Cricket 1891

JULY 2, 1891 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 227 the other side, the Governor was per suaded to handle the willow on behalf of the land-lubbers. There was no reason for either of them to complain of undue preference, as each was clean bowled for three runs. If I mistake not, the Admiral is a brother of the Duke of Buccleuch and uncle of the Earl of Dalkeith, as well as of the well-known Oxford cricketer of a few years back, Lord G. Scott. A good friend in Toronto has been kind enough to send me paiticulars of some high scoring on the ground of the Totonto Club. The match was between Thinity College School, Port Hope, which boants Shrewsbury (I take this to be William, brother of the great Notts player), and Toronto, and the result seems to have been the establishment of a double record for Canada. The School, who were first to bat, made 118 in an hour and a half, itself not a bad rate of run-getting. Toronto’s per­ formance, however, cast this altogether into tho shade. The innings, which lasted three hours and a quarter, or 195 minutes, realised 385, or an average of nearly 2 runs a minute. This score of 385 is a record for Canada in a one day's match, and unless I am mistaken the aggregate of 503, which were got in four hours and a half, is also a best in a day for the Dominion. It will be of interest to many on this side of the stream to learn that W. W. Jones, one of the Canadian team of 1887, contri­ buted 83, the third highest score, to Toronto’;! total. T h e completion of the Oxford and Cambridge match this week, it will be a subject for general regret, brings to a close the scholastic career of two of the finest cricketers either University has pro­ duced for a longtime. I refer, it goes with­ out saying, to Messrs. G. McGregor and S. M. J. Woods, who, having reached the prescribed limit of four years' service, will not be able again to do battle for the Light Blues. As a wicket-keeper, the Cambridge Captain has no superior, either amateur or professional, at the present time, and stumpers of any capacity are not to be found every day. T h e greater loss after all, however, will be that of Mr. Woods. His per­ formances as a bowler, too, have been so remarkable, challenging comparison even with the very best record of the past, that of Mr. A. G. Steel to wit, that it will be of interest to reproduce the summary of his bowling for Cambridge, as it appeared in the Sporting L ife of yesterday. Overs. MdDS. Kans. Wkts. 1888... .......... ... ... 39 ... 23 .. 48 .. .. 0 1889................ .......... 20 4 ... 7 .. . 42 .... 6 1889................. .......... 24.3 ... 8 ... 40 .. 5 1890 .............................. 14 3 .. 5 . . 25 . . 4 1890................. .......... 16.4 .. 7 ... 31 ... 4 1891................. ......... 35 3 .. . 14 ... 60 .... 7 1891................. ......... 32 .. . 6 ., ,. 72 4 I h a v e said that Mr. Woods will challenge comparison with Mr. A. G. Steel, and the figures will, I think, prove my assertion. As a matter of fact, the forme is credited with thirty-six wickets for 318, which gives an average of under 9 r ns. Mr. Steel’s thirty-eight cost 342, which represents exactly 9 runs a-piece. A careful examination, too, will show that Mr. Woods has really the best of an analysis, as while Oxford batted eight times to Mr. Steel’s bowling, they had only seven innings to that of Mr. Woods. Moreover, while of the latter’s four matches, three were won and one drawn, Cambridge during Mr. Steel’s career lost once a d won three times. I f e a r I was altogether in error when I stated in “ Gossip ” a fortnight ago that Prince Christian Victor had been unfor­ tunate enough in his first campaign in India to miss his baptism of fire. As a matter of fact, the young cricketer was lucky in each of the two expeditions in which he took part to assist in active service. While on the staff of Major- General Ellis, C.B., in the Black Moun­ tain Expedition, from March till the middle of April he was in a lot of fighting of a sort. Rejoining his regiment, which was ordered to the Miranzai Expedition some two hundred milesSouth-West of the former, he was fully employed till peace was signed. The latter expedition, too, was productive of some hard work, as well as stiff fighting, in which of course with the rest he had his full share. Though naturally a little knocked up onhis return, the Prince soon after his arrival was able to make three consecutive scores of ovei 30, sufficient proof that his military duties have so far not done very much harm to his cricket. Mr. E. V. B. Christian, whose torm s wel -known to cricketers by his recent contributions to this paper above the ini ials of E.V.B.C., has furnished Ba ly’s Magazine of this month with n exceedingly interesting article on “ The Cricket Matches of Fiction.” Mr. Christian shares the oft-expressed regret that Cricket fills so small a space in fiction. That the majority of authors who have ventured to introduce sketches of cricket into their works ex­ hibit anything but a profound knowledge of the game will be generally admitted. Singularly enough, a contributor to the National Observer of Saturday last de­ plores the lack of a reliable history of modern cricket, and finishes his article with the query “ When will the historian arise ? ” The mention of cricket history gives me a suitable opportunity for the reminder that Mr. Gale (the Old Buffer), another trusty henchman in the conduct of this paper, is to deliver his Lecture on “ Cricket and Cricketers from 1835 to the present time,” at the Westminster Town Hall, to-night at 8.30. “ F .G.” has been guide, philosopher, and friend to more than one generation of players. Nor is his readiness at all times to assist others likely to be forgotten just now, when he is making the final preparations for his departure for the Far West. T h e announcement of the death of George Parr has brought me a very interesting letter from a good old cricketer, the Bev. W. R. K. Bedford, at one time the high priest of the Ancient Order of Free Foresters, who is able to speak of the Lion of the North and his cricket doings with the best authority, that of personal knowledge and information. Dean Hole, he thinks, would be able to tell many good anecdotes of Parr and his cricket career. Here are two furnished by Mr. Bedford himself:— O all men in the world J. 0. Reay was hi3 master as a bowler, and once got him out for spectacles. The local paper (Leamington I think it was) said, “ Parr was out, after on© or two narrow escapes.” This hurt George’3 feelings much, and late that evening he was heard muttering to himself, “ narrow ’scapes, I never had no narrow ’scapes.” I think it was in the same matoh, Foresters wanting only about a dozen runs to win, that Evans (F.R.) hit a ball to long leg, where George Parr was standing, which was fielded by a Newfoundland dog, who lay with a naw on each side of the ball and growled; Parr st od at a respectful distance and vituperated but dared not approach. Luckily the master of the animal was near and called him off, but it saved us a wicket. T he following will show the results of the matches played between the nine leading Counties so far this summer:*— Played. Won. Lost. Dwn. Surrey .......... Kent..................... S u s s e x .............. Notts .......... Somersetshire Middlesex ... , Gloucestershire . Lancashire ... . Yorkshire ... . PRINCIPAL MATCHES FORNEXT WEEK T h u rs d a y . J u ly 2-r-Kennington Oval, Gentlemeu; v. Players ; Lord’s, M.C.C. & G. v. Leicester­ shire ; ronbridge, Keat v. 8 ussex; Manchester, Lancashire v. Warwickshire; Newcastle, Northumberland v. N.E. Riding of Yorkshire. F rid a y J u ly S.—EtoD, Eton v. W inchester; Sun­ derland, Durham v. Yorkshire. M nday, J u ly 6 .—Lord’s. Gentlemen v. Players Manchester, Lancashire v. Leicestershire; Southampton, Surrey v. Hampshire; Stoke Staffordshire v.Cheshire; Rugby, Rugby Schoo v. M.C.C. & G. W e d n e sd a y , J u ly 8.— Kennington Oval, Surrey C. & G. v. Clapham Wanderers, P la y in g for the Lyric C. and G. v . 93rd Highlanders, at Barnes on Saturday, C. I. Thoi nton scored 60 runs in twenty minutes. On the same side, F. R. Spofforth tcok six wick ts for 2 runs.