Cricket 1893

AUG. 24, 1898 OEICRET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE G-AME= 366 G eorge L o h m a n n , the great Surrey cricketer, should at the time these lines are written be at Madeira on his way to South Africa for the second time. The Union Steamship “ Mexican,” which left Southampton on Saturday afternoon with G. F. Gerds, the Hampshire Amateur, as well as Lohmann on board, was due last night at Madeira,which is four days out from England. A sm a ll party of Surrey cricketers, a m on g them General Marshall, many years President of the County C,C., Secretary Alcock, F. Eead, brother of Maurice, and Edwin Ash, of Rich­ mond, ^ho has twice himself visited South Africa, made the journey down to Southamp­ ton to bid Lohmann good bye, They were rewarded too by seeing him depart in the best of spirits, and with the confident assurance that the second winter in South Africa would in all likelihood mean his return to England next summer fit and well enough to resume his place in the Surrey eleven. Dr. F a r r of Andover, a great friend of Lohmann, who also saw him off on Saturday, and who has taken the keenest interest in his case, at all events reported in the most confident way of a searching examination he had made'with another Doctor on Friday, so that there now seems real ground for hope. Among many telegrams he received just before his departure one that gratified Lohmann particularly was a message from Mr. J. D. Logan, the Laird of Matjesfontein, by whom he was so hospitably entertained last winter, extending the heartiest welcome to him on reaching South Africa again. T h e Polytechnic Institution, as most C r ic k e t readers know, has bean particularly fortunate in having for its guide, philosopher, and friend for some years now the old Cambridge and Middlesex cricketer, J. E. K. Studd. In the trips to the World’s Fair, undertaken under the auspices of the Polytechnic management, he has been a moving spirit, and unless he has recently left he should be in Chicago at the present time. The American Cricketer of August 9, contains the announcement that J.E.K., as well as his younger brother, G.B., had been in the City for some time. The Cricketer adds, with an evident tone of regret, that they had not played any crioket. As far as I know, C.T., the noblest Roman (as a crioketer) of them all, is still in Far Cathay, engaged in the good work of English missions. H o w e v e r unfortunate the Surrey eleven may have been this year i l the competition for the County Championship in comparison with former years, there is at all events, it is satisfactory to note, a fair amount of reserve force in case of emergency. The second eleven of Surrey in any case are able to claim this year an absolutely unbeaten record. Their return match with Worcestershire, completed at the Oval on Tuesday, brought a season of unbroken success to a close. It was the eleventh fixture undertaken by practically Surrey’s second team this summer. Of these eleven matches no less than seven were won, in more than one case by substantial majorities, while the other four were drawn. Ab a proof of the run-getting powers of the side as well as of the excellence of the wickets on which they had to play, it need only be stated that in the six matches decided at the Oval they scored in all 2,150 runs for sixty-eight wickets, which gives an average of over 31 for the season. The highest innings was 468 against Hertfordshire at the Oval. T h e Granvillians have been touring recent­ ly in Sussex, which is South coast way. East­ bourne,Willingdon, Hastings and St.Leonards, the happy hunting grounds of so many travellers in search of big cricket game, were bhe objective of the team from Lee, who, as far as one can judge from the official report, spent not only one but seven happy days on tour. Of the five matches, which were against Eastbourne, South Saxons,Willingdon, Silver- hill, and Devonshire Park respectively, three were won, one lost, and one drawn. The weather throughout, too, was magnificent, and as the cricket generally was well up to the mark there was little or nothing to cause regret either on the field or off it. The chief feature of the tour from a purely cricketal standpoint was the fine all-round play of F. G. Bull. Besides taking thirty-seven wickets he scored the largest number of runs on the side. His sixty-six against Devonshire Park, in particular, was a fine innings. THE COUNTY CAPTAINS. H e r b e r t T r e m e n h e e r e H e w e t t (Somerset). T h e Hastings and St. Leonards Week has now become such an indispensable adjunct to the season proper that the success of each re­ curring function is a matter of general con­ cern. The Australian teams have always looked upon this particular gathering with favour as a pleasant relief after the hard work and worry of a trying tour, and Blackham and his mates will, like their predecessors, find a refresher in the sea breezes of the South coast, whioh will come like a boon and blessing after the stress of continuous cricket and long railway journeys for four months. As everyone knows by this time, the matches for the Week of 1893 are the South of Eng­ land against tbe Australians, commencing this day fortnight, and North v. South, which be­ gins on the following Monday. The elevens for the respective fixtures are as follows — S o u th v. A u s t r a lia n s — Dr. W. G. Grace (Cap­ tain), Messrs. G. Brann, J. J. Ferris, H. T. Hewett, W. W. Read, A . E. Stoddart, Rev. H . C. L. Tindall, Bev. A. P. W ickh am , w ith J. T . H earne, L ockw ood and Richardaon. In the second fixture Mr. L . H . G ay w ill take the p lace o f the Bev. A. P. W ickham Mr. W . L . M urdoch that o f the R ev. H. C. L . T in ­ dall, and Bean that o f Ferris fo r the South. T he N orthern eleven w ill consist of M essrs. E rnest Sm ith, C. E. de T rafford, C. W . W right, w ith Attew ell, Briggs, Flow ers, G unn, Peel, Sherwin, A W ard, and W ainw right. The above names will show that of the nine batsmen who have completed their thousand runs in first-class cricket this season no less than seven will figure in the Hastings Week. As most of the leading bowlers, too, are down to appear, there is if anything an embarrass­ ment of riches in store for those who visit the Hastings Recreation Ground next month. Humpty-Dumpty, I had almost forgotten to add, will be, as usual, represented in the per­ son of the two Roberts—Thoms and Carpenter. H, A. G il l e t t , who assisted the United Service against the Gentlemen of Ireland, at Portsmouth, on Monday and Tuesday, has good reason to bo thankful that the wickets have not ceased to trouble him before this He was on board the “ Victoria ” at the time of her ill-fated collision, and his escape was a remarkable one. Diving under, he swam for bare life, and had gone down twice when the boiler burst. The explosion carried him up, as it did so many others, with the fortunate result that he came within the grasp of the rescuers and was duly saved to tell the tale. Such extraordinary luck was altogether too much for one of the Irish team on hearing the story at Portsmouth. “ He should put his shirt on horses,” was tho characteristic way in which the Hibernian signified his appreciation of such a favourite of fortune. I t will interest cricketers who have to field out in the country at the Oval far from the madding crowd, to learn that the Com­ mittee have definitely decided to re-turf the lower part of the ground, and relevel it throughout. The objeot, of course, is to ensure uniform excellence for the outfielding, and, in fact, to make the whole playing area as perfect as it can be made for the purpose of county cricket. It is estimated that the work, which will be of a somewhat laborious character, will, including a scheme for the extension of the banks, entail an expenditure of close on fifteen hundred pounds. As a commencement will be made in the middle of September, the chances of any football while the work is in progress, that is during the coming winter, are rather problematical. A n amateur who was quite in the forofront of cricket in the latter part of the fifties played his last over nine days ago. J. M. Fuller, who died recently, was a contemporary in the Cambridge Eleven of J. Makinson, G.E Cotterill (father of the International Associa­ tion footballer), W . H. Benthall, R. A. Bay- ford (learned in the law) and Henry Ark­ wright, the old Harrovian, as well as of J McCormick, J. Hales, R. A. Fitzgerald (many years secretary of the Marylebone Club) and T. W. Wills, who took such a conspicuous part for Viotoria in inter-colonial matches in the early days of Australian cricket. H** also played for the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’ s in 1856 and 1858.