Cricket 1894

210 CRICKET? A WEEKLY EE CORD OE THE OAMEc JUNE 21, 1894 Usbaw College, reminding me of W . G’s iminga ef 1 30 down at Hecate at tbe close of last season, which at the time I insisted should count as first-class, “ press ” writers notwithstanding. It was as good a match as (hose tbat were once fashionable, when men like Shaw, Hall, Barlow, Emmett, and others mart hailed contending elevens. So, by your leave, we will include this among the Master’s centuries. My corresponded adds in a postscript, “ I hope you will have sometbingto say of Barnes’ benefit; he deserves a bumper.” Which nobody will deny. I would say a lot if I thought any words of mine would serve “ Barney ” in the smallest degree. As a member of the Nott- County Club wrote me last week, “ there should 1e some smiting on Monday and Tues­ day, such as we seldom see at Trent Bridge, judging by (he cricketers selected by C. I. Thornton. Barnes says he doesn't care how many runs they make, so long as they take three dajs to make them in.” Spite of tbe depressed state of Notts cricket, I fully expect the crowds will roll np; and if some of us are anx'ous to testify to our appreciation of twenty years’ woik on the part of one of the very ablest cricketers, remember there is a subscription list, upon which most of our names would look well. What can one say of Barnt s’ cricket ? Just a word here. He first appeared for Notts in 1875, as dii Shrewsbury who, I regret to learn, was on Thursday last not well enough to leave his b ;d. For his county only, Barnes has scored 8106 runs in 348 innings up to the close of 1893, giving an average of some 23J runs an innings. thirteen centuries appear against his name, whilst on no less than 25 occasions has he lent a hand in a partnership of more than a hundred runs—the total reaching 2C0 in three of the matches. A magnificent record. Put him on a hard wicket against fast bowling, and he had no superior for many years. Nor was there a much nastier bowler on a crumbling wicket. Outside tbe county, Barnes has played a con­ spicuous patt in the Players’ annual match with the Gentlemen, once scoring a century; for M.C.C. he has been invaluable; whilst as long ago as 1880 he went in second wicket— the place of honor—in the first match ployed between England andAustralia. If he gets all he deserves, a four-figure benefit will be the outcome of to-day’s match. On my way to Sheffield last week—be patient, kind friends, with these tantalizing pauses; remember it’s a journey of twenty seven miles for tha writer, and takes time; one can't go faster than the train—well, en route for the match, I espied on the railway bookstall “ Cricket, and How to Play It, by Robert Abel, member of the Surrey eleven.” T did not know before that the “ Guv’nor ’’ had a literary turn, and so cheerfully planked down sixpence for the pleasure of seeing him in all the glory of print. I liked the modesty of the opi ning senience, “ As to the origin of cr cket, I do i ot pretend to fpeak with authnity.” When I reached page 9 , i nd read tbat cute observation of dear oil Mis tilis e, of cookery book fame (see G. A. Sala), “ Catch jour hate le fi re you cook it,’’ I be­ gan to have serious mUgivings as to til' authorship of the latest book on cricket. Before I had got half through it, I was con­ vinced I bad seen it before. Arriving home on Wednesday, my suspicions were confirmed, for I happen to possess a book leaiing precisely the same title, only tbat John Wisden’s name appears beneath, though the publisher’s prelace informs us that the actual writing was done by Captain Crawley, the father, I believe, of the present editor of “ Wisden’s Almanack.” Ob, it is quite too funny ; the plagiarism might have been more skilfully disguised. Fancy a book written in this year of grace coolly informing an inno- cent public that “most of the professional men play in the various elevens— such as the All- England, the United All-England, Sie ! ” 1 he original author’s name might be retained at any rate. One would deariy like to know if Abel so much as read the book through. “ Cabbaging” is not unknown in c icket literature. Ihus, it has been said, that Lam­ bert cribbed from Boxall; whilst in my c<py of “ Scores and Biographies,” which once belonged to Charles Box (or e of the best writers on cricket we bave ever hsd), there appear in the intro luction to the first volume, sundry marginal notes written by an old friend, some of which are much too p- r- sonal to be reproduced here; tbe sum and substance of them is given in the closing note, “ This was taken from my Cricketer’s Manual, without permission.” From some cause or other Box had a spite against Fred Lillywhite, who, as he said to one one day, “ knew a deal more about boxing than about cricket.” Now we have got to Sheffield. Weather, fine but cold. Nobody out that way asking “ which will win ? ” for the Tykes had agreed that, come what might, Yorkshire could not lose. The same genuine sporting crowd, only ever so much bigger than I had previously peen it. As keenly critical as ever, as hungry and thirsty, judgirg by the mammoth sandwiches and pint mugs of beer; and os fiee aid out-spoken in their likes and dis'ikts. The Yorkshire captain came in for a running fire of applause for every ball he stopped, after missing two easy chances on the second, afternoon. .He had a most uncomfortable half-hour, I can assure you. But so had C. W . Wright about the same time up at Lord’s, and all becau> o'be kept his wicket up. One does expect courtesy and good manners in St. John's Wood, if not at Bramall Lane. At football, the authorities “ suspend ” a ground when the ring forgets itself and becomes a nuisance. Fancy suspending Lord’s for the rest of the season 1 To a man with a soul for sport in him, there’s no crowd so delightful as a Sheffield one, provided you can study it at the distance of the pavilion It may be my “ cussedness ” or my vulgarity, but give me a match at Bramall Lane before any other Yorkshire enclosure. What of the wicket ? Well, the county secretary at Dewsbury informed me that it had been carefully returfed, and was now perfect. I remember hearing the very same remark from Sheffielders about their ground as long as I have known them and it, even down to last year. It’s better than it was, that’s certain: perhaps it was the recent rain, anyhow, one does not so far step over the crease of truth as to call it perfect, or any­ thing like it. One of the umpires said to me that the out-fielding at Dewsbury was better than the newly-laid playing part there. What about tbe match? Well, scores and results are stale news. When Surrey won the tosj, I knev the game was all right from their standpoint; had they lost the tots, I would sti 1 have gone Surrey. When they had totalled 143 in the first handy, the match was practically over. Everybody iays the wicket wore badly; I honestly believe it was no worse on the Tuesday than on the Monday. From the start it wa3 so soft tbat every ball left a mark on the pitch. The roller did no good. The wonder to me is that the very fast bowlers could get foothold at all; Richardson dug a grave at least four inches deep. With Wainwright breaking the ball as no other bowler of to-day does, and Pee bis vis-a-vis, the Surrey batting was astonishl ingly good, especially on the part of W.W- (38), Lockwood (31), and Key (24). That is. if we except a trick all three had well nigh, perfected— “ legging,” as F.G. hath it. The Laws may pass it, all the same it is not cricket, and the sooner it becomes illegal tbe better for the game. Lockwood’s batting gave me especial p'easure. I believe L. A. Shuter once called him one of our tines-11ats; certainly he is good enough to be played for his batting alone. A wise move on the part of tie new captain to tend him in f'rst. so tbat be may rest awhile beforebowling. This move will require modification whenever Surrey have only a short time for ba ting after being out in the field. The mrra Lock­ wood advances as a bat, the more will he fall off as a bowler. His delivery is frightfully laboured, and must take a lot out of even the strongest man. Alfred Mynn is perhaps the only cricketer whose boiling ( a-t) was first-rate equally with his batting. As Smith— another “ round-the-corner” bowler with a lot of arm-action—is doing so well whenever called upon, and as his delivery is in such striking contrast to that of bis mates, it occurred to me last week, why not save Lockwood for batting ? make him first change, and be sure not to over-bowl him. I don’t think you could knock Richardson up, he’s a model athlete, alive in every muscle and nerve, as his face indicates. Did the better team win? Decidedly, in my judgment. In one department Yorkshire claim pre-eminence : Hunter has certainly no rival behind the wickets, he has no <ff-days, as-Macgregor has. I have never noticed any variation in his abilities. Bis day is every day. Jackson m&y be’a greater batsman than Surrey can show to day; the averages do not prove it, and- results are everything in sport. Granted that he is, there is not another first- class batter in Yorkshire tbis year. Brown, Tunnicliffe, Wainwright, Peel, and Lord Hawke, have woefully fallen off. Oi e of the first-named will have to make room for Mitchell, for Mounsey and Moorhouse are playing the best cricket we can produce just now. As the wickets improve, so may Yorkshire’s batting, but tben Wainwright’s bowling will suffer. I was sittirg in a very jolly Yorkshire party on Tuesday, many ladies being included. When Surrey began their second innings, and Hirst opened at one end, I ventur d to say aloud, “ What an awful mistake 1” On my explain­ ing myself, one lady, a keen enthusiast, after paying my judgment too pretty a compli­ ment to be set in cold print, begged of me to go and advise their captain, never think­ ing that there could be only one leader. I see some anonymous scribbler has been cowardly enough to state that Richardson ‘‘ does not scruple to take advantage of a bad wicket, and make the ball fly at an op­ ponent’s ribs.” Last year he threw: this, he deliberately maims. When wi 1 people learn to be generous ? All the same, his bowling did prove so dangerous that had I been bating against it,[ think I should have emulated tbaf. cricket hero of old, wto, on leaving the wicket ani being told he was not out, replied, “ No but I'm going. ’ I wish Brockvveil had done something, as hitherto he had been excel ing himself with tbe bat. Had Surrey not mulled thre ■d stinct chanc es on Monday, Yorkshire would not have saved the follow-on, and there would not have been a twentieth part of the g ite which turned up on Tuesday. Might not the Sheffield crowd have rai el just oce cheer for the winning fide? Cheering is not in my line now-a days, but it’s not un­ known at Bramall Lane. Perhaps they had no heart or voice left. And no thirst either, for it’s a fact that whenever Yorkshire lose, nobedy wants refreshments ; the crowd goes straight hom ■in sullen silence. Never mind, we may have our revenge next Monday. Yorkshire y. M.C.C. shall be mentioned here for the sake of Foster's bowling. Hailing from Dewtbury, the folks there fully expected