Cricket 1890

OCT. 30, 1890, CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME; 441 W. G., in one of the recent numbers of his “ Forty Years,” told two good stories of his trusty lieutenant in Gloucester­ shire cricket, Frank Townsend, which I am sure have been enjoyed by no one more than the hero of the narratives himself. H e wag a good lob-bow ler for years [writes W . G. of M r. Townsend] and his right hand has lost little of its cunning to-day. As a rule he bowls slow, w ith a good curl from le g ; but now and then he puts in a fast yorker, which often proves effective. H alf his suc­ cess has been owing to the smart fielding of his own bowling ; and now, as years ago, he is a magnificent field and safe catch any. where. H e has a springy, elastio action in the field ; and he used to go after the ball in leaps and bounds, and at a great pace. H e was fielding at long-leg when Gloucestershire played Yorkshire, at Sheffield, on a certain ocoasion. Yorkshire spectators are invariably free and outspoken, and in this match they kept applauding the way he got over the ground and saved the runs. One extraordi­ nary effort, in whioh he had to run a long distance, and brought off a magnificent, and what seemed an impossible, catch,roused their enthusiasm, and they unanimously dubbed him the “ indiarubber gentlem an! ” No more genial or popular cricketer has ever played; and he has been ever ready to express an opinion on the game, or listen to one. A ll classes of cricketers have been tempted by his pleasant face to ask questions of him . But he had a curious experience on 'one occasion, when w e played Lancashire. He was stand­ ing outside the hotel— in cricket costume, I believe—having a quiet cigar before starting for the ground for a day’s play, when he was accosted by a seedy-looking individual. “ Good m orn in g! Governor, be you an Aus­ tralian ? ” asked the seedy one. “ N ot quite that,” replied Mr. Townsend. “ W ell now, be you a Canadian? ” “ T ry again,” said he. “ Y ou ar’nt one of them foreigners they call Aboriginals, be you ? ” “ N ot even that,” he replied, laughing. “ N ow I knows what you be, governor; you’re what I ’ve been often called— a nondescript! ” I t may be of interest to the hundreds Who find their way to the Surrey Cricket Ground whenever an important event is on, to know that the City and South London Bailway, the completion of which seems to have been so long delayed, will be opened by His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales on Tuesday. The new line, which is under­ round, starts from King Wilham Street, y the Monument, and the terminus for the present will be by the Swan, at Stock- well. One of the stations is opposite St. Mark’s Church, at Kennington, and as it is almost within a stone’s throw of the Oval, the opportunity of getting out of the City proper, with the advantage of a quick and cheap run, should be greatly appreciated by those who visit the old ground. The Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, is, as many know, the landlord of the Oval, as well as of much of the property taken over by the new line, so that there is something specially fitting in his taking the chief part in the ceremony of the formal opening. L ord H a r r is ’ s p erson a l a n d k een sym p a th y w ith e v e ry th in g rela tin g to crick et is sure t* h a ve a great in flu en ce on the development of the game in India' Since he arrived in Bombay to undertake the high duties and responsibilities attached to the office of Governor- General of the Presidency, he has lost no opportunity in his power of showing the active interest he feels in cricketers of every class or creed. It will be grati­ fying, too, to C ricket readers to know that he has, to judge by some of his later performances, become quite acclimatised on Indian grounds. Only recently, playing for Poona v. Kirkee, he made 37 in the first innings, and 101 not out i* the second. This, it may be added, is the first score of three figures he has got in India. W h ile on the subject of Indian Cricket, I learn from the Pioneer news­ paper that the announcement I made some time ago of the probability of a second visit of English Amateurs to India at the end of next year was fully justified. The first trip was indeed so thoroughly enjoyable that it will not surprise anyone conversant with the facts, to learn that it is so soon to be re­ peated. According to the Pioneer, Lord Hawke, and Messrs. Vernon, J. G. Walker, Philipson, Hornsby, and De Little, who were members o f the pre­ vious combination, have all expressed their readiness to join the second party. I t is also stated that Messrs. W. D. Llewelyn of the Oxford eleven, J. A. Gibbs and C. Leveson-Gower also Oxonians, Freeman Thomas, the well- known Cambridge and Sussex cricketer, H. T. Hewett the Somersetshire Cap­ tain, and J. Bobertson of Middle­ sex are one and all willing to go. Leaving home some time in September the visitors it is proposed shall commence operations in Bombay, playing the local Gymkhana and the Parsees, and then Poona. The eleven will proceed from Bombay to Ceylon, playing two matches there, and then tackle Madras and Bangalore and reach Calcutta for the Christmas week. The rest of the tour will be similar to the last, the chief matches being played in Allahabad. T hrough the courtesy of my friend the Major (B. J. Wardill), the all-popular Secretary of the Melbourne C.C., I have been favoured with a copy of the volu­ minous report issued annually by the executive of that influential body. That the Melbourne Club has a right to be called thepremier cricket club of Australia can be proved by the amount of work it does in the interest of the game. During last season no less than 107 matches were played under the auspices of the M.C.C., a record which I should fancy only one other organisation of a kindred character, our own M.U.C., can equal. Of this long list just one half, 52, were won, and as 23 of the others were lost, it will be gathered that 32 were unfinished, I t will be, too, of particular interest to C ric k e t readers in the Old Country to hear that two old friends occupied the leading places in the batting averages in the senior matches. J. McC. Blackham had the highest with an aggregate of 255 runs for six innings, but his figures were not so good as those of W. Bruce, of the Australian team of 1886. The latter had the fine record of 640 runs for sixteen innings, and this entitled him to the dis­ tinction of having his name placed on the “ Order of Merit Board ” in the club pavilion. W. B., too, also occupied a prominent position among the principal scorers with a fine innings of 116 against South Melbourne. It is a matter of regret, indeed, that this graceful left- handed batsman and accomplished all­ round cricketer has not been able to visit us with either of the last two Australian teams. We live, however, in the hope that we shall have another opportunity of seeing him, and in his best form, on English cricket fields. To those whom it may concern. The annual meeting of the County Cricket Council, which is now a fixture for the Monday of the Cattle Show week and for the day previous to the meeting of the County Secretaries for the arrangement of the coming season’s fixtures, is, I learn on the best authority, to be held on the 8th of December at Lord’s. The subject of classification, which will be the chief plank in the platform, does not seem to have advanced very much since the sub­ committee was appointed to consider the matter. It is, too, significant to notice that the decision at which the Council arrived last August at the Oval, in receiving the report of that sub-committee, does not seem to have satisfied at least a section of those in whose interests the vexed question was taken up. Though I may say I never considered the plan emanat­ ing from the Council to be within the scope of practical politics, at the same time I am afraid that the solution of the problem will not have been materially facilitated by recent developments. My trusty friend and gossip, “ The Old Buffer,” it will be of interest to C ricket readers to know, has been wielding his pen recently on the very congenial subject of Winchester College. An old Wyke­ hamist and naturally a staunch believer in that great and venerable educational institution, Mr. Gale’s contribution to The English Illustrated Magazine of November will be read with enjoyment by all who are capable of appreciating his scholarly style. If I were inclined to undertake the role of a captious critic the only fault that I could find would be one of omission, in the comparatively scant allusion to cricket. But there, after all, I feel that I am not the greatest sufferer. On the contrary, I am sure that it must have been a graat tax on such an enthu­ siast as F. G. to be obliged to exercise a considerable amount of restraint in his reference to the game of games. NEXT ISSUE, NOVEMBER 27i