Cricket 1892

208 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. JtJNE 10, 1892 CRICKET NOTCHES. B y t h e R e v . R. S. H o lm e s . T he great Whitsuntide drama is past, and the manager (whoever he may be) begs to put on record that, thanks largely to the entertain­ ment provided, and thanks in part to the brilliant weather throughout, the crowds were larger than ever. In some cases it looked as if money would have to be refused at the doors. The plays were of the most sensational order; a pitched battle in every act, though wickets only were lost, not lives; tempers may have been, and reputations certainly were, but nothing more serious. Surprises and eye-openers were the order of the day. The showman, or perhaps he is the historian, would just rub his eyes and wipe his glasses before he hurriedly ticks off the leading points in the same. Please note that the several acts are respectively laid at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, Lord’s, Bristol, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford, Oval, and Oxford. Scene No. 1—Bramall Lane. The Battle of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster. As “ York,, had recently been recruiting their ranks, and had captured not a few minor outposts, and as “ Lancaster ” had sundry veterans past their prime, the followers of the “ White Rose ” were brimful of confidence. There was no full scoring here, 39 (by Sugg) being the Yorkshire’s lead of 41 (after losing the toss) was decidedly useful, and I candidly expressed an opinion to the Lancashire skipper, with whom I spent a delightful half-hour—simply a talk, mind you, not an “ interview ” ; I have no taste for that business—that our boys were going to cover themselves with glory. When the Red Rose at the second time of asking only jnst topped the century by one, it looked all over but shouting. And then came the final tug, and for about an hour-and-a-half we had about as glorious a struggle as I ever witnessed on a. cricket field. Yorkshire’s w ckets were falling fast, and six had gone when 23 runs were still wanted. The excitement was intense, the heat awful. As a proof, let me mention that one pipe cost me 18 wax vestas. But Wainwright and Tunnicliffe got together, and stuck together to the bitter end. I confess, after seeing the latter perform several times, I had no faith in him at such a crisis ; his first innings of 28 might have ended at any moment; this incompleted 14 was of a very different order. Of course, those wags of reporters must have their little joke, so one was not surprised to read that the two Tykes were very “ nervous at starting.” I saw no sign of funk in them. Every ball was met with the full face of the bat, and only one bad stroke was made by either. This innings must have done Tunnicliffe all the good imaginable; after this I pronounce him an able bat, that with proper self-confidence and self-care ought to have a big future. A man who can come out of such an ordeal triumphantly, and before a ring of 12,000 persons, should be equal to any demand on his powers. The smallest mistake on the part of either batsman would have sent Lancashire home first. I certainly think A. N. Hornby should have made a bolder bid for victory. Granted that no bowling could have been closer than Briggs’ and Watson’s, yet after a while the two “ heroes of the hour ” got the measure of it, and though they scored slowly were never once stuok up by it. Anything should have been risked when 50 went up ; there is no saying how a change would have worked ; it could have resulted no worse than the policy adopted. Mold might have done the hat trick with his expresses ; anyhow, he should have had a try. Had the match been played at Old Trafford, the crowd would have shouted “ Mold, Mold,” until he was put on. It was a famous victory, and up to the fourth innings Yorkshire certainly batted, bowled, and fielded better than Lancashire; but that final innings brought out all the real genius of the Red Rose; their bowling was fine, but their fielding was simply wonderful. And some of us old stagers are better satisfied not seldom with smart and accurate all-round fielding than with mammoth scoring. But then we don’t count with our old-fashioned fads. Scene No. 2.—The surprise of the season. Surrey beaten by Notts, though beforehand everything pointed to another Surrey triumph, as their men had been clearing the board, and Notts had no new blood in their team to justify mora than a hope of good luck. But the battle is not always to the strong. On the form shown throughout the match the better team won. ^Not that the lacemen scored heavily—Barnes led the way with 38. But their bowling was on the spot, whilst their fielding was almost, if not quite, perfect. (See last paragraph). Not a catch was missed nor a chance thrown away in either innings, and their veteran stumper, gamest and cheeriest of men, “ kept” with all the brilliance of his palmiest days. And his counterpart of Surrey was not at his post. Please note that, since as much depends on the “ man behind ” as on your chief bowlers, more perhaps. “ Bad hands” kept Wood away—every keeper’s prime trouble. Verily sucli a post requires the horniest of hands, and these can only be gotten by hard hand labour during the winter, grinding, for example, old Pinder’s trade, andwhich enabled him to survive many a season of terribly trying work without disaster, when such trundlers as Freeman, Hill, and Old Tom were pounding away at him. It’s here that pros, ought to have a huge start of amateurs, and so they have, as a rule. Blackham is the great and glorious exception; did ever stumper do such work so easily ? Tom Lockyer was a bricklayer—a useful trade for stumping. I have often wondered how A. T. Kemble can possibly stand up against Mold, for he has perhaps the smallest hands ever seen in a first-class stumper; some stumpers’ hands are like shoulders of mutton, and like that toothsome joint, very useful too. Surrey’s failure, both at Trent Bridge and at the Oval later, was with the bat. The previous week they left off in the wretchedest form against Somersetshire, losing five for 20; against Notts they lost the same number for 17 only,but unlike the Oval match, they repeated this initial failure. Fancy in ten innings five Surreyites—including Abel, Lolimann, and Henderson—totalled just 22 runs! And in this match last year Abel alone notched 166 in one completed innings. Comment is un­ necessary. If it had not been for their amateurs Surrey would havebeen annihilated. And here is the silver lining that makes my eyes glisten again. Key and John Shuter, w'ho for some time past have been dead off colour, came back to their best form with 41 and 53, whilst later on in the wTeek against the Light Blues the ever-popular Captain put on 121 for only once out. That is truly delightful to all genuine lovers of the best sport. I had almost sooner that Shuter had thus come off than that Surrey had won both their last matches. If Walter Read will only get some of his old ideas back into his head, we shall have some real fun so6n, though at the expense of the Northerners. I am right glad Notts have had a turn; they had been beaten thrice in succession by their gallant foes of the South. It must be an age since more than £6t0 was taken at the Trent Bridge gate in a cricket matoh. After this let's hear no more nonsense about want of sympathy on the part of the Notts public. Like any other public, they only want the best article to rouse them to a pitch of frenzy. This seven wickets’ win will give the lace County a useful fillip. I trust the executive will also learn a still more useful lesson. One would have thought that experience would have taught them not to drop men prema­ turely. And yet here Shacklock got in by a fluke; Flowers’ accident alone gave him his place in the team—his first appearance so far. And the victory was chiefly his work, as he notched 45 runs without being out once, and he took ten wickets at a cost of only 11 runs apiece. I wonder whether he will get his cap for the rest of the season. Like the heathen Chinee, the ways of some committees are peculiar. And now, by your leave, room for Middle­ sex. A second week of unmistakable prowess, the two Western Counties being slaughtered. What a mighty combination they form this year. In batting they have nearly always been immense, but I never remember them so strong in bowling. Barring poor George Howitt—a Nottsman by birth—young Hearne has had no rival with the ball during the last twenty-five years in Metropolitan cricket, and Raw'lin and Phillips run him hard at the present time. Middlesex have instituted the happiest plan—their amateurs maize the runs, tlieir pros, save them. Look after your pros, well, isa bit of advice that cannot be given too often. Surrey can testify to the soundness of it. Compare the Surrey of tbe seventies with the Surrey of to-day. The Somerset­ shire match was O’Brien’s opportunity; his splendid double—76 and 71—represented nearly half the sum total of 337: whilst Rawlin’s eleven wickets for 67 runs worthily divided the honors with him. Where would the Westerners be without Sam Woods ? When he goes back to Australia, there will be no one to take his place. Twelve wickets and 46 runs (for once out) prove that it was no fault of his that his County came off second best in a match of only modest scores. As Gloucestershire had provided a genuine surprise by jumping on Kent after having to follow on, their defeat by Middlesex by an innings and 102 runs made me open my eyes. Radcliffe has quickly shown us that his Australian form was not his real form by scoring the biggest innings (117) that has ever appeared against his name in good company. And another of 82 against Middle­ sex showed that this was no fluke. Glo’ster seem to have found a prize in the old Marlburian Captain—Kitcat—if an aggregate of 98 against Kent be any criterion. When Ferris turns up in the course of a month, W. G. ought to lead his men into the field with a light heart. For the old man himself is almost as good as ever. He had a jolly week out, getting 198 runs for three completed innings, and making five Kent men sit up at a very small outlay—51 runs. Though the Kent Captain has been proving an equally hard nut, having notched 238 runs during the four innings of the week, and by his splendid 114 not only saving the match against Lanca­ shire, but making the final result quite an open question—supposing the floods had not descended at Old Trafford on Saturday. As the Oxford Freshman, C. B. Fry, had a merry two hours against Sam Woods and Co. to the tune of 110, last week’s cricket will stand out conspicuously for some most brilliant efforts. Of course, Middlesex’s mammoth score against the County of the Graces was the piece de resistance , whilst Stanley Scott’s magnificent 224was a fitting climax to fourteen years of thoroughly consistent service with the bat for the County of his adoption— Bombay being his birth-place—as it was also a remarkable performance on the part of a veteran stager, who is now in his 39th year. It’s a big drop from 224 to 64—Rawlin’s dole. But Middlesex have a better record than either this individual or collective total. Against Yorkshire in 1886 they ran up 527, and then A. J. Webbe carried his bat right through for no less than 243. Rawlin and Phillips were second best with the bat, whilst the latter found everybody but W. G. easy prey in the second attack. Per contra , 188 runs were scored off Woof’s bowling in one innings! Does not that take the cake ? I sljould be glad to know. P.S ,—I have a crowd of [things to make a notch upon, but they will keep for another week. Will my correspondents oblige by signing their letters in full, so that, in case I should not deem the points they touch on of sufficient importance for public notice, I may have the pleasure of acknowledging their courtesy privately. Every cricketer should send 7 stamps to the office of this paper for this year’s C r ic k e t C a le n d a r (24th year of issue). It contains chief fixtures for the season arranged in chronological order, table for registration of players in matches to come, pages for the insertion of other engage­ ments, Laws of Cricket, etc., etc.. Handy size for the pocket, bound in cloth ; in leather wallets gilt lettering, Is. 6d.