Cricket 1894

454 CMCEEEs A WEEKLY BEGOKB (..*> THE GAMEi DEO. 28, 1894 being put up. Dodd was kind enough to bang my first ball for five. The fourth only just missed the top of his wicket, though ; and my second over was a maiden— the first of the match. I believe the fellows cheered; and I know I began (o think I shoultl get a wicket directly. But 1 didn’t ; and they were soon hitting me just as freely as they had done all the otl er bowleri. At one hundred and sixty Mr. Baynor, who had been making his runs faster than Dodd, had completed his century with a drive for four. He had been batting freely before ; but now he hit out harder than ever, and actually scored thirty-eight while Dodd put on two. He seemed to get all the bowling ; and he hit everything. The score had just reached two hundred when, in despair, Smith minor was tried. He was pretty straight, but bowled so short that in the ordinary course of events he would never have been put on against a decent batsman. This case was desperate enough to warrant any expedient, though. So young Smith got his chance; and, strangely enough, he took Mr. Baynor’s wicket with his very first ball. It was as bad a ball as anyone ever bowled ; but the county crack failed to get hold of it p rop ;ily ; and, touching the edge of his bat, it rose over Lomas's head and fell into my hands twenty yards behind him. I could not help holding i t ; and I thought the fellows’ cheers and clapping were a hit out of place. Smith minor did not; with the utmost complacency, he took them all for him self; and I really wonder he didn’t get kicked (for the airs he put on) half-a-dozen times before tbe next batsman came in. I think he escaped because we had all thrown ourselves on the ground as, mightily cheered for his grand innings, Mr. Baynor went pavilionwards; and none of us cared to get up to him. It was Thomas, the young county pro., who came in. Only two days before he had helped Mr. Baynor to put on over a hundred and fifty runs against the strong Blankshire bowling; but Smith did not know this. He saw that Thomas was only a young fellow, and said to old Duncombe : “ Ah, this chap won’t stay long, I expect this first over of mine will see him out.” Duncombe laughed softly as he got up. But actually that over, and not only that over but the very next ball, did see Thomas o u t! I suppose the worst bowler sometimes sends down a fairly good ball; and that one of Smith’s was good. It pitchcd at least three or four yards further up than most of his did ; and it broke light across and just took the county pro's leg-bail. Smith was lelt-handed, and had the occasional natural break which all left-handed bowlers seem to have, thorgh ho generally bowled so short that it was of no use. Smith thought that it was very rough that he was taken off at the end of the over. But Lomas knew what he was about. Our only chance of avoiding a fearful licking was to get the rest of the batsmen out cheaply ; and the youngster’s bowling was of no use for that. He might go on for a week and never get another wicket. Duncombe and Charley Castle were put o n ; and with only ten luns added two more wickets fell. Dodd was out for sixty- eight, splendidly caught by Duncombe in the slips : right glad were we all to see his broad back. And the curate was clean bowled by Charley for a modest two. W ith fifteen more added Harold Kaynor went in the same way or seven; and nine latsr Duncombe sent Louis’ bails flying for fourteen. This brought together little wiry, broomstick-legged Chit­ lings and the tall Lieutenant. The army man made one gigantic slog for six and a splendid stroke all along the carpet for fou r; he got fairly hold of the next ball and sent it high and far ; they had run two before it came down ; but Harold North, fielding very deep at long-on, was under it, and Harold never missed a possible catch. Chitlings and Mr. Baynor made a bit of a stand. Chitlings was, as ever, unorthodox ; he snicked to the on, pulled balls almost wide on the off round to long-leg in some mysterious manner that baffles description, got in front of his wicket to all the straight ones but somehow never let them hit his skinny limbs, audian up twenty-five out of thirty-three before Lomas stumped him off one of Millward’s slows. “ Glad he’s gone,” said Atherston, depart­ ing from the taciturnity he thought it incumbent upon him to sustain as umpira; “ it ain’t cricket, and it makes me ill.” “ Never mind, Barty,” said little Tom Hardy to the retiring batsman; “ they’d never ’a bowled ye if ye’d stayed in a week.” It comforted Chitlings, anyway. Sweeting hit up twenty iu less than ten minutes by truly rural cricket— “ ’ard, ’igh and hoflen; ” and then Tom Hardy came in, and went out, as usual, to the first straight ball. Mr. Edgar Baynor was left to carry his bat for a steady thirteen. The Rev. Charles bad put him in No. 9 because, contrary to all the family traditions, he had lately shown a tendency towards the stonewall game. If he had gone in first—but there, the score was 305 as it was. We had lunch then. We needed it. C h a p t e r II. Harold North went in first with Lomas after lunch. Marshall generally did s o ; but he was away. Another change was made, Davis, who had scored well in the last match, being promoted from quite the tail end to first wicket down. Sweeting and the Bev. Charles were the bowlers, the former very fast, and difficult when on, the latter medium-pace, and very accurate in length— “ bowled like a blooming machine,” as old Dodd had once put it. Lomas started in his usual cautious style, not scoring until the last ball of the clergy­ man’s over, which he placed prettily to leg for t so. Harold North got Sweeting away for two fours, a two and a single, and then scored a four and a two off the other bowler. He was really a brilliant bat, scoring well all round the wicket, and making his strokes in perfect style. But he was hardly as reliable as Lomas, who had only once been out under double figures all the season. These two and Charley Castla were the only really good batsmen we had, except the absent Marshall. Davis was promising, of course; but Dun­ combe was an unmitigated slogger, Harraden as nervous as a cat, Smith major fluky, and the rest of us nothing at all. Pretty quickly the score was run up to thirty-two, of which Lomas had only scored five. “ North’s going to make another century ? ” said Smith minor, in his most knowing tones, to me. We were all sitting in front of the pavilion. “ O h !” “ A h !” “ Hang i t ! ” “ He’s o u t! ” It was so, indeed. Playing too soon at a ball to the off, North had just turned it into the hands of Mr, Harold Baynor at the wicket. Only thirty-two runs score!, and one of our mainstays gone! It was true he had made twenty-five, and had made them in real good form, “ county form ,” Atherston said afterwards; but we had been hoping for at least seventy from him. Young Davis came out, a little over­ powered by the responsibility of his position. Said Harold, who was just unbuckling the straps of his pads : “ It’s just the sort to suit you, Davis. You can score off Sweeting: he hasn’ t got on the wicket yet. But look out for your leg stump when the parson bowls. You can have my bat if you like.” Davis brightened up, and clutched the famous average bat of last year, which had already made four centuries in Harold’s hands, with glee. He looked a little chap to be going in to bat with all those stalwart Baynors in the field ; and they brought the men in for him. He gave a half-chance in the slips off the first ball he had, but the second he drove finely to the off for three; he got a lot of powder behind his strokes, though he was short. After he had hit another three and a two the fieldsmen left off crowding him. We breathed more freely when forty, fifty, sixty went up on the board. Lomas had got his eye in now, and was keeping pace with Davis. Then Sweeting, to whom the batsmen had been paying particular atten­ tion, went off ; and Mr. Edgar Baynor came on. “ Davis is done for,” said Charley, rue­ fully. “ If Mr. Baynor were the worst bowler in England he’d get out. He can’t play lobs.” It was too true. The youngster was all abroad with the very first ball, and down went bis middle wicket. 08—2—20. Lomas had now scored twenty-one. Duncombe, our Goliath of Gath, with h's six fool of height, and his great broad shoulders, strolled out to the wickets. “ Lam those lobs, D u nny!” called Smith major. “ And mind you keep ’em down,” added thst cheeky young brother of his. Duncombs nodded gaily. He took guard, ran out to the very first ball, and sent it far away over the bowler’s head for four. Tue next— of which he made a full-pitch -h e drove to the off for the same amounti The third he pulled round to leg. Five had been run when the ball reached the wicket; the bowler misfielded i t ; no one was backing up ; and three more were added before it was returned. Then Duncombe rested, gasping, leaning heavily on his bat, as some old-time warrior on his trusty spear. We cheered until we were hoarse. Four, four, ei^ht—sixteen in three hits. But we all felt that this was too good to last. Dun- combe’s only notion of defence was to play the ball for two instead of slamming it for four; he could never be content not to scoro off anything. And alas ! the very next ball finishel his career. He ran out to it, just missed it, and failed to get back before his bails were off. 84—3—16. Lomas’s score unaltered. “ If it had been Blackham behind you, you’d have run out just the same, you old duffer,” said Millward, as Duucombe came up, hot and flushed. “ I suppose so. Now then, Chawles, it’s your turn. Two hundred and twenty-two runs to get, and onlyyou and old stick-in-the-mud there left to get ’em. And I’ll back the pair of you to do i t ! ” said Dunconibe, heart'ly. Complimentary to the rest of us, was it not ? Charley blushed w i'h pleasure. Mi'lward