Cricket 1893

270 CRIOKET; A WEEKLY REOCRD OP THE GAME. july is , 1896 On the strength of their creditable 'victory over Winchester, the Eton eleven should, and no doubt will be,favourites for the great match which is to furnish the attraction at Lord’s for the last two days of this week. Still, the unexpected is always happening, and in cricket, of all things, it is dangerous to pro* phesy. This year’s Harrow eleven, it must be admitted, compare, perhaps, unfavourably with some of their more immediate prede­ cessors. They are, indeed, a very young team, and as a whole weaker, probably, than for the last four or five seasons. T h e Captain, Rome, whose portrait is given above, is far and away their best all-round cricketer. He is a fine field as well as a very dangerous batsman, and a school bowler much above the average, certainly the best Harrow has produced of recent years. There are four or five other fairly reliable batsmen, and all down to the last are capable of knocking up a few runs, though nervousness may prevent some showing their true form at Lord’e. In addition to Rome there are two or three good steady bowlers, even if there is nothing very dangerous in this way. My attention has been given to the fielding during the term, and it is to be hoped they will do themselves justice in this department at Lord’s. Though not numbering many old stagers, a3 has been the case of recent years, they ought to give a good account of themselves. If successful, it will probably be the bowling of Rome and the general out-welding that will pull them through. ------ T h e younger cricketers of Surrey at least do ot seem to find anything much amiss with the wickets at the Oval, to judge by the heavy scoring which has been recorded there in second eleven and club and ground matches. Only a month ago it was C r ic k e t ’s duty to record the fact that no less than 726 were Bcored in one day, and with only twelve wickets down. This was on June 5, in the match between Surrey C. and G. and Guy’s Hospital, on which occasion the Surrey innings, which was closed with the total 591 for nine wickets, included three scores of a hundred, cf itself a rare performance. O n Tuesday last, in the match between Surrey C. and G. and the Wanderers, the average rate of scoring was even higher, for during the day only eight wickets fell for an aggregate of 625 runs, the outcome of a little over six hours of actual cricket. The great feature of a rungetting match was the stand of Brockwell and Ayres, who went in when the total of the Surrey C. and G. was 118 for five wickets, and were still in when the innings was closed for an addi­ tion of 320 runs. This is, unless I am mistaken, a record for a partnership on the Surrey Ground. ------ I t is worthy of remark in connection with this performance that though Brockwell had got 13 before Ayres came in, the latter reached 150 first. Another rather not­ able coincidence was that the two batsmen were three times level, at 146, 153 and 157 respectively. As it was, at the finish there was only a difference of three runs in favour of Ayres, who had made 161. To the credit of the Wanderers, it deserves to be added that they had made 187 for the loss of only two batsmen before play ceased, an excellent per­ formance after such a long outiDg. H ow ever m u ch others m ay have failed, A y res at all events seem s to have got th e pace of th e O val this year to a n icety . In three successive m atches o f th e Surrey Club and G rou nd at th e O val he has got in to three figures. In each case, too, h is scores have been m ade against b ow lin g quite up to th e best standard of M etropolitan clu b cricket. T h e three con secu tive hundreds have been as fo llo w s : — June 5 y. Guy’s H ospital .......... 117 June 28 v. Crystal Palace .......... 102 July 11 v. W anderers .................. 158 A s, in add ition to the above, he m ade 80 for th e S econ d E leven o f Surrey against Y o rk ­ sh ire’s secon d eleven on June 12, it w ill be seen th at in m atches outside first-class, at all events, A y res has had a pretty good tim e of it on th e O val during t in last few weeks. T he follow in g table w ill show the relative position s o f th e nine com p etitors fo r the C ou n ty C h am pion ship up to date. Yorkshire ... . Plyd. . 9 . W on . 6 .. Lost 2 . Dm . 1 Points .. 4 Middlesex ... . . 9 . . 6 . . 3 . . 0 .. 3 Surrey.................. . 8 . . 5 .. 3 .. 0 .. 2 Kent ................... 7 .. 3 .. 2 .. 2 .. 1 N otts ................ . 8 . . 3 .. 3 . . 2 .. 0 Lancashire... . . 6 . . 2 .. 3 .. 1 .. —1 S u ssex ................ . 9 . . 3 .. 4 . . 2 .. —1 Gloucestershire 7 .. 2 .. 4 .. 1 .. —2 Somersetshire . . 7 .. 0 .. 6 .. 1 .. - 6 Losses are deducted from wins, whilst drawn games are ignored. PRIN CIPAL MATCHES FOR N EXT W EEK. July 13—Oval, Surrey v. Somerset July 13—Brighton, SUSSEX v. AUSTRALIANS July 1 ’—Bristol, Gloucestershire v. Lancashire July 13-N ottingham , Nottinghamshire v. York­ shire July 14—Eton v. Harrow July 17—L ord’s, ENGLAND v. AUSTRALIA July 17—Oval, Surrey v. Hertfordshire July 17—Derby, Derbyshire v. Yorkshire July 17—Taunton, Somerset v. Lancashire July 17—Leyton, Essex v. Hampshire LANCASHIRE v. DERBYSH IRE. Rain interfered so m uch with Tuesday’s cricket, in this return match begun at Manchester on M onday,that a definite result could not be arrived at yesterday. Lancashire, who were without A. C. M cLaren, Briggs, and Sugg, were 24 behind on the fiist innings.and when a heavy thunderstorm stopped the game finally yesterday afternoon, Derbyshire were 135 on, with four wickets to fall. D erbyshire . First Innings. Second Innings. Mr. L. G. W right, c Cros­ field, b Mold .................. 28 b F. W ard.............16 Stoier, c F. Ward, b M old .................................. 8 c Kemble, b F. Ward ...........21 Bagshaw, c and b Oakley 72 cF.W ard.b Mold 5 Chatterton, c Kemble, b B a k er.................................. 3 cKem ble.bOailey 8 Davidson, c Crosfield, b M o’ d .................................. 2 b M old................... 4 Hulm e, c Tinsley, b Mold 10 c A. W ard.b F. Ward ...........25 W.Sugg, c Baker,b Oakley 5 n otou t ...........27 Mr. W. P. Eadie, c Cros­ field ..................................13 Cupitt, c Benton, b M old 9 Porter, not out .................. 1 F. M3croft, b M old ... 0 B 11, lb 4 ...........15 B 3,1b 1, n b l 5 Total ......... 166 L ancashire . A. W ard,run out ... 38 F. Ward, c Hulme, b D avid son .................. 5 Tinsley, c Chatterton, b Porter ................... 3 Mr. C. H. BentOD, c M ycroft, b Porter... 12 Baker, b H ulm e..........31 Mr. W. H. Houlds- w orth, b Hulme ... 3 Mr. S. M. Crosfield, c W right, b D a.idson 17 BOWLING ANALYSIS. D erbyshire , Total ...111 Mr. A. L. Melly, c Hulme,b D avidton 0 Mr. A. T. Kemble, not out ...................20 Oakley, c M ycroft,b Davidson Mold, b Hulme B 6, lb 4, nb 1 Total ... 1 1 ... 11 .. 142 M old ... Oakley... Baker ... Ciosfisld Davidson Porter ... Second Innings. O. M. R . W. 6 46 2 18 1 First Innings. O. M. R. W. 40.113 83 7 .. 25 12 35 2 .. 15 5 29 1 . . 1 0 4 0 F. W ard i F. Ward bowled a no-ba!l. L ancashire . O. M. R. W . O. M. R. W 39 15 43 4 1Hulme 23.2 9 40 3 18 4 41 2 I Cupitt 1 0 4 0 Cupitt bowled a no-ball. 1 19 3 REMINISCENCES OF CRICKET. B y RICHARD DAFT. G eorge P a r r . When off the cricket field George Parr was often prone to fits of absence of mind and for­ getfulness, which sometimes were the means of his getting into difficulties, as he had a great deal of business to transact in connection with his office of secretary to the All England Eleven. Once when we were playing a match at a large town in the North of England,George came down to breakfast one morning at tho hotel where we were staying with a very long face, and told us that he had lost or been robbed of three ten-pound notes. He declared that he had looked everywhere for them, but to no purpose. After breakfast several of us assisted him to make a still further search, but although we ransacked every corner of George’s bedroom and examined all his lug­ gage, no trace of the missing notes could be found. The proprietor of the hotel was made acquainted with th j loss, and on hearing of which he was much put about. The servants were called in, but all declared they were quite ignorant of the whole affair. During the day George was suddenly pleased to fasten his suspicions on the boots at the hotel, simply be­ cause he did not happen to possess a very pre^ possessing countenance; and having once made up his mind that this poor fellow was guilty of the theft, nothing would cause him to think otherwise. “ You may have had your pocket picked on the ground, captain,” some of us observed. “ Don’t talk such rot,” George retorted, angrily. “ I know he*s got ’em’, as well as if I had seen him take ’em.'” Of course,’’ he went on, “ I can’ t accuse him of it, but still I can think what I like and shall do.” We finished our match and left the town, every­ one feeling uncomfortable and annoyed that no light whatever had been thrown on the transaction. Well, more than a week after­ wards George came to my house, looking smiling and delighted to tell me that the notes had been found. I congratulated him on bis good luck, and asked him for particulars. “ Well, you see, Richard,” said George, “ I always, as you know, have to carry a lot of money about with me when we are out play­ ing, and a short time ago it struck me that it was hardly safe to carry it about in the out­ side pockets of my clothes, so I had a secret pocket made in the inside of my waistcoat, and must have put those confounded notes into it, and upon my soul I forgot all about the pocket 1” “ This, at all events,” said I, “ serves to clear your friend the boots.” “ Well, yes,’’ George replied dubiously, “ 1 suppose it does in a measure, but,” he con­ tinued, in the most positive manner possible, “ I’m quite sure the beggar would have taken ’em, though, if he’d half a chance ! ” George had a rooted objection to the por­ trait of himself, taken by J. Corbett Anderson, in cricket costume and a tall white hat. One was framed and presented to him, and was hung in his house for a year or two, till George would stand it no longer, and substi- stuted in the frame a later one of himself taken in cricket costume without a hat. Pho­ tography in the early days of the Ail England lileven was not what it is at present, and as we were taken so frequently we often found the constant repetition of the performance become very irksome. Many people have remarked to me that George Parr had rather a morose and sullen expression as judged from the portraits seen of him, but I can assure the reader that he had a much plea­ santer expression in reality than that which he often assumed when standing to be photo­ graphed, especially in those portraits taken of him with the rest of the eleven, on which ccasions the long time it took to arrange our