Cricket 1892

U B I C E E T r A W E E K L Y R E C O R D O F T H E ..G A M E } AUG. 4, 1892 provided that good old customer, care, ia well provided for. And Ulyett was quite at his ease also ; at first tho runs would not come, he must have been at the wickets fully half an hour for his first seven runs; then he got his eye in, warmed up, and for an hour we saw him at his very best, the full face of the bat on the ball, and immense force behind every stroke. At any rate, twelve boundaries out of an unfinished 60 go to show that in his twentieth season of yeoman service his right hand has lost but little of its early vigour. And here’s his Lordship waking up again with a not out 74, another of the genuine article, and made in just about the same time as “ Happy Jack’s ” 60. But the fates were against us. Another hour would certainly have brought in the requisite 54 runs to lift Yorkshire one point higher in the County Competition. Here’s another “ notch.” These drawn matches are most unsatisfactory—even to the side that profits most by them, if they are genuine sportsmen. Matohes are made and played for the sake of a definite issue—either a win or a loss. Now one knows that during the season our front-rank cricketers get plenty of work, more particularly when the ground is as hard as nails. And besides, they nearly always have a fresh match on the following day, and it may be one which involves a long and tedious railway journey. But, as the time for drawing the stumps is a matter of local arrangement, might not the umpires be em­ powered to order a moderate extension of time if there is any reasonable prospect of a game being fought out ? In Football League matches the referee has this authority, an extra half-hour is added to the regulation hour and a half, so as to prevent a draw. Of course this would not often be required in cricket, but notable instances will recur to all of us in which one side would have notched a victory with a small margin of this sort; and this is only fair, too, when there has been no wise economy of time in the earlier stages of the match in question. If time be rigidly observed at the close of the day, then let us be no le3S careful in every stage of the allotted three days. And let’s have no more fiascos through an abuse of the “ Closure ” Law. That Law—No. 54—needs protecting. It was added in order that matches might, if possible, be concluded* and ought not to become the plaything of any freakish captain. It is not cricket— whatever else it is—to send your opponents in for five minutes’ play only when there is not a thousand tj one chance that any good result will follow. Umpires should be able to put their foot on tomfooleries of this sort which are a degradation to our grandest national sport. One could not exaotly dis­ cover the motif of the Lancashire skipper, when last year he sent Surrey in to bat when only twenty minutes more or less remained for play. But he is such a glorious sports­ man that nobody was inclined to call his action into question; nobody else can be granted a similar licenS9. But to pleasanter tasks. Surrey have again sat upon Sussex, though Lohmann was resting, and Sussex had first shot. A second one-innings affair within a week. I have noted that the critics, with their proverbial impartiality, have to place on record that “ Surrey for once lost the toss.” Well, that was only th afifth time they have lost it out of their tenfirst-class Countymatches up to date. Last year we heard of Surrey’s luck ad nauseam: what about Middlesex? Up to Thursday last, Lancashire had “ called” right in all their eight matohes. Once again the authorities are “ njpnm.” A h ! do let us be fair all round. One loses heart by these ungenerous acts. Personally I am thankful the M.C.C. has spoken authoritatively about the status of the Surrey v. Scotland matches. It was not a matter of paramount importance. But the “ leading amateurs ” had approached the M.C.C. I know no secrets, and wish to know none, but I would wager my last dollar that neitherW.G. nor A. N. Hornby were of the number. Let it slide now. Walter Read’s glorious 196 is more to my mind than fault-finding. How many runs did he get in three consecutive matches ? “ Prodigious ” for another “ twenty- year-old”—for 1873 was W.W.’s first year in the Surrey ranks. Surrey never had his equal. Jupp comes next, perhaps, among the great Surrey bats. Along with W.G. ana Shrewsbury, W.W. will go down into history as one of the three ablest batsmen of the Victorian age. One had given up all hope of another mammoth score from his bat; there was a time when we looked for it, and were not often disappointed. Youngsters like Lockwood are expected to run up scores of 80, and level wickets as easily as ninepins in the same match. When these veterans break out in a fresh place, one can only look on in silent wonder. Another win for Somersetshire, Kent being their latest victim. Their fourth victory in a fortnight, and every time after losing the toss. Hewett in evidence again with con­ tributions of 81 and 14. But his invaluable chum, the dark-blue captain, for once was a passenger. What else can you expect from a man who had been doing duty behind the stumps as a substitute ? Hard enough work that for an old hand, but infinitely harder to one not accustomed to it. Was it not unwise to send him in first to bat ? Ought he not to have rested a while? The honor of this fourth victory rests with Challen (48) and Hedley(72) who,after the two big guns had gone off, came together and were not parted when eighty minutes later their county finished off the match with eight wickets still standing. Somersetshire must not be overlooked either by Notts or Surrey in their race for the cham­ pionship ; there is time enough for them to be very comfortably sandwiched by this dark horse of the West. Will not the first-class county list want revising before long? I don’t want any county at present placed to be put down. I have long held this opinion—that a county, onoe first-cloas, should always be first- class, provided it still continues to take its due part in front-rank cricket. Hampshire, thirty years ago, was among the leaders, and might still have been, had it not refused to meet such counties as Surrey and Sussex when beginning to despair of success. No— let the list be extended. Leicestershire and Derbyshire have been at the door for some time, and can put in a good title for ad­ mission. At any rate they wouldn’t object to test matches with certain counties that are in the charmed circle. Congratulations from everybody to A. C. Maclaren, who, after piling up score after score for Liverpool, has at last shown the real county stuff that is in him. A century on the Aigburth ground used to be a rarity in county cricket. It ought not to be so any longer, now that the wickets there are as good as those at the Old Trafford. It is certainly the handsomest cricket enclosure in the county, and now that the turf is in splen­ did order, perhaps the county executive will be able to see its way to give a second first- class match to the City on the Mersey. Let them ponder well Yorkshire’s generosity to both Leeds and Bradford. P.S.— In future years, in County champion­ ship matches, might not the side that loses the toss in the first match, have choice of innings in the return ? It often makes all the difference between a win and a loss in such a climate as ours. And surely such adifference ought not to depend on the spin of the coin. In that case, too, we should hear the last o f such and such a county’s “ luck,” and that would be refreshing. WILLESDEN v. STANMORE—Played at Wil­ lesden on August 1. W ILLESDEN . A. F. Denniaton, b Barnett .................18 A.O.Breeds.b Barnett 6 C.S.Marshall, run out 21 J. Major Lucas, lbw, b Almond................ 7 J.M. Pugh, b Almond 2 J. W. Howard, b Bar­ nett ........................ 8 H. J. Rogers, c Bar­ nett, b Almond ... 2 E. B. Hayman, c Roy, b Moxon ... 18 A. E. Robinson, b Moxon .................15 A. D. Saunders, c and b Roy .......... 9 A.R.Burch, b Moxon 5 C. Nibloe, not out ... 0 B 4, lb 2 .......... 6 STANMORE. First Innings. Almond, c Saunders, b Rogers ........................13 C.P. Boulter, c Denniston, b R o g e rs ...........................14 Lovegrove, b Rogers ... 2 Roy, b Lucas ................ 0 Barnett.c Breeds, b Lucas 5 Second Innings. cBurch.b Rogers 48 E. O. Tagart,b Lucas ... 0 Wells, b L u cas................. 0 G.Goodman.candbRogers 3 Walton, not out .......... 0 C. E. Keyser, c Howard, b Rogers ........................ 2 Heading, b Rogers .......... 0 Moxon, c Lucas, b Rogers 0 B .................................12 Total ................... 51 run out ... b Lucas ... c Denniston, Lucas ... Bt Saunders, Robinson not out b Rogers ... not out.......... run out b ... 43 ... 23 ... 0 ... 9 ... 1 B 17, lb 2 ... 19 Total ...148 THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. RUGBY v. MARLBOROUGH. As was certain from the state of the game on the previous night, the Marlborough Eleven had an easy victory at Lord’s on Thursday, winning by an innings and 78 runs. Rugby had to follow on in a minority of 211, and though Dowson and Christopherson again played well the total only reached 133. A. E. Slater had not arrived when play was resumed on Thursday morning, and as Dowsou was out before he continued his innings, he only saw nine wickets fall. The Marlborough eleven were the better side at all points. Marley, the captain, who bowls medium left, took eight wickets for 109, Beloe six wickets for 82 runs. Rugby has now won nineteen, Marlborough eleven matches, and four have been drawn. M arlborough . W. Mortimer, c Dow­ son, b S. Slater ...106 L. G. Knight, b S. Slater....................... 12 P. R. Creed, c S. Slater, b Warner...211 N. F. Bruce, Ibw, b Christophereon ... 22 C. Druce, b Sample 19 H. Marley, c Dowson, b Warner................ 12 R uoby . First Innings. S. Slater, b Marley .......... 0 A.IE. Slater, not out ... 66 R. W. Nicholls, b Jowitt... 10 J. F. Marshall, b Jowitt... 5 P. F. Warner, b Beloe ... 1 F. W. Laverton, b S. Slater ................. J. Graham, b S. Slater ................. C.B. Cheales, run out G.H. Beloe,0 S.Slater E. M. Jowitt, not out B 19,lb6,w3, n b l Total ...432 Second Inninga. b Jowitt run out ... , lbw, b Beloe b Beloe c N. Druce, Marley ... b Marley ... Total ..117 P. Lee, b B eloe................. 3 D.Christopherson.cJowitt, b M arley........................24 b Marley A. O. Dowson, c Knight, b Jowitt...............................76 W. C. Kislingbury, b Beloe 5 P. W. Nickalls, b Jowitt... 5 T. N. Sample, c Cheales, b Marley ..................... . 12 B 5, lb 7, w 2 ................................14 .. 20 5 19 ... 46 b Marley ..........20 b Marley .......... 0 not out .......... 9 c and b Beloe B 5, lb 1 Total ...221 Total ...133 STOICS v. TOTTENHAM COLLEGE.—Played at Tottenham on July 30. T ottenham C ollege . F. W . Barnes, b Wes­ thorp ................. 0 Benson, run out ... 8 S. Monk, b Wcsthorp 0 W. Harston, b Wcs­ thorp....................... 10 W. Wall, b Higgs ... 0 H. Leeae, b Westhorp 0 A. Smith,b Westhorp 0 S t o ic s . C. Clarkson, b Wes­ thorp ................. A. D. Holmes, c Ren­ nie, b H igg s.......... S. Avery, b Westhorp J. C. Jull, not out ... B ........................ Total , . 27 M. Abbott, c Jull, b B*mes .................44 A.H.Bartlett,b Smith 0 S. G. Felce, not out... 14 Extras.......... ...21 T ota l..........329 J. Westhorp, c Leese, b Benson.................. 102 J. S. Haycraffe, c Ben­ son, b Sm ith..........54 E. Higgs, b Wall ... 23 J.Sumner, b Harston 19 A. H. Hume, not out 52 B. Rennie, F. Gordon, and A. N. Other did not bat. GrAcb P a r lo u r C rick et.— 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. Postl free, securely packed, 2/10.—W bight & Co., 41, St. Andrew’s Hill, London.