Cricket 1892

226 CRICKET ; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. j u n e 23, 1892 CRICKET NOTCHES. B y the R ev . R . S . H olmes . Y o r k s h ir e fairly landed all the honours of last week with a splendid double-first. As every Tyke is a born sportsman, there is a danger of the famous county going clean off its head. Enthusiasm is at the pitch of madness. Yes­ terday—in spite of its being Sunday and of my being on duty, every acquaintance and friend saluted me in the same way—“ Good old Yorkshire.” As somebodv remarked, “ We shall lick creation now.” My reply simply was, “ Suppose we lick Surrey first, and then do ditto to Notts.” The refreshment bars at Leeds will have a merry time of it this week, for it is a well-known fact at Bramall Lane— and, one may thence conclude, all over the county—that when Yorkshire are doing badly in any match the crowd departs in sullen silence without quenching its thirst. Not like your weak-headed Southerners: when they are down on their luck they fly to the bottle just to revive their depressed spirits. When Yorkshiremen drink they do so to give ocular proof of their gladness, and never to drown sadness. A win or a loss at Sheffield means a difference of many pounds to the landlord of the cricket liquor saloon. It was a creditable victory over Kent at Bradford—that over Middlesex at Lord’s was just immense. By-the-bye, what a jolly en­ closure that at Bradford is, with a railway station separated from it only by the breadth of an ordinarv street, as is the case at Old Trafford. If they could only get a similar convenience at Leeds more would attend matches. The size of the Bradford enclosure —which, as at Leeds, has separate grounds for cricket and football within one and the same boundary wall—makes a game very en­ joyable for spectators, especially on the reserved side owing to a raised embankment. It is possible for the ring to be too large. And Bradford, too, can boast about the best wicket in the county, so the noble captain has said. Bramall Lane could once upon a time, but to-day the centre of the ground is prac­ tically worn out, and will soon have to be re­ turfed. But how abominably cold it was there, more suggestive of football than of cricket; one didn’t know where to go to escape being starved. Our men played a winning game from start to finish ; no White Rose partisan could have had a moment’s anxiety from the time Peel was joined by Arthur Sellars on the Monday: the Kent bowling had all the devil quickly knocked out of it. Hall and Ulyett failed again: it would seem that the latter was having a bit of fun—just like him—out of us all, and all the while had a big thing up his sleeve not to be shown till the end of the week. Yorkshire finally had a surplus of 136 runs. In all the three items of bowling, batting, and fielding the winners clearly had the whip hand. “ Fielding,” please observe; for runs saved are runs made No good your scoring 20, my young friend, though by the most perfect cricket, if you miss four catches which add just four times 20 to the opposite totab brilliant fielding wins nearly as many matches as clever bowling. Catches by Moorhouse and Ulyett were alone worth going miles to see. Of individual per­ formances those of Sellars stand out most prominent. The Keighley amateur had played in two previous years, but with the most modest results ; in 18S0, five innings averaged eleven runs; in 1891, ten averaged only five. In this one match he notched more—121— than in the 15 innings just noted. And by perfect cricket, too, stylish, confident, and fine all-round-the-wicket hitting; he has a lot of strokes “ off” and “ on,” and withal puts plenty of wood behind every stroke, though without apparent effort. It’s a huge pity he can’t get away for all the matches. Business is all very well in its way. but will anybody deny that the claims of Yorkshire cricket are paramount? Peel just earned talent money. And Wainwright, after being “ ducked ”—no reference to water this—the first time, thumped up 81 the next journey in just over two hours lay soundest cricket, not slogging, by your leave. Just at the present | time, I should say, Wainwright and Surrey Lockwood are playing as fine all-round cricket as any two men in the country, and their places*in the Players’ teams should be certain. It was a pity that W. H. Patterson, the hero of the match against Lancashire, could not come, as he is one of our very safest bats on every variety of wicket: he was sorely wanted at Bradford. Alec Hearne, however, came off both times—61 and 40—whilst Braybrooke lent him a hand with a secoud 52 knocked together in about as many minutes. And here come two “ notches.” Notch No. 1.-^Bowling that comes round, or curves in the air. Just a very few bowlers possess this trick. Shacklock does: on (lit that by dint of it he “ rushed” Surrey at Whit­ suntide. Ulyett told me last week that Walter Wright’s bowling curves in the same way. Nearly all the best clubs in and around London, who have played Hampstead, must know Russell Parker, perhaps the oldest playing member of the club that A. E. Stoddart has made famous by that record innings—485—for Hampstead v. Stoics. Par­ ker’s bowling used to come in at least a foot during flight of ball, and was very puzzling when first met. This has been in my mind for a good many months—if some bowlers can bowl this ball, why can’t all or nearly all ? Shooters, of course, depend more on the state of the ground thau on the style of delivery. But these “ curves ” are independent of the condition of the wicket. I daresay neither Shacklock nor Wright know how it’s done; but there must be’ a cause, an explanation: if there is, it may surely be found out. Most bowlers can break both ways by practice. Some years ago I saw Roberts play billiards. After the match I met him by accident, and presumed to ask him if he kept on learning new strokes. This was his answer, as nearly as X can recall it, “ Yes, now and again, and it’s generally from a fluke either by myself or an opponent; whenever I score by a wholly unexpected fluke, I make a careful note of it, and then afterwards practise that fluke again and again, until I have added it to my repertoire of certain shots.” Why not the same of this curving bowling ? Let such masters as Lohmann and Attewell learn the secret and then tell us how it’s done, and the future of cricked will be big with possibilities undreamed of now. Notch No. 2.—Suggested as follows. We got no “ wire ” from the Oval last Monday, at Bradford, of the play up to lunch, as is customary between the leading counties. I thought rain might account for the silence; but was told that could not be the cause, since “ Lord’s ” had wired the Bar v. Army score. “ You may depend upon it,” said an official, “ Surrey are doing badly again.” My jocular retort was “ perhaps they are doing so well that they don’t like to let us know, with the match at Leeds only a week distant; they are afraid the news would knock all the heart out of our boys, for to-day at least.” Well—we got a report soon after 5, and then I had my little laugh- “ Middlesex, all out, 75, Surrey 172 for 7 wickets.” It was very comical, I should like to have let everybody on the ground learn the contents of that telegram. And then it occurred to me—but why should not everybody know ? There aro crowds at every match deeply interested in all the first-class matches. Now why should |not every wire be reproduced on the scoring cards ? This most useful addition would cost nothing ; it would increase sale of cards, and, moreover, would not do any damage to the evening “ ha’pennies.” On the other hand, we should be more eager than ever for the newspaper in order to get full particulars of summaries that have whetted the palate. Let the M.C.C. show the way here. Notch No. 3.—Out for the evening last week; piano in requisition; piece —name unknown—played : I was back at once sixteen years, and as far as Canterbury. It was the Friday of the Canterbury festival of 1676 over again. The band kept on playing an air I had never heard again till a week since But that air and W.G.’s batting on that Friday after­ noon are for ever linked in memory. Every bar of the music seemed to inspire him for a “ boundary : ” anyhow, there were twenty-five such hits in his unfinished 133. Next morn­ ing I resolved to keep count of his runs, sitting close to the entrance, as I was due at Margate. Everybody knows how many more he piled on, until indeed his total was 344. I made it 350. I have the card still on which I scored, and to this day nobody will convince me that I was wrong, and the scorers right. But here’s my “ notch.” Why shouldn’t there be a band attached to most grounds ? Music would do the winners no harm, whilst it would brace up the losers. Soldiers fight all the better to the sound of' cornet and drum. Wouldn’t cricketers also ?* I looked in at the irst big “ six days walking match ” at the Agricultural Hall some fifteen or sixteen years ago. It was about seven on the Saturday evening. Very soon Weston came on to the track, looking wretched and just able to crawl. The band struck up Yankee Doodle,” and the effect of this; famous Yankee air on the American “ ped ” was electrical. He was a new man in an. instant, and went as gamely as if it were only Monday morning. Another wrinkle for the- M.C.C. to adopt first. What a glorious band­ stand could be put up on the north-west corner of Lord’s, just where there is, or used to be, an asphalted tennis-court. But to other matters, and hurriedly. York­ shire’s defeat of Middlesex was a wonderful triumph. Everything was in the latter’s. favour. They were playing at home, they had been resting a day, they won the toss, and rain made the wicket easy for their batsmen. Yorkshire played up to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and then had a tiresome night journey all the way from Bradford: besides, they had to bowl with a wet ball. The score on Thursday evening looked like 3 to 1 in the Cockneys’ favour. A facetious young friend sent me a post card that evening with the following laconic question on it in letters about an inch in height. “ What price, Middlesex ? ” I was too hurt to deign to reply at the time; since then, like the majority of one’s letters, that card has: answered itself, and this impertinent young­ ster shall be let off this time. “ Middlesex, 278-' for six wickets.” Things looked serious. But thanks to Peel (54) and Wainwright (73)—both splendid efforts, all things considered—the follow-on was saved by 16 runs. Even then we were not out of the wood. But Wainwright was fairly on the war-path once more with five wickets, and Middlesex caved in at 184. But 249 was an awful facer for the fourth innings on suchi a wicket; we managed it, however. It was Ulyett’s opportunity, and right glad all cricketers must be that “ our Jarge,” who is now, like Walter Read, playing his twentieth season in county cricket, and who on the whole is, in my judgment, the greatest cricketer all round Yorkshire ever had,, notched another century in his own matchless happy style. Nobody thought he had an innings of 111 in the box. It is delightful. You have never seen the last of these “ old uns ” ; they are always renewing their youth. Should I be dubbed ignorant or insolent if I ventured to call this four wickets victory the biggest thing of the present season ? Are Middlesex suffering from too much cricket? They have played six first-class matches straight off the reel, and their bowlers are showing stale. Though it was their batting that gave Surrey a walk-over at the Oval last week. The wicket may have- been “ rocky,” but only bad batting can account for that first total of 75. From that unfortunate start, a second total of 306—in which A. E. Stoddart bulked big with a splendid 91—could not recover them. Still it left Surrey 172 to win—a biggish job—but one that Walter Read and the “ Guv’nor ” made ridiculously light of. They banged up 117 before being parted, and their county galloped home with eight wickets in hand.. “ W. W.” played, as he used to, for his 75 here, and for his 61 (once out) at Derby later on ; and at his best he had no superior save the “ Leviathan ” himself. One had begun to fear he was nearly done for, and here, like Ulyett, he wakes up again, and Surrey may breathe freely once more. Notts’ magnificent defeat of Lancashire