Cricket 1893

74 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME; APRIL 20, 1893 I TH E E IGH TH f AUSTRALIAN TEAM . (S pec ial ). It will interest C r i c k e t readers to know that William Bruce, who came on to England with Hugh Trumble in the s.s. “ Ophir ” a fortnight ahead o f the rest of the party, has a high opinion of the all-round cricket of the Australian team due at Naples to-day. In batting and bowling I have already recorded m y opinion that the combination now near­ ing England will be decidedly strong. It is so on paper, In batting there are not only one or two, but several who can score freely on bad as well as good wickets. In all probability Doctor Barrett would have had a good chance of a place had he been smarter in the field. As a fielding side, too, Bruce is confident hat the team will be exceptionally good, and with, perhaps, one exception, which shall be nameless, they are all reliable fielders. More than that, in several notable instances, to wit, Bruce himself, Gregory, Bannerman, and Graham the form will be very much above the average. With Blackham behind the sticks, and a generally high order o f fielding, the team should be able to save runs as well as make them. Whether they are quite so strong in bowling as in the two other de­ partments of the game remains to be [seen. Bruce himself thinks that in this respect, too, they will render a good account o f themselves. W ithout minor changes there will at all events be five thoroughly reliable bowlers, in Turner, Giffen, Trumble, McLeod, and Coning­ ham. On paper, with such a quintette as these, even omitting any question of more than one change by no means to be despised, there ought to be the making of a formidable attack. Of the two first named, it is of course quite unnecessary to speak. The names of Turner and George Giffen are familiar as household words wherever cricket is played, as bowlers of excep­ tional merit. Trumble, who came over in 1890 with the last team, was not then at all events a great success. Since then he has been quite in the fore-front of Australian bowlers. Against Lord Sheffield’s team he was comparatively a failure, for his wickets were obtained at a heavy cost of nearly thirty runs apiece. In the Australian season just over, how­ ever, he fully justified his claim to be considered one of the best bowlers in the Colonies. In Intercolonial matches he was remarkably effective. In fact he was at the head of the bowling averages, with a fine record of twenty-two wickets, at an expense of less than thirteen runs and a half each. Trumble’s personal advantages are all in his favour. Standing as he does over six feet three inches in his shoes, he makes, too, full use of his height by bringing the ball well over. Right-handed, and o f medium pace, he moreover keeps as a rule an excellent length. All this combined goes to prove that where the ground gives any help to the bowler, he ought to be of great use. On a sticky wicket he is unplayable, On occasions, too, Trumble has shown that he can bat. More than that, he is by no means a bad field. Robert McLeod is a member of a brotherhood of cricketers, all of them capable exponents o f the game. Bruce thinks very well of him as a bowler, and is very hopeful that he will be of great use to the side. H e bowls overhand right, and with a capital length comes very quickly off the pitch, which has, of course, much to do with his success. In Inter-colonial matches during the last two or three years he has been of great service to Yictoria. Against Lord Sheffield’s team, too, in the representa­ tive contests he rarely failed to do well In these particular matches his figures wore only inferior to those o f Turner. Besides being a good field, he is in addi­ tion a very useful bat on occasions. Only a season or two ago he nearly broke the Australian record for the highest indi J. J. LYONS. vidual innings. As it was, his score of 324, for Melbourne against Essendon ranks as one of the very best perfor­ mances o f the kind in an Australian match. Alfred Coningham, as everyone knows, owes his place in the team solely to the fact that the Australasian Cricket Council practically insisted on the inclusion of an extra or four­ teenth man. Though his name has been mostly associated with cricket in Queens­ land, he was not only born in Melbourne but learned his cricket there. As it was he first showed promise as a bowler, and it was chiefly for his good bowling as a junior that the Melbourne Club accorded him the honorary membership of the club for four years. Business took him to Brisbane when he was sixteen years old, and there his cricket was really developed. Playing for 22 of Brisbane against Shaw and Shrewsbury’s team in 1885, he per­ formed so well as a bowler that one of the Englishmen, it is reported, expressed his readiness to take the young player to England. Since then his name has been mentioned more than once as a likely member for the Australian team. In a great measure, we believe, with that view he moved to Sydney at the commence­ ment of last season. I f we are not mis­ taken, it was mainly to the good offices of Mr. Victor Cohen, the manager o f the team, that he owed his transfer to New South Wales. H is early performances for the colony, however, did not seem to augur well for his attainment of a place in the team “ going home.” In the first match against Victoria he was not success­ ful, and subsequently owing to an injury he could not play against South Australia. Curiously enough, too, he only got into the return match v. Victoria as a substitute. The withdrawal of the great Bonnor, who had been selected, was his opportunity. Of this he availed himself to some pur­ pose, and his performance on that occasion was not only the very best on the side, but practically won the match for New South Wales. That record, at all events, put the hall-mark on his repu­ tation, and eventually ensured him his place in the team. A s a bowler he will be of great use to the eleven, from the mere fact that he is left-handed. He varies both his pace and pitch well, and sends down occasionally a fast ball which is generally destructive. In any case he is a general utility man, being a fine field and, at times, a dangerous bat. In one respect there is a general consensus of opinion with regard to his merits. That he is a thorough tryer is admitted. In this view Bruce thoroughly concurs. So far we have [dealt with two of the four new men as illustrative of the bowling at the disposal of the Captain. The other two players new to English grounds are H . Graham and Walter Giffen. The former’s reputation is really the outcome of last season’s work. Still, it must be admitted that his record warranted the highest honours. Though quite young, he has, at the least, the re­ commendation of exceptional promise. For Victoria in Inter-colonial matches last year his success was phenomenal. A fine second score o f 86 not out against South Australia at once brought him to the front. Even this, though, was eclipsed by his performance in the return match against New South Wales. On that occasion he played two fine innings of 39 and 65, of themselves quite suffi­ cient to stamp him as a batsman o f more than ordinary merit. Great things are con­ fidently predicted of him on his first trip to England. He is a neat bat with plenty o f strokes, and as he hits very hard and clean all-round, is sure to be very dan­ gerous if allowed to get set. For so young a player, too, he has great confi­ dence, which will stand him in good stead. But beyond his capacity as a run- getter, he has the additional recommen­ dation that he is really a brilliant field. In this department he will be fully up to the best standard of Australian cricket. The only one of the new members remaining to be noticed is Walter GilTen. In his case criticism is a little difficnlt. He is at his best something of an unknown quantity. He may be a good all-round cricketer, and it is only fair to assume that he is. Still, the fact remains that he