Cricket 1894

36*2 OBlOKETi A WEEKLY BECQBX) OF THE GAME; AUG. 30, 1894 F h i'alelp h iaon the oocasion of their last visit to England. ---------- A l t o g e t h e r the m atch w as productive of several performances quite out of the ordinary- The Players, being unable to place a ful] eleven in the field, had to com plete their side by the enlistm ent o f f-n r amateurs. In two of the quartette, m oreover, they were particularly fortunate. T be pair in question, A . H. Brockie and D . H . Adams, were betw een them responsible for 170 out of 232 from tbe bat-, and the form er just m issed the distinction of the fourth hundred in the match by foar runs. In addition to this, his wicket- keeping w as one of the best features of the game. In the tw o innings of the Gentlemen 623 runs were scored, of whioh only one was a bye. C apt. W y n y a k d ’b consistently high ecoring for Hampshire has been one of quite the m cst noteworthy features of the later stages of the season. B is three succesEive hundreds in Inter-County matohes, indeed, represent an achievement which I fancy— I am writing Bo?ely from m em ory—has only been once recorded to a batsm an, who, it is hardly necessary to add, is W . G. Grace. Brockwell this summer very n ea rly accom plished three co n E e o u tiv e hundreds at the Oval, but failed in the Sussex match when within seven runs of success, after scoring over a hundred against E ssex and W arw ickshire in successiv® m atches at the Oval. C a p t. W y n y a rd ’ s three consecutive scores of a hundred for H ants, all of which were made at Southampton, it may be of interest to repeat, were Aug. 18—v. S u sse x ................................... 117c Aug. 24—v. L eicestersh ire................... 116c A u /. 27—v. E ssix .................................. 108c Capt. W ynyard is an Old Carthusian, and for some years after leaving school was one cf the best forwards at the Association game of football, even to the extent of representing England in International matches. During his stay with his regiment in India he was credited with some very big scores. H e was an instructor at the Royal M ilitary College for some time. A s a bafs- man he has every advantage with any amount of power, and there are few faster rungetters when he is thoroughly well set. Besides being a good field, he is above the average as a wicket-keeper. In skating, unless I am m is­ taken, he is also very proficient. Indeed, in mo3t sports he has been able to take his own part. ---------- A c c o r d in g to the Man in the Street—Stirrey Street,of course—B rockw ell has been enttusted w ith the preparation of a practical treatise on Cricket a n l H ow to Play It. It is, so m y inform ation goes, to see the light at an early date as a part of a work dealing with our grand old game and other English sports. B rockw ell’s experience qualifies him well fo such a task. B ut m ore than that, he is of a very observant character, and whatever he does is sure to be done in a conscientious and careful spirit. I t is to be hoped that the via medict whioh has been the outcom e of the deliberations of the Surrey executive on the vexed question of the contiBUfrftoe of fpotball &t the Oval, will prove to be a satisfactory solution of a rather difficult problem. The decision of the com ­ mittee to allow football until the m iddle of March seems to be a fair and reasonable com ­ promise, so far as tim e is concerned. The large seotion of the members which oonoen- trates its attention on cricket alone, too, can hardly fail to be satisfied if the spectators as well as the players are restricted to the Vaux- hall side of the ground entirely. In any case the County cricket pitch will be protected from the risk of damage, which, after all, is the great object of those who have advocated the retention of football, a3 of those who are afraid of the possibility of serious damage to the cricket part proper. A c u r io u s instance of the dangers of the closure was furnished in a match between the New Jersey A thletic and the Staten Island Clubs, played in New Y ork on the eleventh of this m onth. In the day 421 runs were scored and with only eight wickets down, which gives an average of over fifty runs. But the excite­ m ent hardly really began till the Staten Islanders decided to close their innings with the total 211 for four wickets. New Jersey made a bold bid for victory as it was, and in fact just as tim e was up F. F. Kelly was given out leg before w ith only one run war ting to tie. Unless I am m istaken, F .F .K . is the same useful all-round player who played some years back for the Stoics (was it the Stoics ?) and other Metropolitan Clubs. Luok could hardly have taken a more cruel shape for a cricketer than in his case on this particu­ lar oocasion. T h e comm ittee of the W arwickshire County C.C. have sent the follow ing suggestions to the Marylebone Club in reply to the circular issued by that body, inviting the opinions of the chief counties on the subject of county classification. 1. That a recognised list of Second-class Counties is desirable. 2. That Hampshire should be included in the list of First-class Counties. 3. That for tbe County Championship the m inimum number of eight out and home matches be required, this being a m ajority with Hampshire added. T h e se suggestions are given here “ by r e ­ quest.’’ They are the outcome of a m eeting of the W arwickshire County C.C., held in the pavilion on the County ground at B irm ing­ ham on the 21st inst. T h e Adelaide correspondent of tho Sporting L ife has been pretty smart in forwarding a list of the principal matches which bave be9n aranged for Mr. Stoddart’s team, during their forthcom ing tour in the Australian Colonies. As it w ill be of special interest to English cricketers, I reproduce it in full, merely prem ising that two test matohes are to be played in Melbourne, two in Sydney, and one in Adelaide. NOVEMBER. 9, in, 1?, 13—Adelaide, England v. South Australia 16,17, 9, 20—Melbourne, England v. Victoria 23, 24, 26, 27—Sjdney, England New South Walts DECEMBER. 7, 8, 10—Brisbane, England v. Queensland 14,15,17,18—8ydney, ENGLAND v. AU STR\LIA 22, 24, 26. £7~M elbourne.Victoria v. N. South Wales 29, 31, ana Jan. 1, 2—Melbourne, ENGLAND v, AU STRALIA ' ; / ^ JANUARY. 1 2 , 1, IE—Adelaide,ENGLAND v. AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY. 1, 2, 4, 5—Sydney ENGLAND v. A U ST R V LIl 15,16,18,19—Brisbane, Engiand v. Q aeenshnd MARCH. 1, 2, 4, 5—Melbourar, ENGLAND v. AU STRALIA 2V, ■ 3, 25, 26 —Adelaide, England v. South Australia N o t very long since, through the kindness of an old cricketer now located in California, I was able lo give some interesting details illustrating the developm ent of the game on the Pacific Coast. A nd now the American Cricketer supplies particulars of a rather remarkable performance to emphasise the growth of cricket out there. T h e curio in question occurred in a match played in San Francisco on July £8, between the California and Bohem ia Clubs. After the dismissal of the form er for 90, W . Robertson and A.G. Shealth opened the batting of the B o­ hemians with a little over three hours left for play I he bowling, it is not difficult to believe, , was, teste the correspondent who supplied the information, of the “ rankest’ ’ order. None the less, the performance of the two Bohem ­ ians is worthy of reproduction. So here it is : — W . Robertson, not out A. G. bheal'h, not out Extras ... T o ta l........... , li8 . 16 . 310 A l l the same, the editor of the American Cricketcr is speaking altogether without his book in describing this perform ance as “ a world’s record." It is, indeed, very far from it. The most productive partnership for the first wioket in a match of any kind was by S . Colman and P. Coles on August 31, 1892, for Devonshire Park v. Mr. G. W . Morrison’ s Eleven at Eastbourne, when 472 were scored. It has even been beaten in first-class matches here. The reoord in im portant matches belongs to Messrs. H. T . H ewett and L . C. H . Palairet, with 346 for Som ersetshire v. Y ork­ shire, at Taunton, in August, 1892. U p to date, four hundred runs and over have been scored for the first wicket in ordinary matches in four, if not more, occasions. THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP. T h e following will show the positions of the nine leading counties up to d a te:— Played. Won. Lost. Drwn. Tie. Pts. Middlesex ... 16 Notts..................15 16 ... 13 ... 2 ... 0 .... 1 ... 15 ... 12 ... 2 .,.. 1 ... 0 ... ... 8 ... 5 .,.. 3 .„. 0 ... 14 ... 6 ... 6 ... 2 .... o ... 16 ... 7 ... 7 .„. 1 ... 1 ... 18 ... 6 ... 7 ... 3 ... 0 ... 15 ... 4 ... 8 .,. 3 .... 0 ... 16 ... 3 ... 11 .... 2 .... 0 ... .16 ... 2 ... 13 .... 1 .... 0 ... —1 The match tetween Yorkshire and Kent, at Brad ford, cn June 4, 5, and 6, was abandoned, without a ball being bowled, through wet. There only remains one m ore matoh to oom* plete the championship. That is Kent v. Notts* to begin at N ottingham to- day.