a consequence did n ot create a favou r­ able im pression. W a n t of practice prevented h im show in g to th e best advantage in th e early part o f the Tasm an ian season ju st over. L ater on, th ou gh , he scored very heavily, and innings o f 98 against N orthern T asm an ia, 186 against the B oh em ian s o f M elbourne, and 130 n ot ou t fo r the S ou th against the N orth of T asm an ia brought his nam e again p rom in en tly before the Australian public. T h e m atch last n am ed w as in progress w hen the in vita tion cam e for h im to jo in the team startin g for E n glan d, and th rou gh th e influence of M r. J. G. D avies, one o f the ch ief supporters of Tasm an ian cricket, he w as in ­ duced to con sen t though th e offer on ly cam e at the last m om ent. T h ou gh he has excellen t defence and plen ty of patien ce, w hen it is requisite to force the pace M r. B u rn can easily adapt h im self to the faster gam e. W ith no lack o f confiden ce and excellen t ju d gm en t he m akes th e best of his chances, scorin g freely on both sides o f th e w icket. H e has, too, n ot been u n su c­ cessful as a change bow ler. In 1886-87 he obtain ed th e A ssociation troph y, and on hig tw elve years. C r ic k e t readers w h o can go back to th e year 1878 w ill rem em ber M r. G. H . B ailey, b y no m eans one o f th e least useful m em bers o f th e com bin ation w h ich form ed the pioneers of A u stralian cricket in th is country. S in ce that first visit, th ough, until the present tour, w h en it has sent a w orth y re­ presentative in the person of M r. K . E . Burn, Tasm an ian crick et has n ot been officially represented in an y o f th e A u stralian team s. T h e co m ­ parative scarcity of first-class players w ill n ot surprise those w ho are aw are o f th e general co n fo rm a ­ tion o f th e island, the disadvantages, in the w ay o f scant popu lation and the lack o f cricket grounds, under w h ich th e Tasm anians labour in com parison w ith the m ore fortunate residents in large cities such as M elbourne and S ydney. It is on ly, too, at great expense that a really good crick et enclosure can be secured and m ain tain ed. Y e t at H obart, th e capital, there is an O val, not on ly one o f th e prettiest, bu t one o f th e best in th e m atter of run-getting grounds in A ustralia. It w as on th e true w ickets o f th e O val at H obart th at M r. B urn really learned to be a cricketer. B orn (on Sept. 17, 1863) at R ich m on d , a cou n try village som e fourteen m iles from H obart, he w as train ed w ith in tou ch o f the centre and at th e sam e tim e the best sch ool o f Tasm an ian cricket. A s early as his fifteenth year M r. B u rn had already identified him self w ith th e p rin cip a l local club. In his first season h e w as fortunate enough to obtain the second ba ttin g average, but it was n ot until tw o years later th at he m ade his m ark w ith a score at all