Cricket 1891

JUNE 4 , 1891 CRICKET s A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME; 155 And yet, when the season was just starting ont, While the rain kept on raining through thick and through thin, He admits that he muttered “ Without any doubt We shall see some good cricket when sum­ m ersets in.” But now, when at long last the summer is here, When at long last, a solid dry wicket is sure, When the weather is “ fine,” “ dry,” and “ sultry,” and “ clear” — (Now, th en ! stop throwing wads : I am reading Old M oore!) H ’m ! Where had I got to ? o h !—now that at last The wild woodbine is twining, the wren seeks his mate, And the hedgerows are blooming, and winter is past— (Will you stop it, you fellows ?—I go by the date I) Yes, now that at last we our fixtures may fix, Since the season at last oondescends to begin, And the summer is come (what? you won’t stop your tricks ?) Well, at least we have lately seen Somerset in. But the Bard meant not Somerset, certainly not: It is quite disappointing to see their dis­ play, Though it can’t be denied they have certainly got A remarkable record or two, in their way. In two solid innings they scored 74, And whenever among all the County Elevens Was there soored in a match such a pitiful score,—- And divided exactly in two 37’s ? But as Somerset happens to start with an S, Lest the championship she on the strength of it claims, Let us plainly put forward the drift of that guess: Stand aside while I work the initials and NAMES: See how well they wield the willow! Ugly “ breakers ” met with skill, O ! R ead of Bead, and head of Bead Running up the runs with speed! Each S harpe S huter disconcerted; Yea, and each slow ball averted! Crioketeers of wondrous skill, O ld-tim e ch am pion s,ch a m p ion s still! U nsurpassed in A bel BowLEY-ng, Now twift-sending, now slow-rolling, Though from time to time o’erthrown Yet will Surrey hold her own ! Can th e m other cou n try greatly Repre-HEND HEK-soN irately, If at times, by sheer ill-luok Caught or bowled, he scores a duck ? Know the K ey of Surrey’s fam e; Each w ho W ood achieve the same Tact, and care, and skill must claim. Cry, then, Surrey’s prowess loudly, Lo,—mann—kind regards her proudly, Understanding how she greatly B roke - w ell nigh each record lately. In tbe list of those who appear in the Gazette as having been chosen to parti­ cipate in the annual distribution of Birth­ day Honours approved by Her Majesty, there will be found a name which will be familiar to those who can trace their con­ nectionwith the game to a period as far back as the early part of the sixties. Mr. W . S. Prideaux, the Secretary of the Goldsmiths’ Company, who has been selected as a fitting recipient of the Order of Knight­ hood at the hands of the Queen, was a contemporary of Messrs. A. S. Teape, Alfred Lubbock, E. W . Tritton, G. H. Tuck, J. Frederick, and Hon. N. G. Lyttelton in the Eton Eleven, and, though'tenth in the order of going in, con­ tributed in some small measure in his first year (1862) to give Eton the one victory it had been able to claim over Harrow at Lord’s since 1852. He also represented Eton in the two succeeding years, and was Captain of the Eleven in 1864. Though the exigencies o f his pro­ fessional duties caused him to give up serious attention to cricket, he has never lost touch or sympathy wioh the game. In proof of this it is pleasant for me to be able to add that he has taken an active interest in this paper ever since it made its appearance nine years ago. As the wire-pullers of the Liberal Asso­ ciation were unable to find an ambitious politician of sufficiently advanced views, as well as the requisite amount of courage, to undergo the test of a single wicket match with the Unionist party, the already considerable number of cricket lovers in the House of Commons yes­ terday received another and important addition in the person of Alderman Sir Reginald Hanson, Bart., M.A., F.S.A. Sir Reginald, who has been chosen by election as the most fitting successor to Sir Robert Fowler in the representation of the City of London, is, and has been for years, as many C ricket readers are well aware, a member of toe Committee of the Surrey County C .C . He has always been a liberal supporter of the game as, indeed, of every kind of athletics. The London Football Charity Cup was his gift. In addition, too, to the Presidency of the London Football Association, he holds office as a Vice-President of the London Athletic Club. I remember at some time or other hearing a story, told with such circum­ stantial attention to detail as to give an actual name to the chief actor in the inci­ dent, of a curious mistake made by a cricketer, who had been obliged by the weight of years to give up active partici­ pation in the game, and, as the lot of not a few worthy persons similarly situated has been in the past and will be in the future, no doubt, to take perforce to umpiring as a last occupation. It will be better, perhaps, not to give a clue to the good old player of whom it was reported. But to the story. He was standing in the usual position allotted to the umpire when the bowling is at the other end, and forgetful of his precise duties, not only fielded the ball,which would have been at any time a rare occurrence for him at his best, but in the excitement incidental to such an unexpected success, threw it up, adding at the same time the question as well as the answer, “ How’s that ? ou t!’, A n incident of a somewhat similar character, though, actually did take place recently in a match played at Warsnam- bool, Victoria, where the genial Frank Allan, the bowler of a century, who will be well remembered in connection with the First Australian Team, has his home. At least, “ Felix,” the generally truthful and reliable cricket critic of the Austra­ lasian newspaper, is my authority for the following statement:—- In the match against combined Portland and Port Fairy, a Warrnamboolian (Threlfall) stood umpire. A Warrnambool batsman hit a ball to square leg, and started to run. The umpire (Threlfall), forgetting all about being umpire, smartly fielded and returned the ball. The batsman scrambled back amid a unani­ mous appeal for run out, in which the umpire was not the least prominent. There were roars of laughter, especially when the umpire who fielded the ball found that it was he him­ self who had to give a decision. He gave the batsman the benefit of the doubt, but the fact remained that the batsman (M’Cleery) lost two runs by the action of the umpire in fielding the ball. All the same, I hope that the story is not the work of that accomplished writer, Mr. Benjamin Trovato. I t is a striking commentary on the dif­ ference of form shown by cricketers under varying conditions of climate and grounds to find F. H. Walters at the head of the batting averages among Victorian cricketers in International matches during the Colonial season just completed. As most C ricket readers will remember, he came over to England with the last Australian team, bearing the reputation of a powerful hitter and fast run-getter. I need hardly add, too, that he utterly failed to sustain this particular character, and, indeed, his few good performances were more in the role of a blocker than one of Thoms’ school of “ gentle tappers.” At the same time it must be added that he was seen to great disadvantage here, and that he “ never, well, hardly ever ” played his real game. At any rate, facts are undeniable, and the proof that his English form was unreliable will be found in the fact that he heads the Victorian batting tables with an ex­ cellent average of 57.33 for four innings, including one not out. W. Bruce, it may be interesting to some to know, is third, H. Trumble fourth, H. Trott fifth, with <T. Worrall. J. M. Blackham, T. Horan, and G. E. Palmer lower down in the scale. I f “ Felix ” is not to be regarded as a mere pessimist, cricket in Victoria does not seem to be of quite the same quality as it was some few years ago. J. Phillips, who, it will be seen from the score of the match between M.C.C. and Ground and Warwickshire at Lord’s at the end of last week arrived just in time to make the best use of a bowlers’ wicket, seems to monopolise in his person the whole bowl­ ing of the Colony if “ Felix’s ” estimate of his capacity on Australian grounds is reliable.