Cricket 1894

YDNEY SPORTSMAN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER THE BOLE SURVIVOR. ju r sketch t o d a y sn ow s the veteran rry H illia rd ill the centre, h is brother bert (sin ce d ecea sed ), and H a rry ’s l, S ydney H illiard. Dn the 7th o f next m onth H a rry H il- rd, w h o is the sole su rv iv in g m em ber, the N ew South W a les Team w h ich Ik p a rt in the fir$t con test again st ctoria in 1856, w ill attain the age o f years. H e w as born in S ydney on the ii N ovem ber, 1326. On his 85th birth - ty he Was presented w ith a silv er- ounted cricket ball, and the N .S.W . A. forw arded him a. cheque fo r £20. ■laugh so aged, lie yet m anaged to v is it elbdurne a cou ple o f years back to see fa vorite nephew p la y in a m atch. The old est in terstate cricketer, how - 'er, is G eorge M oore, o f M aitland, w h o the gran d fath er o f M acartney. In his lim y days he w as kppw n as the “ D odgy ow ler,’’ bu t did n ot p lay in terstate c r ic - : un til 1871; and is com p a ra tiv ely un- n outside the circle o f his ow n 3s. til w ell on tow ard s SO, Mr. H illiard rs w en t over to M elbourne to see inuaT in terstate gam e betw een N ew ■W ales and V ictoria , and it w as his •i that he had seen every ball bow led th ose' h is t o r ic c o n t e s t s up to that eriod. H e is as w ell know n to the h a b i- les o f the M elbourne G round as to lose o f the Sydney C ricket Ground, and 1 have a ch eery w ord fo r th* veteran, ov v is itin g captain ever m isses an in- od u ction to H arry. H e is an exam ple o f the old proverb, 7ireaten ed fo lk liv e lon g ," fo r he has n m an y hundreds o f acqu ain tan ces o f endid ph ysiqu e laid under the green {, w h ilst he, w h o w as p ronou nced a ing m an 50 years ago, has so fa r dcd the grim reaper, t w a s in 1860 that he got a p a ra lytic *oke w h ich rendered him so helpless j-t he .had to fee w heeled about. S om ; rt o f inspiration led him to requesl 5 b roth ers to take him w ith them to e old F igtree B aths in the D om ain, aima set him up to liis w a ist in the salt w A ter. T h is w as continued fo r a good wlVile, H a rry improving" all the tim e, u n til at la st h? w a s able to w alk and s w im alone. F or fo r ty years he never mis\sed h is early m orn in g sw im either in sum m er or w inter, and to this he a t­ trib u te s his age and health. W ihen he w as first Ml a benefit w a s a r­ ran ged fo r him , b u t’ a p rom inent crick et­ er c<Wnected w ith the affair g ot rid o f Ithe p roceeds. Y ears a fter this m an on Iiis d y in g bed sent fo r H illiard, w h o fcrent to him , bu t b efo re the m an could f c e a k he expired. ^ H illia r d played .h is first gam e o f note when 12 yea rs bid. w ithYthe •TTmdn'-CTn't). as a : p ick u D t again st $ t h e f M ilit a r y .H is lo v e o f t the / gam ey w as t so <rmteriSeTitnat. throu gh v a b s e n tin g :/ :nim seir ir o m ”, ills apprenticesn ip o to j’ n iav i the *gam e lire was once sentenced to tw o days in gaol. In those tim es he used to p lay w ith the soldiers at the barracks, situated be­ tw een Y ork and G eorge streets, and m any tim es the p olice chased him w hen p lay in g am on gst the old graves o f the Cathedral. L a ter on he played w ith the Currency, Club, and a ttribu tes the fine fieldin g o f the tim e to the fa ct that w hen a m an m issed a catch his com rades punched him . H e played m any sin gle-w ick et gam es, fo r sm all sum s o f m oney, am on gst them being one fo r £5 and a ball, a ga in st Tom R ow ley, a fast, accu rate, underarm b o w l­ er. H illia rd gave his opponent three in ­ nings to his tw o. The resu lt w a3i— H il- liard, 4 and 39, R ow ley, 16 and 7. H a lf­ w ay throu gh the innings he g o t tw o fin­ gers broken, but played that day and the fo llo w in g one. A t one period o f the gam e he w as b a ttin g an hour w ithouty scoring. H e played in the first in tercolon ia l -at M elbourne in 1856. T he hom ely ap p ear­ ance o f the W elshm an in drill pants, gu ernseys, and caps, and m inus boots, caused som e m errim ent, fo r the V ic to ­ rians w ere rig h t up to date in th eir a t­ tire. Johnn y H yde, a w ell-kn ow n actor, was questioned b y som e ladies about the p rim itive attire o f the S ydney men. H e replied, “ Oh, that’s noth in g; you ought to see them in Sydney! W hy, there they p lay w ith ou t their p a n ts!” D u rin g a m atch in V icto ria the Sydney men, w h o w ere great tea-drinkers, w h ilst, the V ictoria n s fa vored beer, had a b ig beer cask on the ground filled w ith tea. W h ilst having a refresh er a policem an sidled up fo r one, bu t w a s h orribly d is­ gu sted to find, upon sam plin g it, that the liqu id w a s on ly cold tea. H illia rd played in the first five m at­ ches v. V ictoria , his battin g figures be­ in g 10 innings, 1 n ot out, 42 runs, b ov/l­ in g tw o w ick ets fo r 27 runs. It is ra­ ther cu riou s how he cam e to bow l. The regular bow lers fa iled to get the V ies out, and H arry, w ith ou t any in stru c­ tions from his skipper, seized the ball, and g ot rid o f tw o men. A n oth er sin gle-w ick et m atch o f H il­ liard’s w a s that a ga in st .T. T hom son, o f the W aratah Club, in 1855, fo r £5 and a new ball. H illiard, then in M arylebone C.C., m ade 6 and 3 in 55 m inutes, andi T hom son 4 and 2 in 26 m inutes. H illiard w'ent to E ngland in 1878, and saw ou r m en d efea t th e great M aryle­ bone Club.