Cricket 1892

Together joined in cricket’s manly toil. 5 ’— Byron . No. 293 VOL. XI. Registered for Transmission Abroad. THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1892 PRICE 2d. D R . R U S S E L L B E N C R A F T . H a m p sh ir e , very unfortunate as it has been just of late, would have been in a very much worse plight but for the un'iring exertions of a few earnest supporters of the game, who have stuck to it loyally in the face of years of ill- success. And Willow the King has nowhere had a more devoted subject than the keen cricketer who has hel I for so long the dual office of Hon. Secretary and Treasurer of the Hampshire Club. A native of Hants. Henry William Russell Bencraft, to give him the benefit of his full titles, has had the additional tie of a life's residence to strengthen his interest in the County. Born at Southampton on March 4, 1858, hia connection with the town has been unbroken. A great-nephew of the Rev. “ Jack” Russell, the well- known hunting parson, of Devon, Dr. Bencraft was brought up with the traditions of a sporting family. But more than that the instincts of a sportsman were inherent. Edu­ cated at St. Edward’ s School, Ox­ ford, he took the highest position not only as an athlete, but also in more serious work. The duties of the captaincy of football, as well as cricket, did not prevent him doing justice to the greater responsibili­ ties which devolved on him as Head of the School. The commencement of his medical curriculum at St. George’ s Hospital gave him a wider field for the display of his physical powers. There, too, the manage­ ment of both the cricket and foot­ ball teams came to him as a matter of course. During his stay at St. George’s its position in Inter- Hospital athletics was generally in the forefront. In addition he did good service for the United Hos­ pitals, and, in fact, their cricket eleven had no more reliable bats­ man while he was in London. One of his performances in 1881 is particularly worthy of reproduction. After an innings of 120 for St. George’ s against St. Mary’s, one Thursday, he went on to Southampton. Two days later gave him another century in the shape of a score of 100 for the Town Club. Nor was this the end of his successes. Play­ ing for the Town again on the following Monday he made 101, a little matter of three hundreds in consecutive matches. Mean­ while Doctor Bencraft had not been over- ooked by the managers of Hampshire cricket. On the contrary, he was only eighteen when he made his appearance in the County eleven. His first match, against Kent in August, 1876, though it only gave him five runs, none the less brought good luck to Hampshire, who, thanks to a fine score of 100 by Mr. A. \V. Kidley, managed to win with more than an innings to spare. With the one exception, too, of the season of 1877, in which he did not play, his active connection with Hampshire cricket as one of the eleven has continued to the present time without a break. Though generally a reliable scorer his best season was in 1889. His aggregate for eight innings that year was 423, and his 195 agaiist Warwick­ shire, at Birmingham, was a particularly fine exhibition of cricket. For the last thirteen years the Doctor has in addition played an important part in the management of the County Club. For four years of this period (from 1883 to 1887) Hampshire was fortunate enough to be able to utilise the valuable services of Colonel Fellowes, of the Royal Engineers. Dr. Bencraft, who continued to act as Treasurer, found in Colonel Fellowes a thoroughly kiudred spirit, and it was in a ^reat measure to the energy of the Colonel at that time that Hampshire owes the pos­ session of a fine ground and pavilion, which were provided at a cost of about £2,000. Excepting dur­ ing the three years from 1883 to 1887, w'hen he continued to have charge of the finances, Dr. B er- craft has held the dual position (f Hon. Secretary and Treasurer of tl e Hampshire Club. The measure, too, of his assistance can be easily guaged. Twenty years ago there wras practically no Club for Hants, not a Committee, nor a County Ground. Then there weie only about fifty subscribers, who have now been increased to about four hundred and fifty, with an in­ fluential Committee and a County Ground hardly, if at all, inferior to any in the Kingdom. To Dr. Bencraft may fairly be attri­ buted the chief part in this de­ velopment of the Club. That this work, too, has not been un­ appreciated, was shown by a pie- sentatiou of a carved oak study turniture, on the occasion of bis marriage in October, 1889. Local cricket has always found in the Doctor a useful ally. His highe. t innings, one of 243, was for the Ordnance Survey, of which he is Deputy Medical Officer. In addition, he has scored heavily on occasions for the Hampshire Hogs, South Hants, and other local teams. More than ihiity innings of over 100 have so f »r been registered to Ms credit, and he has rarelv failed t ) reach an aggregate of a thousand in the season. Once he was even within measurable distance <f the second thousand. This was in 1839 when his total of 1,806 in thirty-six completed innings, gave him a splendid average of a fraction over fifty runs. Since he went into practice in 1885, however, crowing responsibilities and increase of work have curtailed the amount of time he has been able to devote to active cricket. As an all-round ciicketer Dr. Bencraft is considerably above the average. With sound