Cricket 1893

“ Together joined in cricket’s manly toil. 5 ’— Byron . Registered Jor^rranBmilisionAbroad. THUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1893. REM IN ISCENCES T O F J . CRICKET. B y BICHARD DAFT. J ackson . A f e w days ago I was talking with an old gentleman who resides in North Notts, and who perfectly well remembers Jackson, the veteran fast bowler, in his youth. When a boy he relates that Jackson learnt how to bowl by bowling stones at a milestone on the high road. He was a famous runner, too, and used regularly to follow the hounds on foot. This week only I received a very interesting letter from Mr. B. D. Walker, in which he tells me that he always considered Jackson the most difficult fast bowler he ever played against. Caffyn, too, I understand, is of the same opinion. Such testimony from such high- class batsmen speaks volumes in favour of the old “ Demon ” bowler. At any rate, let people’s opinion* differ as they will, it remains a faot that no such fast bowler ever kept up his form and pace for such a length of time. In his day, too, he was perhaps more successful with the “ Yorker ” than any other bowler. He played for the Players against the Gentlemen in 1867, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, *62, ’63, and ’64, all of which matohes the Players won. When he, Alfred Clarke, and I placed the single wicket matoh against the three Cambridge “ stars ” before alluded to by me in a previous article, he (Jaokson), while batting, from a tremendous hit ran three runs, but these were counted as nothing, because Le failed each time he ran to touch the stump at the bowler’ s end. Jack would always insist on George Parr paying him for his services in “ hard cash;” bank-notes he had a great objection to. The last time I saw him was when he stood umpire for Lan­ cashire v. Notts at Trent Bridge in, I think 1880. I should very much like to see him once more. Poor old Jack ! His name will live for ever in cricket history. Perhaps no man’s name was such a terror as his has been, and no one could wonder at it who had the misfortune to stand against him between 1855 and 1866 on. some of the horrible wickets that existed during those years. A C urious I nciden t . Last season, when playing iD a club match at Trent Bridge one Saturday afternoon, a queer thing happened. My son Harry was bowling, and as it was wet sawdust had to be used. Once while rubbing the ball in the sawdust, we saw H. B. drop it hurriedly and commence to dance about and wring his hand in the strangest manner possible, to the amazement of both his fellow players and the spectators. It ^as afterwards ^ a t a wasp was amongst the sawdust and had stung him badly on the hand ! T om D a v is . Tom Davis, the veteran All-England Player, was greatly impressed with the strange animals he saw when he first visited the Zoological Gardens. The two which he considered to be the most wonderful were what he used to describe as the “ Hout an Houtang ” and the “ ’Ippipotaymyus! ” Our Wollaton team has in it three regular playing members whose united ages amount to over 150 years, Mr.W. Wright, Mr. C. Parn- ham, and myself all owning to over fifty. We have also two members of the team scaling eighteen stone in weight, so that, as far as age and weight go,we can compare favourably with most cricket clubs, I should imagine. Mr. Parnham, familiarly known as “ Charlie,” and myself are the two great lob bowlers of the team, and it has been no unusual thing for u» both to commence the bowling for our side— one at each end—a thing not often seen in these days. Mr. Wright is a round arm bowler, but once, in a match played year before last, he,taking advantage of the absence of Charlie and my8elf, commenced to bowl | lobs on his own account (we afterwards found out that he had been practising on the quiet for some time); however, he went on to bowl lobs in the match on this particular Saturday afternoon, and took eight wickets for about twenty runs. Vague and uncertain rumours reached Charlie and myself of this remarkable performance, and we began to feel rather jealous of this infringement of our patent underhand bowling, but at the same time we felt there must be some mistake about it, but on Monday morning there it was in the local newspapers in black and white, and there was no getting away from this evidence. Now on this Monday we were all three of us—Mr. Wright, Charlie Parnham, and I—to play in a match against the Eton 1 Ramblers at Trent Bridge, and both Charlie and myself determined to put the new lob bowler through his catechism. “ You bowling lobs,” w® exclaimed, when we met Mr. Wright. “ What next, I wonder? what were they? ‘ Daisy Cutters ’ no doubt.” “ Oh no ? ” was the quiet reply, “ they were ordinary lobs like yours and Parnham’s here, only better.” “ B etter! ” ejaoulated Charlie and I simul­ taneously. “ Why, could you get as much break on as we can ? ” I asked. “ Oh no ! ” returned Mr.Wright. “ I got no break on at all, I never tried to.” “ How on earth did you get the wiokets then ? ” asked Charlie, in astonish­ ment. “ Oh,” was the reply ; “ the batsmen all expected a lot of break on each ball, and allowed for it, but as there was none to allow for they got o u t !” “ Well,” we observed, “ we shall want all the bowling on the wheel to-day, and so of course you’ll go on.” We found out, however,that as the match progressed Mr. Wright did not seem at all anxious to bowl, notwithstanding the pressing j invitations we gave him to do so, and it was j not until 25 minutes past six (we were to draw ■ at half-past) that he consented to have an over. Truth compels me to say that the lobs * were not so successful as we had expected. Whether it was that the wicket was unsuitable for them, or whether the batsmen (the Hon. A. Lyttelton and someone else were in) wei? more accustomed to lobs than had been the Saturday afternoon men, it remains a faot that those balls which came within reach of the batsmen were somewhat severely dealt with. “ Well,” I said to Mr. C. W . Wright, who had been keeping wicket, when we got in the dressing room, “ what did you think of the lobs ? “ Well,” replied Mr. C.W., “ I must say that after the glowing accounts I saw in the papers this morning, I was—well,to say the least of it—disappointed!” Never since that match—it is two years ago now—has Mr. Wright been induced to go on with lobs. Poor Charlie Parnham and I have had to do it all, and have often had a rough time of it too. But Mr. Wright went back to “ round hands ’’ again, and has never bowled anything else since. So that Charlie and I are still inclined to believe that there must have been some mystery about that Saturday afternoon match when we were both out of the way. A x A fter D in n e r S peaker . There used to be a tale told of an old All England player to whom was made a pre­ sentation at a dinner given for this purpose. The testimonial was presented accompanied by an appropriate speech from the chairman, and the old cricketer had to stand up and say a few words in acknowledgment. “ Gentle­ m e n , h e began, “ Gentlemen, Ladies and gentlemen”—there were no ladies present— “ I’m sure I am very much, very much indeed, I really am—Oh, confound you all, go to the deuce! ” A friend at Leicester the other day was kind enough to lend me the card of an old cricket match played in 1828 which is quite a curiosity. A t the top of the card is an en­ graving representing a cricket match being played in a large ground surrounded by a wall. In the ground, situated inconveniently near the players, I should imagine, are two small bell-shaped tents, at the entrance of each of which are a handful of spectators gesticula­ ting wildly and throwing up their arms in a most excited manner. There are no other I spectators on the field, but there is a kind of , grand-stand outside the wall which surrounds I the ground, which is apparently well filled. The centre of the ground is occupied by the players. There are only nine fielding, besides the bowler, four of whom are on the on side, two on the off, one keeping wioket, one long stopping, and the other placed over the bowler’s head in the out field. There is only 0ne umpire given in the sketch and he is at the bowler’s end. Every one of the fielders has his hands held out as if for a catch. I give below an exact copy of the score, as it appears under this picture. A grand cricket match for 100 sovereigns, was played on the new cricket ground, Darnall, on Monday,Tuesday, and Wednesday, the Sth, 9th, and 10th of September, 1828, between eleven of the three counties of York, Leicester