Cricket 1890

JUNE 12, 1890, C R ICK E T : A W E E K L Y RECORD OP THE GAME . 185 A w e ll-k n o w n cricketer sends me par­ ticulars of some peculiar cricket in a match between Wimbledon and Leather­ head, played on May 24th on the former’s ground, which does not seem, as far as I can find, to have been recorded in any of the sporting papers. Leatherhead going in first made 126, and then suc­ ceeded in getting rid of Wimbledon for 118. As there was only one hour and a- half left for play the match was to all ap­ pearances already decided in favour of Leatherhead by eight runs on the first in n in g s . When Leatherhead, however, went in again G. E. Bobinson, the old Oxford fastbowler,proved so successful that the whole side were out for 16 runs. Only three of these were got from Robinson, who clean bowled seven batsmen. The usrtftl interval of ten minutes left Wim­ bledon with twenty-five runs to get in thirteen minutes, and these were obtained with eight wickets and seven minutes to spare. My informant adds that on the following Saturday the same bowler, play­ ing for Wimbledon v. Oatlands Park, took eleven wickets for thirty-three runs. T h e ways of the most experienced umpires are not unfrequently like those of the Heathen Chinee—a little peculiar. It is not, perhaps, as much their fault as their misfortune that in a game where the quickness of the hand often deceives the eye it should be essential to give a decision promptly and without any great time for consideration, as well as on points which require very often considerable thought. Still the fact remains—and it is difficult to see any practical remedy—that in the umpiring in even the most impor­ tant fixtures there is a very great room for improvement. The.complaint, indeed, is more general than some perhaps might be inclined to think, and without the smallest disrespect to a generally most deserving body of men, it does seem to me that some system might be devised which would ensure some more satisfac­ tory arrangement for ensuring good umpiring in the principal matches than is at present in vogue. Ix is, indeed, an instance of the peculiar way in which some umpires construe the rule whioh gave rise to the above reflec­ tions on the quality of the race in general. In this case the official was, perhaps, not a man learned in the law, but only an ordinary type of the judicial mind to be found in some of the less experienced members of the profession. Still, he points the moral. In a match not very long since, while Port Melbourne were batting, the attention of the umpire was called to the length of time occupied by one of the team in taking his place at the wickets. The plea was after conside­ ration duly allowed on appeal, and, satis­ fied that the two minutes allowed by the law had been exceeded, the umpire de­ clared Begg to be out. “ M id - on ,” the critic of the Melbourne Leader, in commenting on this particular decision, expresses a desire to have it explained. I am afraid he is not likely to have his wish gratified. The framers of Rule 45, which has been in existence for generations, by the way, would rise out of their graves if they could, I should think, to protest against such a perversion of the obvious meaning of the rule. N ee d h a m , the young bowler who was tried, and with considerable success, last week against Surrey, at Leicester, is en­ gaged with the Bootle Club. As far as I can learn from those who have good opportunities of, and are capable of giving a practical opinion on his form, he bids fair to be of no small use to his County. Some of the best judges of cricket in Leicester regard him as a youngster of great promise, as a batsman as well as a bowler. It is rather strange that neighbouring Counties, too, Notts and Leicestershire, should each have given a trial this season to a young bowler of the same name. T h e story about Fuller Pilch explaining his refusal to give Mr. E. M. Grace out on the occasion of his first appearance at Canterbury, on the ground that “ he wanted to soe if the young gentleman could bat,” seems, after all, to have been the creation of the fertile brain of that inventive personage, Mr. Benjamin Trovato. W. G., in his “ Forty Years of Cricket,” however, ruthlessly destroys the illusion of years, in showing that there is really no foundation for one of the best of the many stock anecdotes of the cricket jokist. Here is W. G.’s version;— The story of his being out first ball, and Fuller Pilch giving him “ not out” on the ground that he “ wanted to see the young gentleman bat,” is a myth. In the early part of the innings the bowler appealed for a catch at the wicket, but Pilch unhesitatingly said “ Not out.” He was chaffed for his decision afterwards, but said he had no doubt about it. Then laughingly added, “ Perhaps I should not have given him out if I had. I wanted to see Mr. Grace do a bit of hitting.” To any one who takes interest in the early history of the game, I can hardly imagine any more agreeable way of spend­ ing anhour or so than in the company of the sturdy and stalwart players who flourished in the brave old days of the Hambledon Club or of their successors in the next generation. This opportunity is furnished by the chatty little work from the pen of the Bishop of Tasmania, under the title of Old Cricket and Cricketers. An enthusiastic lover of the game, “ H. H. Tasmania ” was, in his time, above the average of School athletes as a football player and a cricketer, as those who knew him during the time he was vicar of St. Mark’s, Kennington, can attest. The vicarage looks directly over the Oval, and Bishop Montgomery was never happier than when he was watching the cricket on the Surrey ground, of which he had a fairly good view from the upper window of his house. The publisher of Old Cricket and Cricketers, though, is in error in describing him as “ late Captain of the Harrow Eleven.” He played for Harrow in 1864 and two following years, but was never Captain, a position held by C. F. Buller in ’64, and by M. H . Stow in 1865 and 1866, U n less I am mistaken, the application of the new rule giving a Captain power to terminate his innings by Notts yester­ day, at Brighton, is the first occasion on which it has been enforced in the first innings of a match between two of the leading Counties. It was exercised by Yorkshire at Stoke last week against Staffordshire, and these two are, as far as I know, the only instances of precisely the same kind so far recorded in County matches of any class. Mention of class in the matter of Counties reminds me that it is proposed to have the meeting of the Sub-Committee appointed to consider the question of classification, at the Oval on the first night of the match between Gentlemen and Players (July 8), instead of, as first proposed, on Monday next, which was shown to be inconvenient to some of those interested. PPINCIPAL EVENTS FOE NEXT WEEK. T h u rs d a y , J o s e 12.— Lord’s, Middlesex v. York­ shire; Kennington Oval, Surrey v. Cam­ bridge University ; Dublin, Mr. W. G. Grace’s Eleven v. Dublin University; Nottingham, Australians v. Notts. M on d a y, J u n e 16.— Lord’s, Middlesex r. Lan­ cashire; Keunington Oval, A ustralians V. S o o t h o f E n g la n d ; Birmingham, Warwick­ shire v. Kent; Leicester, Leicestershire v. Derbyshire; Sheffield, Notts v. Yorkshire. M e s s k s . L u n n a n d C o , the well-known crioket manufacturers, of 41, Berners Street, have just opened additional premises in Oxford Circus. S e v e n t h A u s t r a lia n T e a m in E n g la n d .— The admirably-compiled little pamphlet (made up of portraits and biographies of the Colonial cricketers now touring in this country),now on sale in all the English cricket centres, is, we may state, from the pen of Mr. Clarence P Moody, who, as the representative of some of the leading Australian newspapers, is accom­ panying the team throughout their journey. S p le n d id P o r t r a it s of D r . W. G. G r a c e , M r. W. W . B e a d (the Surrey amateur), and M r. A. N. H o r n b y (the Lancashire Captain), Price 6d. each. Size9in. by 6in. Also fac simile of Signatures. Sent securely packed on receipt of Seven Stamps. The Three for Is., post free. Wright and Co., 41, 8t. Andrew’s Hill, Doctors Commons, E.C. Special photograph ol G. G. Hearne, carte size, 3d., cabinet, 6d,