Cricket 1894

OCT. 25, 1894 CRICKET: A WEEKLY EE COED OP THE GAME, 429 gratifying results, and Coningham, in the two matches at Sydney, bowled with great success. As he subsequently appeared for Queensland against New South Wales, it is difficult to say which colony he will assist during the coming season. Considering that he was born in Victoria, it is not easy to see what quali­ fication he could have to play for both New South Wales and Queensland in the same season. In Kelly, formerly of Mel­ bourne, who has secured an engagement on the Sydney Association ground, New South Wales has gained what it has long wanted—a really first-class wicket-keeper. He bids fair to prove Blackham’s suc­ cessor in that department, and is by no means a bad bat. The Victorians had a very unsatis­ factory season as compared with that of 1892-93, when they won all four of their matches with New South Wales and South Australia, besides defeating Tas­ mania and Western Australia. Last season there was a lamentable falling off in results, as after defeating New South Wales in the opening match, they twice suffered defeat from South Australia, and also in the return match with New South Wales. On each of these occasions, how­ ever, they played a good uphill fight, and there is nothing to indicate any real falling off in the quality of Victorian cricket. The reason of their non-success may rather be traced to the inability of the selection committee to place thoroughly representative teams in the field. Some of the members of the Aus­ tralian eleven, after their long holiday, found a difficulty in getting leave of absence, and the services of those of them who could not play regularly were greatly missed. Graham, Trumble, and Slackham were unable to play in either of the South Australian matches, while Bruce was an absentee in the return matches with New South Wales and South Australia. Robt. McLeod did not play much till the season was well advanced, and the only inter-colonial match in which he took part was the return with South Australia. As all these players were very successful when they did p’ay, the loss of their services could not be compensated for by less experienced players. Graham played admirably in both matches with New South Wales, and Trott and Bruce are both as good batsmen as ever. Worrall, in his own peculiar style, has made a marked advance as a batsman during the past two seasons, having curbed a too great propensity for gallery hits, which often made him an easy prey to long-on. Walters, who has always been very successful as a batsman in inter-colonial matches, though a failure in England in 1890, and also against English teams in the colonies, played well right through the season, and his second innings of 95 against South Australia, at Melbourne, was one of the finest displays given on the ground during the season. Trumble is a vastly improved batsman, and should prove of great service in this capacity in the future, while his bowling last season was quite up to his usual standard, J. Harry, though he has played for a number of years now, never showed to such advantage in big matches as last season. As far back as the early part of 1879, he played a fine innings of 69 against the first Australian Eleven at Bendigo, but though he has since played off and on for the colony, he last season for the first time gained a regular place in the Victorian team. In inter-colonial matches he had the fine batting average of 31, and his best per­ formance was in the return match with South Australia, in which he scored 50 and 82. Blackham, in both matches with New South Wales, showed much of his old skill at the wicket. The colony has another very good wicket-keeper in Percy Lewis, who is also an excellent batsman. Robert McLeod scored 16 and 70 on the occasion of bis single appearance for Victoria, and his absence in the other matches was a very serious loss. James Phillips, after his fine batting for Middle­ sex in one of the Surrey matches, and his even more remarkable b:wlmg in the other, may again prove of service to Victoria. Perhaps the most gratifying feature in connection with Australian cricket, at present, is the promis e shown by some of the younger players. H. Stuckey, a steady left-handed batsman of the Moses stamp, though he had previously played occasionally for the colony, last season became a regular member of the team, and though he did nothing extraordinary, he still played some excellent innings, and bids fair to develop into one of the finest batsmen in Australia. It was mainly his excellent batting which gained for his club—the North Melbourne — the premiership among the Melbourne clubs, for the first time in its history. In both matches against East Melbourne—tbe runners up —he scored over a hundred, and altogether had three “ centuries” to his credit in pennant matches. Frank Lower, of East Melbourne, who has played regularly for the colony during the last two seasons, is another batsman of great promise. A couple of seasons ago he scored 352 not out in a club match, which was the Australian record till beaten by Clement Hill at Adelaide last season. In the same season he played a fine innings of 10* for Victoria and South Australia, and last season he was seen to advantage in both the South Aus­ tralian matches, while for his club he played a splendid innings of 258 against South Melbourne. He is also a fair change bowler, and rivals Trott as a field at point. CharlesMcLeod, a younger brother of Robert, played last season for the first time for V ictoria, and did the bulk of the bowling. He bowled most consistently right through the season, and his average in inter-colonial matches of less than 16 runs a wicket for twenty-seven wickets, was very good for a young player appear­ ing for the first time in first-class matches. He bowls fastish round, right-handed, and as he breaks back very quickly he requires careful watching. These three players are perhaps the best of the younger division, but Tarrant of South Melbourne, who has already won his spurs in inter-colonial contests, is another very promising batsman, and A. E. Trott of East Melbourne, a younger brother of Harry Trott, last season bowled in a style which augurs well for the future. He bowls fast, right-handed, and has a tremendous break from the off. With a little more command of the ball, he ought to take a place in quite the front rank of bowlers. In the match against Tasmania he did remarkably well, taking eleven wickets on a perfect pitch for 138 runs, while E. Bean, who scored 103 not out for Victoria in the same match, is a useful batsman and change bowler. Though cricket has always been highly popular in Tasmania, its quality does not improve, despite the fact that great interest is taken in the club matches at the two principal centres, Hobart and Launceston, and that the rivalry between the two divisions invests the two annual encounters between the North and South with considerable interest. An annual match is played with Victoria, but during the last two seasonsVictoria ha? practically only put a second eleven in thefield, playing the match on the same dates as their return match with New South Wales. Though shorn of their best players, the Victorian teams have proved quite equal to the task of defeating the Islanders. C. W. Rock, the old Cantab, is still one of the best bats­ men in Tasmania, but he does not bowl much now. Burn and Eady are also good batsmen, and the latter is a fair fast bowler, but the bowling generally is very weak, now that Tom Kendall, the old Victorian, is past his best. Cricket in Queensland was never so healthy and flourishing as at present. So great is the interest taken in the club matches at Brisbane that a little import­ ing from the other colonies has already begun. Last season Queensland played amost creditable game with a fairly strong team of New South Wales, Turner being the only absentee of any great importance. The northern colony suffered defeat by only two wickets, after a most interesting game. Their most successful batsmen, Freeman (19 and 65) and McGlinchey (10 and 40), were, however, importations from Victoria and New South Wales respectively. This season they again meet New South Wales, and also play two matches with the English Team. In spite of the fact that the last Austra­ lian team hardly met with such success in England as anticipated, there seems no valid reason for supposing that Aus­ tralian crickat is any weaker now than at any previous period, except perhaps just about 1882, when Murdoch, Massie, Alick Bannerman, Horan, McDonnell, Bonnor, Blackham, Spofforth, Palmer, and Evans were all in their prime. Australian teams, too, always seem to show to more advantage on their own soil, and the double victory gained by Australia over Lord Sheffield’s team may be cited as a case in point, as at that period Austra­ lian cricket was generally supposed to be at a very low ebb. There appears to be no lack of batting with such men as Giffen, Lyons, Reedman, Bruce, Trott, Graham, Moses, Iredale, Donnan, Syd Gregory, and Callaway, and Bannerman if he returned to form. How the bowling NEXT ISSUE NOVEMBER 29