Cricket 1893

dtJNE i5 ,1853 CRICEUT: A WEEKLY EfiCOED OF THU GAME. 199 REM IN ISCENCES OF CRICKET. B y RICHARD DAFT. In the match played by an eleven of Notting­ ham against a combined team of Sheffield and Leicester, at Sheffield, in 1824, when Tom Marsden made the enormous score of over 220, there figured on the Nottingham side a player named Peter Bramley. Peter was a great character in Nottinghamshire in those days, and many are the anecdotes related of him. There were few better known names during the first half of the present centuiy than that of Squire Oebaldeston, who was one of the finest all-round sportsmen in the world. He it was who officiated as referee in the last great fight for the Championship of England, be­ tween Caunt and Bendigo in 1845. He was an excellent cricketer, and was, as most people -are aware, a distinguished member of the M,C.C‘ Once when playing in a big match at Nottingham he was magnificently caught out by Peter Bramley, and was so struck with admiration at the brilliancy of the catch, tnat as he passed Peter on his way to the pavilion he took off the tall white hat he was wearing, and handing it to him requested Peter to keep it as a memento of the catch. Now Peter, it appears, was addicted to poaching, and some months after receiving the squire’ s hat, he and a party of friends drove over to a nobleman’s estate in the neighbourhood of Grantnam, and then and there commenced to shoot over the pre­ serves. This they did without interruption for some time, and then a gamekeeper appeared on the scene, and at once requested them to give him their names. Peter ap­ proached him in his most dignified manner, and taking off his hat held it so that the man was enabled to read tho name “ George Os- baldeston,” which was written in legible characters on the lining. The name acted as a talisman on the keeper, who at once said he hoped lie had given the gentlemen no offence, “ None at all,” replied Peter, tending him half-a-crown, *•and,” continued he,“ You can do us a great service if you will walk on to the * George ’ at Grantham and order some dinner for me and my friends here for six o’clock this evening, and get anything you like for yourself,my good fellow, and put it down to me.” “ Thank you kindly, sir,’* responded the man, I’l go at once,” and away he set off to Grantham. Having thus got rid of the keeper Peter and his friends blazed away to their heart’s content for hours longer and then quietly drove back to Nottingham with a plen­ tiful supply of game. Peter was a very noted quoit player, no one being able to approach him at this game. A story is told of him and a friend—a Mr. B. —going over to a town in the Midlands where there resided a well-known player at this game. They proceeded to an inn which this gentle­ man patronized,and on entering the tap room and finding it empty, Mr. B------requested Peter to get inside the case of a huge “ grand­ fathers ” clock, lest if he remained on view he should be recognized. So Peter secreted him­ self within the clock case, and Mr. B ------went out in search of the local quoit champion. He quickly found him and brought him to the inn. Meanwhile several other of the natives had dropped in and were drinking in the room where Peter was in ambush- Mr. B------ ordered drinks round and, turning the conver­ sation to quoit playing, declared that he would back a man then in the room to play the local ohampion for i'5. The champion accepted the challenge on his own acoount, for he was acquaintedwith everyone he saw in the apart­ ment, and quickly covered Mr.B----- ’si>5 note. This was no sooner done than the latter in a loud voice pronounced these mysterious words, “ ‘ Brighton Shepherd,* come forth ! ” and to the consternation of the company the door of the dock case flew open, and there stepped forth the figure of Peter Bramley ! However, there was no getting out of the match or the local man would gladly have done so, for he at once recognised the redoubtable Peter. The victory, it is needless to say, re­ mained with the “ Brighton Shepherd.” I have been told that when Peter used to play cricket at Sheffield he always rode there from Nottingham on horseback, setting out at an unearthly hour of the morning in order to reach Sheffield in time to start play. Speaking of quoits reminds me of a match I saw a few years ago between a Lincolnshire man and a Londoner, the then champion, I believe, and the dexterity both players dis­ played on this occasion was truly marvellous. My iriend, the Rev. R. S. Holmes, in an article contributed to C r ic k e t some months ago, mentions a single wicket match in which Jackson, Alfred Clarke, and myself beat Hayward, Carpenter, and Tarrant, but regrets that he has not been able to find the record of this contest. I have looked it up since and am able to give it to the reader. Three of Notts v. Three of Cambridge, played at Trent Bridge, July 4, 1862. C ambridge . Hayward, c and b Jackson ... 1 Tarrant, b Jackson .............. o Carpenter, b Jackson................. 0 Total ... N otts. Jackson, b Tarrant Daft, c and b Carpenter Clarke, c and b Tarrant 1 11 mermaid. Two gentlemen attired in blue guernseys and sou’ -wester hats stood outside the tent, bawling at the top of their lungs, giving a description of the wonderful creature to be seen within, and relating the manner in which it had been captured. Several of our cricket eleven, taking a walk before the day’ s play began, paid their twopences to see this exhibition. It was not very difficult to dis­ cover that the “ mermaid ’’—which was stuffed and in a glass case—was composed of the body of a monkey to which had been cleverly added the tail of a salmon or other large fish. Having gazed to their heart’s content, our men came out of the tent, at the entrance Of which the showman was still calling out the wonders of the entertainment, when one of our players looking hard at him uttered the following words, “ You infernal eld swindler.’’ “ Well, sir,” returned the man with charming frankness, “ I must admit that I ’m a little in that line, but,” he continued hurriedly, “ for goodness sake don’ t ‘ blue’ it,” jerking hia thumb in the direction of the “ mermaid.” “ We’ ve got our living to get I” Total .................12 A single wicket match used generally to be played when a county match finished before the end of the third day. The most I ever made in one of th«se was in a three-a-side match, got up after a North v. South match at Trent Bridge (G. Parr’s benefit.) I scored 57, not out, on this occasion. I believe the three against us were Messrs. W. G. and G. F. Grace, and W. R. Gilbert. A curious single-wicket match was played when Parr’s team was in Australia by Jack­ son and Dr. E. M. Grace against eleven of Castlemaine. Jackson here bowled nine (eight for no runs each, and the other two hit-wicket to his bowling). The eleven totalled in all two runs only. I find a record of an old single-wicket match played at Trent Bridge in 1839 between George Jarvis, an old Notts player, and Isaac Johnson of the Rancliff Arms Club. Johnson won in an innings, totalling 31, Jarvis making 15 in two innings. This Mr. Isaac Johnson was a well-known player in Nottingham, and was a great amateur astronomer. He also was something of a poet. I have in my possession a poem of his which he published in the “ Nottingham Journal,” on Trentham Park, the Duke of Sutherland’s seat, written after a match there. I had a curious experience when batting four or five years ago. My partner, Mr. C. P. Foley, had just completed his century, and drove a ball very hard down the wicket, and which came straight for my head. I instinc­ tively put up my bat as a shield, and the ball striking it went straight up in the air, and was caught by the bowler. This happened at Osberton Hall, Notts, on the ground of Mr. Foljambe. I felt very glad that Mr. Foley had made his hundred before this accident occurred, as it would have been very aggravat­ ing had it happened while his score was in “ the nineties.” When the All England played eighteen of Radcliffe-on-Trent in 1870. The former went in to bat first, and several wickets fell rather quickly, my own amongst others. Hayward, Carpenter and a few more had not arrived, and George Parr, our captain, was afraid they would have to forfeit their innings, as it looked as though the rest of the wickets might fall before the absentees arrived. I can see poor George now as he kept looking ex­ pectantly down the road which led to the ground, along which the players had to come. The train was late, which made him still more uneasy, and caused him to have the luncheon arranged to take place half an hour earlier than had been first intended. At last,however, the missing players arrived, and singularly enough they stayed at the wickets all that day and the next, and it was not till 12 o’clock on the third day that the All England innings came to a close for a total of between five and six hundred runs. I remember once playing a match at a little sea-port town years ago. On the sands in a tent was exhibited what was declared to be a NORTHBROOK v. NORWOOD.—Played at Nor­ wood on May 27. N orthbrook . F. Leeds, b Gillespie 3 F._ W. Foston, b H. Tomkins, b Hallam 0 H. Leeds, b Hallam .. 0 J.Searight, b Gillespie 4 A. Clayton, b Mollard 7 A. A. Kennard, b Hal­ lam ........................ 46 A. H. Woolmer, b Mollard .................22 N orw ood . Checkland, b Foston 68 Bharman, b Foston .. 4 Hallam, c Kennard, b Foston .................21 Mollard, c and b Clayton ................. 8 Grace, b Clayton ... 1 Gillespie, b Ciaytpn 8 Gillespie................. 0 J. Fisher, absent ... 0 G. A. Wood, b Gil­ lespie .................13 A. Duttson, not out 0 Extras.................16 Total ...111 Wiltshire, b Clayton 15 Duffitt, b Searight.. May, b Clayton Ogilvie, run out Goodwin, not out , Extras.......... , Total 3 3 4 U 10 ...136 NORWOOD v. GRECIANS.—Played at South Norwood on June 10 G recians . L. S. Wells, c Elliott, b Montezuma H. L. Godden, c Raby.b Montezuma C. A. Carruthers, hw, b R ogers................. H. O. Wells, c Ellis, b Rogers ................. Rev. Baxter, c Elliott, b R ogers................. R. Ellwood, c Austin, b Rogers ... T. M. Richards, c Austin, b Rogers ... 12 M.Holman, b Monte­ zuma .................17 W. H. B. Lilley, rot out ........................ 9 W. M. Frizell, b M ontezuma........... 1 Y. Johnston, b Montezuma.......... 4 Total N orwood . R.S.Raby, c Richards, [ S. Ellis, c Frizell, b b Carruthers.......... 6 W. Austin, st Ellwood, b L. Wells ..........22 L. F. Elliott, c Lilley, b L . 8. W ells.......... 13 L de Montezuma,not out ........................ 67 T. D. Lee, b L. 8. W ells....................... 0 R. S. Rogers, st Ell­ wood, b L. S. Wells 0 52 Carruthera ..........15 A. Springett. c Hol­ man, b L. 8. Wells 33 W. C. Elborough, o Carruthers, b L». S. Wells ................. 14 A. S. Tompkins, c Godden,bJohnston 7 H. A. Payne, run out 2 B 10, lb 2, w3 ... 15 Total... CRYSTAL PALACE v. BECKENHAM.—Played at Crystal Palace on June 10. C rystal P alace . J. W. Pawle, c Tor­ rens, b A. A. Baker 28 A. C. Patterson, c Layman, b A. A. Baker .................33 C. J. M. Fox.bNoakes 64 U. Mitchell, b Forster 21 J. H. Todd, o Dash- wood, b Forster .. 14 Capt. Fleming, c Earnehaw,bNoakes 8 F.W.ABte.cLayman, b R a n d .................34 F. H. Nelson, not out 26 W. F. Umney, b Rand........................ 5 A.W. Gardner-Wool- oton, b Noakes ... 0 E. H. Luham , not out .......................... 23 B .......................... 17 H. Wi Forster,b Lu ham ................. 6 C. W.Grant- Wilson.c (W^Fox, b Lulham ... 8 C. O. Cooper, c Wool- oton.b Umney ...46 M. Torrens, c Pawle, b Umney.................48 J.N.Noakes, b Umney 10 S. G. Layman, cAste, b Umney................. 0 B eckenham . Total . 273 E.G.Rand, bUmney 4 H. E. Baker, c Fox, b Umney ................. 0 L. Dashwood, c Pawle, b Fox..........18 C. EarnBhaw, not out 2 & A. A. Baker, not out 1 B 5, lb 5, nb 1 ... 11 Total ...174