Cricket 1892

MAY 36, 1892 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 153 the credit of the birthplace as well as the residence of Richardson, the young pro­ fessional who made such a creditable show as a fast bowler against Essex and Leicestershire last week at the Oval. My informant was evidently wrong in his premises, for Richard­ son tells me he was born at Byfleet. As he will be twenty-two in July next, it is not difficult to get an approximate idea of the date of his birth. A c r ic k e t e r who will be well remembered by old Harrovians in the latter part of the fifties passed away on the 27th of last mooth. Id the days when Daniel, Elphinstone, and “ Bob” Lang were names to conjure with in Harrow cricket, there were few better school batsmen than E. W. Humphreys. Getting his oolours in 1858, he won the Ebrington Cup for batting in 1859, in which year he played a fine innings of 63 against Eton, at Lord’s. A free and stylish batsman, making full use of his height (six feet), he punished loose bowling severely. Indeed, he had few, if any, superiors in his day as a boy bat. It was his good fortune to take part in two matches against Eton, in both of which Harrow won by more than an innings. Settling down in New Zealand in 183 1 to sheep farming, he spent the rest of his life in the colony. Three years ago he was elected Member for Christ Church, North, but in the General Election of the following year had to give way to a labour candidate, S e c r e t a r ie s of Metropolitan Clubs will no doubt experience a feeling of relief on receipt of the intelligence that one of the light- fingered fraternity who has been apparently devoting himself for some time past to clearing pavilions of the moveable pro­ perty of cricketers has been caught flagrante delicto. The facts are these:—On Saturday last, a man was charged before Mr. Marsham at Greenwich Police Court with breaking into and stealing from the pavilion of the Forest Hill C.C. a quantity of clothing and material belonging to members, and other articles, the property of the club. F r o m the selection made it would appear that the thief is an old hand at the game, and suburban club3 h ave reason for congratulation that one of the gang has at last been caught. The capture was effected by Peter Morley, the groundman of the club, about 10.30 on th j previous evening, and after an exciting chase of twenty minutes, the prisouer was secured by two constables, who responded to the whistle which Morley is wont to use in foot­ ball matches. Several of the articles were found on the prisoner, and others were re­ covered after a search in the early morning, lie was remanded for seven days. This is essentially an item of Pavilion Gossip. A c u r io u s incident occurred in the match between Thames Ditton and Cobham, at Cobliam on Saturday last. While W.H.Martin, son of the Captain of the Cobham Eleven, was batting, he played a ball just beyond mid-on. A wow-wow'anxious to put himself in evidence, made fDr the ball, and before the fieldsman could get to it was away with his prize in hot haste to all parts of the ground. Meanwhile, the batsmen were making the best of such a rare opportunity, and twelve or thirteen runs had been got before K nine was compelled to disgorge his prey. But the queslion of the amount to be scored had to be settled. And the umpire solved the knotty point with the ruling that the ball was dead, and the result in the end was an allowance of four runs. A w e e k or so ago I had occasion to repro­ duce the valedictory letter sent to the Earl of Sheffield by the newly-formed Australian Cricket Council. To this addressof congratula­ tion Mr. Sparks, the chairaian, reoeived the following reply:— “ P. and 0. S .N . Co.’s s.s. Aroadia, April 12, 1892.—Dear Mr. Sparks, I reoeived your letter with great pleasure. I cordially concur with your estimate of the value and importance of the amenities of cricket. In fact, cricket should not be played at all if it cannot be accompanied by perfect friendliness and good- feeling. Personally, I shall never forget the numerous kindnesses which I have experi­ enced during my visit to Australia, and which have made my visit so pleasant to me.— Believe me, very truly yours, S h e f f ie l d .” Such courtesies as these do mich to keep alive the great Federation of Cricketers. Lord Sheffield, by the way, before his departure from Australia, handed ten pounds to the Austin Hospital, where the son of the late W. Midwinter is oared for, and two pounds to the fund for the erection of a tombstone over the grave of the Aboriginal Johnny Mullagh. C r ic k e t , its readers will be interested to learn, is doing its full share in the way of contributions to the literature of the game. Last week I incidenta lly mentioned the faot that Mr. A. J. Gaston of Brighton, an enthu­ siastic student of cricket lore, had sup­ plied the sketch of Sussex Grounds to the Ludgate Monthly for June. And now I find that the Rev. R. S. Holmes, who is scoring so well with his Notches in C r ic k e t this season, is furnishing a history of York­ shire for a later issue of the same magazine. Another contributor, and one in whom I have a personal interest, is also acting as Editor of a new series of Athletic Handbooks in course of preparation by a well known firm of publishers. No one who has had experience of Mr. A. N. Hornby’s instincts as a sportsman needs an illustration of the goodness of heart which has made him so universally popular with all classes even outside cricket. But the following incident, recounted in the Manchester Evening News of Saturday last, is far too good to be allowed to escape the notice of C r ic k e t readers. Early in the afternoon yesterday, while the wind was blowing a gale, and before the players had ventured out of the pavilion, Mr. Hornby noticed a group of about thirty deaf and dumb boys from a neighbouring institu­ tion, shivering and looking very disconsolate at the lack of entertainment of any kind. Determined that they should not be deprived of all the pleasures of life, he conducted the whole party into one of the refreshment tents, and gave the waiters orders to let them feast till they could feast no more. The order was duly obeyed, and later in the day, when the sun came out, and Mr. Hornby’s team were playing a winning game, there were no happier beings on the field than the poor deaf mutes. Their only regret was that the popular Lancashire skipper did not make a hundred. MARRIED v. SINGLE. (With apologies to Mr. W. S. Gilbert.) When Bachelors meet Benedicts at cricket, And the Surrey boys have places in the teams, And the weather is as perfect as the wicket, Then the scorers have no time to waste in dreams, But they labour in a fashion more befitting, And they’re busy as they register each run, For when Lohmann, Read, aud Henderson are hitting, Then the scorers’ lot is not a lazy one. When the Single send more sixes up than singles (Or—if not exactly that -more twos and threes : Some slight errors are excusable in jingles Such as these), and so defeat their foes with ease, And when gentle tapper Stoddart’s gently tapping, And when Abel ably spanks eaoh ball that’s spun, In the sooring-tent they find no tim3 for napping, And the scorers’ lot is not a lazy one. C.P. C r ic k e t readers whose memory takes them back to more than one generation of players, will no doubt remember the tourna­ ment held some eighteen years ago in Halifax (Nova Scotia). The leaders of cricket there are hopeful of organising another gathering on the same lines, and it is to be hoped with equal success. At all events W. A. Henry, who was over here with the Gentlemen of Canada a few years back, of the Halifax Wanderers, and G. G. Stockwell, of the Garrison C.C.,have sent an invitation in the names of the two clubs to Philadelphia to send a representative eleven to take part in a tournament during the present summer. The idea of those interested is to limit the competition to teams representative of Upper Canada,Halifax, and Philadelphia respectively. Each team is to play a two days’ match with each of the others, so that there may be a full week’s cricket. It is hoped that a cup as well as other prizes will be available for com­ petition. The matter, so far as Philadelphia is concerned, is in the hands of the Inter C it y Committee, and it is expected that a date will soon be found. T h e cry is still they come. Big scores, as thick as leaves in Vallambrosa. Last Saturday week E. F. Prall, of Corinthian football fame, and F. M. Atkins, of Mote Park, did a remarkable performance, scoring 292 for Rochester’s 3rst wicket, against the Royal Marines. Trail’s score was 102, and this he followed up with another innings of three figures, 100 not out, for Rochester against King’s School Rochester. C. J. Francib, of Guy’s, supplemented a score of over a hundred on Saturday, with another at the Oval on Monday. Yesterday there was some heavy run- getting at the Oval, and Hayward, a son of Dan of that ilk, who will be qualified for Surrey next summer (164), and G. W. Ayres (101 not out), each got into three figures. Tho latter’s is the fourth hundred so far recorded this season on the Surrey ground. On Satur­ day, Eastbourne closed their innings against Willingdon with 381 for five wickets. To this total G. Cuming contributed 130 and T, S. Whitfeli 100 not out,