Cricket 1893

480 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME* DEC. 28, 1893 TEE NATIONAL VA.LUE OF CRICKET. It is a trite saying that “ onlookers see most of the game ; ” but in no sm »11 me >sure this depeids upm how muc'i the onlookers in quest'on know of the game. Owing to the fact that the cultivation of outdoor games of all kinds is every day becoming moregeneral, we find at our numerous cricke% football, and athletic gatherings an ever increasing percentage of onlookers who do know some­ thing of the game, and unjust and ill-judged criticisms are daily becoming more rare than they used to ba. Yet tbe dictum of a once famous cricketer has still in it more than a modicum of truth. “ Spectator* are apt to form very strange and contradictory opinions of the real merit-? of the elevens which are brought together to do battle for their respective clubs; they over­ look the various accidents— the state of the ground, the weather, etc.—which often com­ bine to give victory to a team which has no sort of claim to sup riority over its opponents. The embarassing effect of rain or rapid evaporation, and the trifling inequalities of the ground which they bring about, are not sufficiently considered by the non-cricketer, whose opinion is too often formed upon antecedents alon**.” Thus spoke the erstwhile single wicket champion of England, Mr. Franc's Fenner, and in view of the fact that we have just been reckoning up the outcome of an exfra ordinary ciicket season -whoBe results we are all enleavouring to minimize in favour of our own particular friends— it may not be unprofitable or inopportune if we set down some of the ex-Champion’s thoughts upon the subject. We found the genial old gentleman as ready as ever to fi^ht over again former battles; carrying his eighty-two summers with the sprightliness of youth, fu’l of energy and humour, and belying not his assertion, that during a long cricketing c -reer he was “ never out of condition.” Mr. Fenner was one of the triad of cricketers of whom Tom Taylor thus sang in his prologne to the play of the “ Poor Gentleman,” which was given upon August 1, 18 i2, after the first day’s play of the match which in­ augurated the Canterbury week— “ Hallo! who are these I see down there ? Pilch, Lillywhite, and Fenner—I declare ! How are ye all ? where men like you assemble, It’s not a little sha’l make me tremble While I stand here as champion of cricket. You mind your fielding —Til keep up my wicket. You will stand by me ? Never mind my county : Cricketers are all brothers : such I count ye.” Of that triad of famous cricketers, one only remains; indeed, of the whole team which took part in the inaugural match the Earl of Bessborough and Mr. Fenner are the only survivors. The growth of that true brotherhood which is referred to above is a matter which rejoices all hearts, and Mr. Fenner’s panegyric thereof is especially warm. “ As a cricke*er of the almost forgotten past,” h i recently wrote, “ I delight in seeing districts which were so long overlooked coming to the front and by the force of their innate strength overcoming the prejudice which limited to a few counties all recognition of that excellence which has of late been so widely developed. This magic circle was fir.-t broken through by the intro­ duction of railways, which at one i led to the North and South, as well as the East and We^t, exchanging recognition, and the dis­ jointed parts of a country which had hal no previous opportunity of knowing each other becoming united and moulded, as it were, into one huge parish. At one time the cricket of England was represented by four counties only, viz , Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Hamp­ shire, and to talk of anything greit existing out ide those limits would have raised a smile of incredulity, it being forgotten that wherever a body of Eng’ishmen me1—given health, muscle, and pluck— there was nothing in the whole range of athletics beyond their powe-.” Respecting this growth of local and county cricket Mr. Fenner had a few remarks to make which are worthy the a Ltention of those more immediately interestel. He considers that the saving of expense in the engagement of an inferior coach is a fatal error. “ A good coach should be given carte blanche in the training of promising young m en; if this is done, a strong team can easily be maintained A captain should be strong enough to select the best men available for any particular match, and should never enlanger his chances by any good-natured fa-ouritism. University men should be sought after ; there are many coming fre h from the greatest nurseries of cricket—Oxford and Cambridge—who would raise the prac'ical strength of a club, and give animp3tus to the mrvement generally.” These are matters upon which Mr. Fenner may be allowed to speak with authority, while, as from one of the finest bowlers of the day, a few words upon that department of the game may be recorded: “ Too many men now adays are content to do little more than throw the ball. That is not true bowling; the science of the matter should be studied, fo : with grounds which have reached the present state of perfection, bowling should be as sure as billiard playing. Lillywhite could choose his pitch with the utmost nicety, and vary the 4side ’ of h;s balls continually ; cer­ tainly, he was the best bowler we ever had, but if he could do that with the inferior grounds of his day, how much more is possible now .” Of course, there are a few men who have put this theory into practice but how far from it are the majority of bowlers. We discussed the disappointing results of the past season’s cricket, especially bearing in mind the fact that the final state of the inter-county matches, both first and second class, when compared with the arithmetical deductions founded upon a comparison of the number of runs per wicket, seems to indicate that we have not yet arrive 1 at a perfect sys­ tem. Mr. Fenner acknowledges that in par­ ticular cases it salves the amour propre of a team to be able to record a draw instead of a defeat, but that is not the object of good cricket. “ I would give,” sa:d he, “ a discretionarypower to the umpires where it appears probable that the game would be legitimately finished in a short time, to extend the time of drawing stum s for half or three-quarters of an hour, provided the light and the weather were both suitable. Something might also be done in the way of an earlier start, especially on a third day. Such powers in the hands of the umpirej would help to avoid s^me of the very unsatisfactory *draws ’ which we now see, and would also help to frustrate the dilatory tactics of some losing teams.” Of what may be done in a short time, a graphic account of a scene at the Canterbury wee c of 1844, in which Mr. Fenner was a prominent figure, may well serve as an illustration. This is how he paints the picture : “ The game had proceeded in favour of tho home te im from its very commencement, Kent going in first and making an innings of 278, which at that period was thought a pro­ digious score. England followed on, and by resolute play piled up a score of 266, only twelve runs in arrear of their opponents. The innings of England was completed in good time on the afternoon of the second day, amid great enthusiasm, especially rousing the yeomen of the county, who had mustered in their strength to support the defenders of their cricketing honour, Kent baing the i the Champion county. The grand first innings of Kent h ai so elated their friends that they speculited largely on the result, 50 to 1 even being taken; but their confidence was sadly disturbed when England was found to be travelling so closely upon their heels. The enthusiasm of the Kentish holiday­ makers at the conclusion of the first innings was unbounded, they seemed to have enlisted an earthquake in their service and the welkin rang with their ebullitions of joy, so that it was some time before they could dream of the possibility of a reverse. “ About two hours were now left for play, and as most of the England team had been favoured with a long rest, they took the field as fresh and lively as kittens. Anxiety ran high when Lillywhite called the men around him, and alluding to their fitness for work, said a cricketer could go through any amount of fatigue when the time of trial was so limited —‘ see what you can do, lose no time, let every man deport himself as if the match depended upon his own individual effort.’ In the whole coursa of my cricket­ ing career I do not remember so much anxiety being manifested to achieve some­ thing great in the annals of cricket. “ Every man took his place in the field and became at once a galvanised trap, and for a ball to escape his clutches appeared to be next to impossible. The bowling and fielding all round displayed a determination that astounded players and spectators alike, and the batsmen appeared powerless before its earnestness. The best men had been kept back in order to be fresh for the expected morrow’s work, but this policy recoiled upon itself. The weaker p’ ayer3 were easy victims, and it became almost a pro­ cession from tent to wickets, from whence they returned forlornly to supplicate the fates by whom events seem'd to be so strangely governed. Fuller Pilch had to go in as seventh man to a‘ teupt to stem the tide of misfortune, but the fates were unre­ lenting, and the innings eventually closed for 44 runs. The crowd was dazed by the marvellous change, and especially was this the case with the burly yeonrn who had mustered in their strength to animate with true Kentish brotherhood the defenders of their own champion county. “ The hour was late and the light uncer­ tain, but the Kentish men insisted on the game going on for the twenty minutes remain­ ing, and hastily took the field. The first man called to make the start for England had quietly taken himself out of the way, but myself and another were sent i n ; my com­ panion succumbed for one run before time was up, but next morning some uneventful play closed the match with nine wickets in hend.” Speaking more particularly of the sensations of p ’ayers in a closely contested game, and by consequence of the disappointment felt when such a match cannot be played out, Mr. Fenner remarked that “ few beyond the players themselves can real:ze the keen feeling produced by the even balancing of probabilities near the close of important matches when contested, as many are, to the very last ball without a point of difference in the powers of the opposing elevens. Lookers- on at such moments effervesce with excite­ ment, but their lungs come to their aid and, fortunately for th^m, act as the best of safety