Cricket 1893

881 ORlCKETs A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME, AUG . 31, 1893 REMINISCENCES OP CRICKET. Bv RICHARD DAFT. T he ; T r e n t B ridge G round K e e p e r . The visitor to the old Trent Bridge Ground at Nottingham can scarcely failed to have noticed when a county match is played there a little old man with white hair and whiskers, limping about between the innings superin­ tending the rolling and sweeping of the wickets. This individual is well known to all the frequenters of Trent Bridge as “ Billy Walker,” the custodian of the ground. To his more intimate friends he is known as “ Fiddler,” of which nickname more anon. Walker is a native of Radcliffe-on-Trent, as were his father, and grandfather (and great grandfather for anything I know) before him. The present Trent Bridge ground man was brought up to the trade of a gardener, and a very excellent one he became in after life, filling the office of head gardener to several gentlemen in Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and elsewhere. All the Walkers are musical. The father of the subject of my sketch was a great man with the violin. He not only played on that instrument, but made ono which is still. I believe, in his son’s possession The maker of it wrote out the names of all his sons and daughters with the dates of their birth on a piece of parchment, and fastened it inside the violin previous to fixing on the back. Owing to his great fondness for the violin, Mr. Walker, senior, received the name of “ Fiddler,” which in due time descended to his son, the present Trent Bridge groundman, and has now been con­ ferred on his son, who assists his father on the ground. In his younger days the guardian of the Trent Bridge was well known in Nottinghamshire as a skittle player. At this game he was the lion of his native village and of the surrounding district. Many have been the innocent strangers who have suf­ fered signal defeat at this old English pas­ time at the hands of Mr. William Walker. On one occasion William and some friends went to a small town in a distant part of the county at which the annual fair or “ wake ” was being held. While refreshing themselves in the bar of one of the inns of this place, the conversation turning to the subject of skittles, one of Mr. Walker’s friends declared he would back him to play anyone in the town for a sovereign One of the natives no sooner heard this challenge than he crossed over to a corner of the room where a friend was sitting and told him in a mysterious voice to “ go and fetch ‘ Nobble ’Em,’ ” and presently the gentleman who bore this name, and was the champion skittle player of the town, appeared on the scene,and a match between him andMr. Walker was soon concluded. A most exciting game followed, which ended in the defeat of “ Nobble ’Em,” the local champion, who, however, played one of his very best games, and so delighted were Walker’s friends at his victory that they carried him shoulder high to the nearest public house and then enter­ tained him to his heart’ s content. Once only at skittles was William taken in. There was years ago a man named Blather- wick, a resident of Nottingham, who was undoubtedly the best player in the county. Once Walker and a Mr. F., a keen sportsman, were together in a distant village, and having business to transact in different parts of the place, each went his way, agreeing to meet at a certain place later in the day. Mr. F——’s business led him to a public house where there was a skittle alley, in which, on the present occasion, a lively match was being played between two very fair players. Thtir play, however, did not meet with the approba­ tion of Mr. F ------, who declared that he had a friend in the village whom he was ready to back for any amount against the best man on the premises. “ I ’ll back this man here to play him for a fiver,” said one of the players eagerly, as he pointed to a quiet-looking man who had been a spectator of the match which had just been concluded, and who, from the remarks he had made on the game, Mr F ------ was quite convinced he knew nothing of the science of akittles. However, the stranger after a good deal of persuasion allowed him­ self to be backed for a five pound note, and the match was no sooner made than Mr. F------ went off in high spirits to fetch his friend Walker, who, when he made his appearance, quickly recognised in tbe quiet gentleman who was to be his opponent, the renowned Mr. Blatherwick, of Nottingham! “ They’ ve done you this time, sir,” Wiiliam remarked to Mr. F------. However, there was no getting out of the match, and though William was defeated he was very far from being disgraced for he ran his opponent very closely through­ out the game. Since his appointment to the charge of the Trent Bridge Ground, Walker has effected a great change in the wickets on that enclosure. Years ago the wickets would not wear at Trent Bridge, but thanks to an application in winter of a special kind of marl or clayey soil, which Walker has procured at different times from a certain part of Nottinghamshire, the wickets at Trent Bridge are second to none to-day. This preparation of hisWalker always desig­ nates as “ hair oil.” Some years ago he was invited to inspeot the Old Trafford cricket ground at Manchester, and having strongly recommended an application of the Notting­ hamshire “ hair oil,” several truck loads were afterwards despatched to Old Trafford. William returned from Manchester, speaking in the highest terms of the Lancashire execu­ tive, and of “ the princely manner in which they had treated him during his visit. Wil­ liam’s manner of speaking of his wickets is rather amusing. He always talks of the wicket as if it were himself, consequently his conversation when on this subject is apt to be very puzzling to strangers. “ I’m better this match than ever I was. They’ll never be able to wear me out, I shall be just as good on the third day as I shall be on the first.” Again, “ So-and-fo can never get any ruus except when he bats on me.” These and such like are the remarks William makes when speaking of his favourite subject. He has vioited most of the leading oricket grounds in England, and declares that he has seen noth­ ing to surpass his own. And indeed the Trent Bridge as it is now is a ground to be proud of. Some years ago when Notts County played Blackburn Rovers at the Oval, William availed himself of the opportunity of going up to town, and of “ killing three birds with one stone” as he put it. That was first to vi3it Lord’s in the morning, then to come down to witness the football match, and inspect the Oval in the afternoon, I had come up to town the day before myself, and met William’ s train about 11 o’clock the next morning, at King’s Cross, and haviug seen him safely in a train on theUnderground on his way to Lord’s I proceeded to transact some business in the City and went down in plenty of time to the Oval before the match began. There was a crowd of 30,000 people to wit­ ness the encounter, and I had told William to be sure and be on the ground very early or he would never be able to see anything of the play. Just before the game began I saw Scotton in the pavilion, who told me that he had just come straight from Lord’s in a hansom and that Walker had been there some time, and was so interested with the ground and its surroundings that he believed he had altogether forgotten about the match at the Oval. I was sorry to hear this, as I was particularly anxious that he should see the other great Metropolitan ground and the foot­ ball match as well, but came to the conclusion that now this was not to be expected. I afterwards was pleased to find out, however, that our ground-man had been put in a hansom at Lord’s at the last moment, sent off at full speed to the Surrey enclosure, had been taken to a snug seat in an excellent position, through the kindness of Mr. Alcock or one of the committee, and had consequently seen the game in the most comfortable manner possible. William is well known to all cricketing celebrities who visit the Trent Bridge. “ The Old Buffer” and he had a long confab together when the former visited Nottingham some years ago, and sundry “ refreshers ” were supplied by him during the conversation, which led to an interesting article in the Sporting L ife the next day from the delightful ‘'Old Buffer’s Armchair.” William is neither so young nor so active as he was, but is fortunate in having a son to assist him in his work. That the old Trent Bridge custodian will live many years to look after the wickets there, is my heartfelt wish. I have known old Walker now for nearly forty years and never wish to find a better workman or a more straightforward and honest man. HONOR OAK v. M ITCHAM .—Played at H onor Oak on August 19. M it c h a m . W . C. Rhodes, b W ilkie .................... 8 J. Caffarey, bF. H ir- rison .............................39 J. Tillinger, not out 5 B ? , w l ................... 8 N. A. Harvey, not out 95 T. P Harvey, c Draper, b G. Harri­ son .......................... 4 W. Jones, b F. Harri­ son .......................... 7 H. Pillinger, b F. H a rrison .................. 0 A. F. C.arke. c Hol­ ford, b F. Harrison 27 R. U pton, F. Harris, and J. Keene did not bat. Innings declared closed. Total ..188 H o n o r O a k . C. oarnby, b Keene... 15 C. H. Mayo, b KeeDe 5 C. F. Skipwith, b Keene .................. 7 E. Hayes, c N. Harvey, b Keene ... 9 G. Harrison, st Clarke, b Keene ... 2 F. Harrison, b Keene 38 H. Holford, b Harris 42 F. W ilkie, c Jonep, b H a rris.................. T. Sw aiD , 6t Clarke, b H arris.................. C. Harrison, not out G. Draper, b Keene B 7, lb 4.................. Total ..........] LONDON & W E3TM IN STER BANK (2) v LLOYD ’S BANK.—Played at Cham pion Hill on August 17 and 18. L . & W .B. H.O.Manfield, b John­ ston ..........................18 A. W. Brown, b Har­ pur .......................... 5 A. J. Richardson, c Davis, b Johnston 2 C.C. Sim pson,c and b Harpur .....................15 A. T Maingay.c Pegg, b Swatman ...........19 T. H. Pritchard, b Harpur ................... 0 T. H. Brenan.b John­ ston ........................ 0 J. M. Allcock.b John­ ston ...................... 27 J. P. Murray, bM ore 15 B. Newman, b H ar­ pur ........................ 2 A. W. Maclean, not ont .......................13 B 13, lb ?, nb2 ... 17 Total . .. 133 L l o y d ’ s B a n k . R. F. A. Orr, st Man­ field, b A llcock ... 17 A. Howard, b Allcock 0 A. W.Harpur, b Simp­ son ..........................25 C. P. JohnstoD, b All­ cock .......................... 17 H. R. Swatman, b Sim pgon..................13 E. R. H ulford, b All­ cock ........................... 3 A. Davis, b Al cnck... R. H. More.b A llcock A. E. Bellinger,b All- C. G. Plowright, not out ........................... G. S. Peck, b A llcock BIO, lb 4, n b l ... Tota ........... HORNSEY RISE v. BEES.—Played at Tufoell Park on August 15. B e e s . E. C. Lane, c Young, b E ld re d .................. 1 H. George, c Miroy, b Burr«ge ..................53 H. C. Preece, c How- den, b W. Burke ...104 J. Wass, b J. Burke 36 T. W . Saint, b W. Burke ................... 8 C. W. Newberry, b J. Burke .................. 16 E. Clark, not out ... 6 E x tra s.................. 29 Total ...........253 F . L e ts , W . Stirling. E .'B arham , and H. Snow did not bat. Innings declared closed. H o r n se y R is e . W. Burke, b Barham 0 C.Guglielmo, c Lane, b Parham ........... 0 C.Young.b Newberry 33 A. H oughton,bPreece 37 E. J. Miroy, not out 42 J.Howden.c Barham, b Lane ...................15 A. H .Ixley,c George. b Lane ................... J. Burke, b Lane ... J. Burrage, not out W . Cook, st Clark, b Lane.......................... L b ........................... Total .143 E. Eldrcd did not'bat.