Cricket 1895

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1895. f b i c e aa. theless, the writer managed to have a most interesting little chat with the popular Surreyite, and the gist of it may not prove without interest to readers of Cricket . “ Yea, I had a very good time in the Cape altogether, ’ ’ said the Surrey favourite. * ‘ The hospitality I met with was overpowering. I should certainly advocate a visit to South Africa for anybody broken down in health. The climate is magnificent. It is different the heat over there from that experienced in England, drier and more bracing ; I refer to Matj esfontaine, of course, where I stayed nearly all the time. English heat reminds me more of Cape Town.” month or two at his favourite little borough town of Andover, and upon arrival at Southampton he at once made his way thither for another rest. The two doctors, with whom Lohmann is residing by the way, gave him a box of medicine to take with him, and the first question asked him upon return was as to whether he had used it. “ Oh, yes, ” replied George, innocently. “ I haven’t a bottle left: Gave them all away ! ” Lohmann is not a good subject for an interview. Hismodesty is all very well in its way, but it places the would be interviewer at a not inconsiderable disadvantage. Never- “ It must have been a great blow to you to have to give up your connection with Surrey when everything was going so swimmingly ? ” “ Oh, yes. My heart was always with Surrey, and the promptitude with which we used to get English news only made me feel the more miserable. You would be surprised at the intensity of interest displayed in the doings of the English cricketers. The crack players are discussed so easily that once or twice I really fancied myself in London again. Their own cricket is by no means to be despised. Naturally they cannot hope to compete with our counties yet, but they have plenty of very fine batsmen, and their bowlers are improving. The bowlers are rather at a disadvantage, seeing that all wickets are pitched on matting laid over grass, but on the other hand the ball travels at a tre­ mendous pace, and the slightest tap sends it to the boundary. It is just the kind of thing you meet with up- country in Australia, where English teams, unused to its peculiarities, get out |for a score of about 75. The diffeience in Australia, though, is seen on the big grounds. Sydney, for instance, is the very finest cricket ground I have ever played on, both for general appointment and turf. It is like the Hove ground on a larger scale.” “ Mention of Hove reminds me— you must have been surprised at the tremendous number of runs being scored this season ? ’ ’ “ I was surprised, and I can’t make out the reason. It cannot be altogether due to the fine weather, for, if you remember, 1887 was just such a season as this meteorologically, and the run- getting was not nearly so abnormal. One circumstance delighted me, as much in itself as because I always expected it. This was the promotion of the old so-called second-class counties. For the life of me I could never see why they should be considered second-class. I am sure they used to give Surrey as hard fights as did one or two of their seniors. There is no doubt the ex­ tension of the Championship competitors ib mainlyresponsible for the immense enthusiasm cricket is arousing.” “ And yourself ?—I presume you have returned like the lion refreshed ?” “ I am feeling decidedly fit and well,” returned Lohmann, “ but as to my cricket, I really cannot tell how I shall get on. Out there I played pretty frequently, and some­ times managed to take wickets and make THE RETURN OF LOHMANN. It has always been a moot point whether “ absence makes the heart grow fonder” or whether “ out of sight ” necessarily implies “ out of mind.” The world moves very quickly in the present century, and the cricketer’s world as fast as any. •Here and there you will see a cricketer dart out of the sky of obscurity like a shooting star, only to fade away into mediocrity and be forgotten. There is only one player of our grand old national game, however, whose name ever possessed a charm for those who took an interest in his doings. Reference is of course made to “ Our George” Lohmann, of Surrey—I say “ of course,” because when Lohmann was at his best (and when he wasn’t he was as good as many another who was) he had as many admirers anxious to dub him Champion as had the one and only Doctor himself. What the people like, and what they will always like, is good, plucky batting—and be quick about it. Lohmann’s dashing style more than met the demand. What the people—or at any rate the partisans of Surrey—wanted was : “ Get the others out—and don’t let themmake too many runs.* ’ Lohmann now and again scattered the wickets far and wide, and generally managed to come out with an aristocratic analysis. What the people wanted was brilliant fielding. Lohmann’s “ snaps” at slip were sometimes in­ credible. He missed a catch or two, naturally—he would not have been a human cricketer if he had not—but the extraordinary distortions he would go to in order to “ get there,” at once shewed the enthusiasm of the man in his work. Lohmann started playing for Surrey in 1884, and having made a great name for himself after a brilliant career extending over nine years, was suddenly laid low by an illness which necessitated his residence in the drier climate of South Africa. He was never forgotten. "When Surrey lost the Championship the wiseacres nodded sapiently and breathed the sigh: “ If we had had Lohmann!” When Surrey floated up again like a solid cork, the cry was : “ And without Lohmann, too ! ” In this way the public appetite was whetted for the return of the wanderer. George Lohmann is just come back from the Cape a healthy,.ruddy, stalwart-made man. Before going-away he had stayed a