Cricket 1891

482 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. SEPT. 17,1891 one is not accustomed to associate with the name of Barlow. The poet, it may be assumed, does not care for cricket; and, indeed, poets have made no great iigure in the game. Byron’ s phrase, “ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil,” is well enough, and his lordship had really played for his school. But the schoolboys in Hood’s “ Eugene Aram ” coursed about “ like sportive deer” after the match had begun, which seems irregular; and we are told that “ they drave the wickets in ” —as if to pitch the stumps were a feat of strength. Campbell, again, makes a great fuss because his “ Last Man” was not ou t; now, if the man had gone through the innings he would have been better worth commemorating. It may be doubted whether Gray alluded to cricket or football when he made his Etonians “ urge the flying ball,” though Pope specifi­ cally applies the same stiff phrase to cricket. Certainly none of the older poets—except, perhaps, Love, the laureate of the game— rivals Mr. Andrew Lang’s “ Ballade of Cricket.” " The burden of hard hitting, slog away! Here thou shalt make a *five,’ and there a ‘ four,’ And then upon th> bat shalt lean and say That thou art in for an uncommon score. Yea, the loud ring applauding thee shall roar, And thou to rival T hornton shalt aspire ; When lo, the umpire gives thee ‘ leg before ’ This is the end of every man’s desire !’ Alas, yet liefer on youth’s hither shore Would I be some poor player on scant hire, Than king among the old who play no more— ‘ This is the end of every man’s desire.’ ” “ The old who play no more,” however, seem consoled, as they sit at ease in the pavilion, by the infallibility of their criticism on the poor players. In village matches the scoring tent serves for pavilion, and it was there, ap­ parently, .that Mr. Meredith learnt his cricketal* philosophy. Like Dickens, Mr. Meredith was born in Hampshire, “ the cradle of the game;” but it must have been in Surrey —despite the maps—that he witnessed that match of Fallowfield against Beckley which he narrates. Evan Harrington, the most pleasant of his heroes, stood watching wistfully the plain of grass whereon stood a white booth topped by a flag, signifying that a contest was proceeding. Fortunately he went nearer to look on, and the record of the match stands written for our instruction. “ Not one, but two men of Beckley—the last two—carried out their bats, cheered hand­ somely by both parties. The wickets pitched in the morning, they carried them in again, and plaudits renewed proved that their fame had not slumbered. To stand before a field— thoroughly aware that every successful stroke you make is adding to the hoards of applause in store for you—is a joy to your friends, an exasperation to your foes. I call this an exciting situation, and one as proud as a man may desire. Then, again, the two last men of an eleven are tw ins; they hold one life between them, so that he who dies extinguishes the other.” The last sentence is not very clear. Unless of the Siamese variety, twins do not neces­ sarily expire simultaneously. But the reader feels that Mr. Meredith has the root of the matter in him. And there has been a change since Miss Mitford’s time. “ The sons of first-rate families are in the two elevens, mingled with the yeomen, and whoever can best do the business. Fallowfield and Beckley, without regard to rank, have drawn upon their muscle and science. One of the bold men of Beckley at the wickets is Nick Frim, son of the game­ keeper at Bickley C ourt; the other is young Tom Copping, son of Squire Copping, of Dox Hall, in the imrish 0f Beckley.................... The field was ringing at a stroke of Nick Frim ’s, who had lashed out in his old familiar style at last, and the heavens heard of it when Evan came into the circle of spectators. *The word has the sanction of Miss Mitford as also that of Horace Walpole. Nick and Tom were stretching from post to post, might and main. A splendid four was scored. The field took heart with the heroes ; and presume not to doubt that heroes they are. It is good to win glory for your country ; it is also good to win glory for your village.” This is the masculine view; but equally true is Mr. Meredith’s divination of feminine criticism on along stand. “ Nick Frim was very wonderful no doubt. . . . Nevertheless, the ladies were beginning to ask when Nick Frim would be out.” Nick was hitting recklessly, and gave a catch. “ ‘ What a beautiful h it! ’ cried one of the ladies, languidly watching the ascent of the ball. ‘ Beautiful d’ye call it ? ’ remarked the squire. The ball, indeed, was dropping straight into the hands of the long-hit-off. Instantly a thunder rolled [which is, being translated from the Meredithyrambic, there was a loud cheer]. But it was Beckley that took the joyful treble—Fallowfield, the deeply- cursing bass. The long-hit-off—he who never was known to miss a catch—butter-fingered beast! he has let the ball slip through his fingers. “ Are there gods in the air? Fred Linning- ton, the unfortunate of Fallowfield, with a whole year of unhappy recollection haunting him in prospect ere he can retrieve his char­ acter—Fred, if he does not accuse the powers of the sky, protests that he cannot understand it, which means the same.” Still the stand of the last two men is pro­ longed. “ And now small boys (who represent the press here) announce that Beckley is 79 ahead, and that Nick Frim (the favourite of the field) is 51 to his own cheek. The boys are boys of both villages ; but they are British boys—they adore prowess. . . . Nick is the wicket­ keeper of the Beckley eleven, long-limbed, wiry, keen of ey e; his fault as a batsman is that he will be a dashing hitter. He is too sensible of the joys of a grand spanking hit. A short life and a merry one has hitherto been his motto.” Nick’s prowess has been inspired by the presence of a “ humbly desired ” housemaid. The presence of another young lady unfortun­ ately destroyed our chance of further record of the game. Evan was taken away by his R ose; the historian accompanied them. That Tom Copping was run out we know, but what happened in the second innings, whether Fallowfield made a good fight, or whether Beckley won easily, Mr. Meredith has not told us. We would willingly have given Mr. Tom Cogglesby (one of Mr. Mere­ dith’s prodigious failures, “ trailing clouds of sawdust,” as the critic has it) in exchange for that information. This notwith­ standing, Mr. Meredith stands at present at the head of the novelists of cricket. If he ever publishes the complete Pilgrim’s Scrip, we hope a cricket section will be found in it. Till then the remarks of Harry Richmond’s coachman may serve for an epitome of cricketal philosophy— “ ‘ Now, there’s my notion of happiness,’ said the man condemned to inactivity in the perpetual act of motion, * cricket in cricket season ! It comprises, count:—Lots of run­ ning, and that’s good; just enough o’ taking it easy, that’s good ; a appetite for your dinner, and your ale or your port, as may be the case, f ood number three; add on a tired pipe after ark, and a sound sleep to follow, and you say good morning to the doctor and the parson; for you’re in health, body and soul, and ne’er a parson ’11 make a better Christian of ye, that I ’ll swear.’ ” E dm und B. Y. C h r is t ia n . G race P arlour C ricket . —A Handsome Birth­ day Present for boys. Matches played and analy­ sis kept same as on the cricket field. Any number can play, and endless enjoyment and amusement is afforded by this ingenious Indoor Game. Post free, securely packed, 2/10.— W righ t & Co., 41, St. Andrew’s Hill, London. CRICKET IN CEYLON. UP COUNTRY v. COLOMBO. The annual match under the above title which usually excites general interest among Ceylon cricketers, was played at Barr-ck Square, Colombo, on August 13 and 14. The finish proved to be very exciting, and Colombo, indeed, only won within three minutes of time, having three wickets in hand. Paine, the old Oxonian, took six, Gatehouse four, and Jackson five wickets for Colombo. Finch got seven Colombo wickets, Halliley six, and Denison four. U p C ou n try . First Innings. P. F. Hadow, run out ... 15 c A. J. Denison, c Gardyne, b Skinner........................11 A.O. Whiting, run out ... 86 Capt. Allison, c and b Jackson ..............................15 F. W. Finch, b Jackson ... 0 W. P. Halliley, b Jackson 12 Second Innings. Skinner, b Paine ..........45 c Gatehouse, b Paine ............ 39 c Paine, b Gate­ house .............58 b Paine .............29 b Paine ........... 2 c Block, b Gate­ house b Paine F. Williams, b Stephens .. 14 O. A. Bannatine, lbw, b Jackson..................... 0 b Skinner ... R. S. Templer, c Block, b Jackson ...................... 7 b Gatehouse A. C. Clarke, b Paine ... 11 b Gatehouse P. E. Rogers, not out ... 0 not out Extras ........................20 Extras ... 0 0 . 23 Total .................141 C.C.C. First Innings. M. H. Paine, c Whiting, b F in ch ............................... 5 W. H. Jackson, st Whiting, b Finch ........................ 0 Lt.-Col. Skinner, st Whit­ ing, b Finch ................. 1 Geo. Vanderspar, st Whit­ ing, b Finch ................. 4 F. Stephens, c Finch, b Denison ........................58 Capt. Block, b Halliley ... 33 R. Gatehouse, not out ... 42 W. Courtenay, c Halliley, b F in ch ................................ 6 S. L. Murray, b Finch ... 1 H. Goodwyn, b Halliley ... 60 P. D. Warren, c Williams, b Halliley.......................... 4 E xtras............................14 Total ................. 228 Total ...231 Second Innings. b H alliley......... 27 c Whiting, b Denison..........15 c and b Finch ... 9 c Clarke, b Hal­ liley ................. 7 b H alliley..........14 lbw, b Denison... 17 c Finch, b Deni­ son .................21 notout ..........23 not out .......... 3 Extras ... 10 Total ...146 FOREST H ILL v. NORBURY PARK. Played at Forest Hill on September 12. F orest H il l . A. C. Roberts, c G. Dunsmuir, b Joy... 19 W. L. Pierce, c H. Dunsmuir, b Joy ... 57 J. A. Knight, c Mor­ ris, b J o y ................. 8 J. H. Todd, by Joy... 54 J.F.Graham, not out 23 F. Seel, b Joy E. B-. Gregory, out ................ B 4, w 1 Total ... not 0 11 5 ...177 F. Skipper, E. D. Foulkes, W. W. Capes, and L. R. Meredith did not bat. (Innings declared finished.) N orrury P a kk . G. P. Joy, b Capes... 0 W.West, b Gregory 4 G. Dunsmuir, b Capes ................. 0 J.J. Morris.bGregory 19 S. Thomson, c Seel, b Gregory .......... 3 J. Shortland, run out ........................20 P. W. McDougall, b Capes .................21 H. Dunsmuir, not out ........................ 13 J. J. McAldin,bCapes 1 P. B. Barker, not out 4 B 8, w 2 ..........10 Total , 95 E. C. West did not bat. C r ic k e t C h at for 1891.—(Eighth Year of Issue), enlarged and improved edition, post free 7^d Containing in addition to Portraits and Biographies, Gronps of Cricket, and Cricket Anecdotes and Oddities. To be had at the Office of this paper, of all Booksellers, or W. H. Smith &Sons stalls.