Cricket 1895

M ay 16, 1895. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 139 THE NESTOR OF GROUNDSMEN. INTERVIEW WITH MR. TOM HEARNE. My melancholy foreboding is, that these interviews are fated to be of the snapshot order. The search for old Tom Heame, as he was affectionately styled by one and all at Lord’s cricket ground, promised to rival the proverbial seeking for a ‘ 4needle in a bundle of hay,” and, indeed, my man when found proved of the bright, sharp, and thorough­ going character associated with that article. Mr. Heame’s is a striking personality, upright when nearly approaching the tradi­ tional limit of life as half a century since, as keen apparently to take every halfpenny’s change out of life as the youngest amongst us. After wandering through pavilion and stands in vain quest, a small boy thought Mr. Heame would be found at the practice nets, and surely enough there he was, bowling as energetically as a last season’s colt. My modest missive asking for a few minutes interview created some interest in the net at which Mr. Hearne was engaged, and I am afraid that a verb in the imperative mood was employed with reference to the unlucky inter­ viewer. However, in a few minutes the old man came across the sward, and with brief apologies somematerial was asked for a notice in Cricket. “ W ell! ” said Mr. Hearne, “ I don’t want to be advertised for I’ve been here a long time, and I hope in the little time that’s left to me that I shan’t want another place. There’s lots of people that have advertised me and put me in papers and photographed me and what not, but I keep going on in the same old way, and though I ’m friendly with everyone, I don’t care a (well, you may supply the blank) for any one.” “ But lots of people will care to know about you?” “ Not they, I ’m an old man now, and my work is most done. If I were a young fellow now like my nephew I ’d be only too glad to talk to you and to be advertised.” Mildly drawing the old gentleman, whose independence never lapsed into the slightest incivility, from the idea that it was designed to advertise him, I suggested that he must have plenty of memories connected with cricket, but here also took but little for my pains. “ To tell you the truth, when I come to think about bygone times, the reminiscences, as you call ’em, get so mixed and muddled up in my old brains that I can’t clearly call ’em to mind at all. But Thoms—you know old Bob Thoms—well, he writes about cricket, and he has put lots of things about me down in books, and stories of the old days. You know I never was much of a cricketer, not to say a player, but I have seen lots of curious things in my time, and Bob Thoms, he has put it all down in his books.” ‘ ‘ But you often talk about the men of old times, andthe incidents of noted games.” “ Well, yes ; but I don’t seemto remember them so clear as some folks. Sometimes an old cricket chum and I will stand umpires, and he’ll say to me, ‘ Don’t you remember, Tom, so-and-so ?’ and I’ll say that many things have gone by since then, and I haven’t any call to remember. Here I am, and here I’ve been for forty years or so, and here I shall finish up my days.” Mr. Heame looked so fit and well that it did not seem a vain compliment to wish him another forty years spell at headquarters, but the veteran shook his head and returned to his other topic. “ Ah, if I were my young nephew now ! ” But here a young fellow in a bright blazer came along, and Mr. Heame hailed his approach with evident relief. “ I’m afraid you’ll have to let me go. There’s a young prince just come on to the ground, and I’ll have to go and wait on him. I ’m not much of a man for newspapers, and whatever you do, don’t you advertise me,” and with these parting words, the chief of the staff at Lord’s hurried off to his much more congenial sphere, no doubt wishing his interviewer a speedy quittance. Glancing back as I left the practice ground, the old man’ s weather-beaten face, with its circle of grizzled hair, beamed as he welcomed his princely pupil, and the last view of the veteran showed him, as may he be seen for many years to come—left bowling. But Mr. Hearne’s modest opinion of his cricket capabilities is by no means borne out by the facts of his history. Born at Chalfont St. Peter’s, in Buckinghamshire, sixty-nine years ago, he was not early in life associated with a metropolitan county, and, indeed, he was thirty-six years of age before he attained the summit of a professional cricketer’s am­ bition, and represented the Players. He is 5 feet 10J inches in height, and his weight used to be 11^ stone, I should think rather less now. A fine batsman with sound defence and able to hit to any part of the field, especially strong in driving and leg-hitting, he was one of the last players to play the draw stroke with the certainty and effect of the old school of cricketers, a stroke more suited to the less breaking old style of bowling than to the present*day curly sort. Hearne played with considerable success for M.C.C. and Middlesex, and was always to be relied upon to get his runs quickly. In 1866, in his fortieth year, he played for Players v. Gentle­ men, and scored 16 and 122 not out in his best style, his draws repeatedly coming off. This was the last match won by the Players until the year 1874. He was a straight and good-length bowler, something over medium pace, but not decidedly fast, and was a capital fieldsman, usually filling one of the in-field positions. He has been head bowler at Lord’s since 1872, in which year he suc­ ceeded Grundy. M.C.C. AND GROUND v. SUSSEX. The first appearance of K. S. Ranjitsinhji for Sussex was something more than a suc­ cess, it was a triumph. Probably no debu­ tant in county cricket has ever achieved an equal performance. A score of 227 for once out, with a hand in the capture of eight wickets, including the W. G. Grace wicket in each innings is indeed a marvellous record. It was through Ranjitsinhji that Sussex was able to make a good show in a high scoring match, and an unexpected stand for the last wicket by Collins and Butt almost snatched the game out of the fire. The club had a very good eleven, and W. G. Grace scored his ninety-ninth (oris it his hundredth?) century. Storer eclipsed his previous batting displays by putting on 147 in the two innings, the best score on his side, and as will be seen from the detailed score below 1227 runs were regis­ tered in the match. The most interesting section of the play was on Saturday, when Sussex wanting 396 to win, with Bean’ s wicket down, continued their second innings. At first things went badly, and two more wickets fell with the addition of 38 runs. The Indian cricketer then began his fine display, but not till the arrival of Braun no prolonged stand was made, who helped to put on 84 for the sixth wicket in 85 minutes. Of 208 made during his stay, Ranjitsinhji was responsible for 150. When he was out at 245, the county seemed to have lost its last chance, and though Heasman hit well and put on 43 in an hour, nine wickets were down for 289. The final effort of Mr. A. Collins, who was tried chiefly as a bowler, and Butt, was a most determined attempt to win the game, and for an hour- and-a-quarter they defied the M.C.C. bowlers and actually added 96 runs before Collins was eventually bowled by Martin. Sussex were thus only beaten by 19 runs. A very credit­ able performance. Score and analysis:— M.C.C. Eirst Innings. Mr. W . G. Grace, c Ranjit­ sinhji, b Butcher ... 13 M r. C. W . W right, c and b Collins...................................24 Flowers, c Butt, b Collins 12 A . Hearne, b Butcher...........20 Storer, run out ...................82 Mr. C. Heseltine, c New­ ham. b Brann ......................74 Mr. Neville Leese, b Butcher S6 Mr. A . Knowles, b Collins 16 Mr. A . N. Hornby, not out 2 Martin, b Collins ................... 0 J. T. Heame, b Collins B 7 ,1-b 5 ................... Second Innings. c Brann,b Ranjit­ sinhji .......... 103 runout ... .. 53 b Ranjitsinhji ... 25 b Ranjitsinhji ... 0 b Ranjitsinhji ... 65- c Heasman, b Ranjitsinhji ... 5 b J. Bean .......... 17 st Butt, b Ranjit­ sinhji ........... 4 c Butt, b Butcher 25 c Ranjitsinhji, b J. Bean ...........20 not out.................. 0 B 11.1-b 2 ... 13 Total ..........................293 Total S ussex . ...S8> First Innings. Second Innings. G. Bean, c Heseltine, b J. T. Heame.................................. 7 b J. T. Hearne ... 0 Marlow, b Martin ........... 26 b Martin ............ 28 Mr. W . L. Murdoch, c Knowles, b A . Heame ... 31 b J. T. Heame .. . 9- Mr. W . Newham, lbw, b M artin................................. 22 c Grace, b Martin 5 Mr. K . S. Ranjitsinhji, not out......................................... 77 b Grace .......... 150 Mr. W . G. Heasman, c J. T. Heame, b F low ers........... 1 st Storer, b Hesel­ tine .................. , 43 G. Brann. b Martin ........... 48 b Martin ......... . 28 J. Bean, b J. T. Hearne ... 5 lbw, b Grace . 0 Butcher, run o u t ................... 1 lbw, b Martin .. . 6 Mr. A . Collins,b J. T. Heame 0 b Martin .......... . 47 Butt, c Storer, b Martin ... 0 not out................. . 64 B 1 .................................. 1 Lb 5 ... . 5 Total ...........................219 Total ...........,385 BOW LING ANALYSIS. M.C.C. First Innings. Second Innings. O. M . R .W . O. M. R. W . Collins........... ... 30*4 10 61 5 .... 19 2 67 0 Butcher ... 42 15 107 3 ... 34 8 76 1 J. Bean........... 3 0 22 0 ... 93 4 16 2 G. Bean 9 0 40 0 ... 5 0 20 0 B ra n n ........... ... 12 2 33 1 . 5 2 10 0 Ranjitsinhji 6 1 18 0 .... 32 8 109 6 Marlow .,.. 3 1 8 0 Heasman 2 0 11 0 S ussex . First Innings. Second Innings. O. M. R .W . O. M. R. W . Martin ... 39 3 9 88 4 .,..56 1 20 123 5 J. T. Heame ... 43 23 64 3 ... 35 12 91 2 A. Hearne .... .. 10 2 29 1 ... 14 5 41 0 Flowers , ... 2 0 7 1 . .. 7 0 31 0 Heseltine ... 4 0 30 0 .,.. 18 3 52 1 Grace .. 13 2 42 2 The Cricket Calendar for 1895 is now to hand, this being the 27th year of publication. It contains a diary showing the important engagements day by day, with space for notes, fromMay 4th to September 14th, note- lets for 1894, the laws of the game, and space for memoranda and for personal records during the season, together with other useful information, and portraits of W. Brockwell and W. G. Grace. It is of convenient size for the pocket, and will be useful to all classes of cricketers