Cricket 1891

52 CRICKET: A WEEKLY EECORD OF THE GAME. APR IL 6,1891 this kind was, according to W .G ., made in the case of EM ., and the natural result of his use in boyhood of a bat too large for him was a tendency to cross hitting. The lessons to be impressed on the young bowler when he begins, we may add, are to Bowl straight. Bowl a good length. Vary your pace and pitch. Try to get some break on the ball. Learn something about the nature and con­ dition of the wicket on which you are bowling. Look out for the weak spots in the batsman’s defence. T h e c h a p t e r on “ Cricketers I have M et” affords Mr. Grace an oppor­ tunity of describing the leading players with whom he has been actively associated. A short sketch of the career of each amateur or pro­ fessional is given, and as these are interspersed with frequent anecdotes and numerous portraits it will be easily understood they are replete with in­ structive information as well as amusement. One anecdote, of which the genial Tom Emmett was the subject, may be given as a specimen ;— “ He had a keen sense of the ludicrous, and could laugh as heartily when he had blundered as any one. On a certain occasion after having passed my medical examination, I had travelled all-night from Edinburgh to .Lon­ don, and was making my way from the railway station to Lord’s when I overtook Tom. He knew where I had been, and my purpose, and was anxious to know the result. ‘ Is it all right, sir ? * ‘ All right, Tom,* I replied, ‘ 1 have got my diploma,' pointing to the case con­ taining it, which I had in m y hand. It had rained during the night, and the ground at Lord’s was very wet. We batted first, and Tom was fielding at cover- point. In trying to stop a hard hit of mine, he slip­ ped and fell heavily back­ ward and did not get up for a little. * Are you hurt, T om ?' I asked. He pulled himself to­ gether, got up, and point­ ing to a lovely mud-mark on his trousers, replied, ‘ No, sir; but I have got my diploma.” ’ But there! we might go on indefinitely with so much to interest, such a quantity of entertaining matter well worthy of reproduction. We have given sufficient extracts to illustrate the charac­ ter, as well as the general tone of the book. We had, however, almost forgotten to add that the summary of Records andCuriosities, compiled, as we have tested for ourselves, with great care, brings a most comprehensive as well as exhaustive collection of cricket lore to an appropriate finish. It is no mere formality to recommend Mr. W. G. Grace’ s last production as thoroughly worthy not only of the high reputation of the author as a cricketer. It is more than that—it is calcu­ lated to enhance the public interest, if that be possible, in the game of which he is the most brilliant example. We can conscientiously say that we have read every line of every one of the nearly five-hundred pages, and with thorough enjoyment. It is not possible for anyone ordinarily fond of the game to reach the end without a feeling of regret that W.G. has declared his innings closed at such an early period. Through the kindness of the Publisher, Mr. J. W . Arrowsmith, himself an ardent sup­ porter of the game, for many years on the Committee of the Gloucestershire County C.C., we are enabled to reproduce the life-like portrait of the G. O. M. of Cricket which forms the frontispiece of the book. A HEAVY DEATH ROLL. The death-roll of cricketers has indeed been heavy of late. In Mr. Edward Lumb, York­ shire county loses one who, though no longer actively engaged on the field of play, was very popular and well-known as a keen follower of the game. “ Teddv” Lumb, as he was familiarly styled in Yorkshire cricketing circles, played for the Colts of the County when only fifteen years old, and in the same match that produced the late Andrew Green­ wood. Afterwards Mr. Lumb played success­ ively for Dalton (which team he captained at the age of twenty), Lascelles Hall—the nursery of Yorkshire cricket—and Huddersfield Clubs. And his steady perseverance had its reward, for on July 9th, 1883, he made his debut for Yorkshire, v. Leicester­ shire at Sheffield. A most successful debut it was, too, for he carried his bat through the first innings for 82 out of 183. Later in the same month, against Surrey at the Oval, he supplemented this good start by scores of 12 and (not out) 60, helping Emmett to add 82 for the eighth wicket in the second “ hands.” But far and away the best performance credited to Mr. Lumb dur­ ing his career was in the match Yorkshire v. M id­ dlesex, played at Hudders­ field in August of the same year. The home County had to go in against a long score of 305 by Middlesex, and they would have fared badly indeed but for Ulyett, Hall, and Mr. Lumb. The amateur was not out each time, with scores of 70 and 24, whilst the two professionals named made 65 and 32, and 16 and 87 (not out) respec­ tively, leaving their side with the \ est of a drawn game. His Huddersfield admirers thought so much of this performance that they presented Mr. Lumb with a handsome silver cup. That season (1883) he was fourth in the County batting averages, with 25.2 for eleven com­ pleted innings. It was, however, almost his last appearance forthe County, as his health began to give way, and although he took a trip to Australia, all proved of no avail. It should be added that he was for several years Presi­ dent of the Huddersfield and District Cricket Association, and gave a silver cup for competition. Kindlyand genial in man­ ner, too, Mr. Lumb was ever ready to befriend young cricketers, and though debarred from playing himself, rarely missed a County match in Yorkshire. He died at the Hotel Metropole on the 5th inst., his end being accelerated by a violent cold contracted while attending to his business in London. He was only thirty-eight years of age. Cricketers of all classes will have received with deepest regret the intelligence that Richard Pilling has passed away. Shattered in health as he was, it was hoped last autumn, when he left this country to pass the winter in Australia, that the famous wicket­ keeper would return home quite restored, and ready for the season that is about to begin. It was willed otherwise, however. Reports of his presence at representative matches in