Cricket 1895

“ Together joined in C ricke t’ s m a n ly to il.” — Byron. Wo. 3 9 6 . VOL. X IV . Registered fo r Transm ission A b ro ad ; THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1895. PRICE 2d. ME . F. A. IREDALE . THE PREMIER NEW SOUTH WALES BATSMAN. Unlike C. Hill and A. E. Trott, of whom portraits have been given in recent issues of this paper, Mr. F. A. Iredale does not belong tp quite the younger section of Australian cricketers, but inasmuch as like themhe has yet to make the per­ sonal acquaintance of English cricket fields and players, he is classed with them in our antici­ pations. A ridiculous story which somehow got abroad in the winter, whilst Mr. Stoddart’s team was in Australia, however, bears witness, if to nothing else, at least to the anxiety which is and has been felt in this country to see this exponent of the art of gentle tapping busy in scoring boundaries more mo. It will be remembered that several newspapers,; both in Australia and in England, gave publicity to a rumour that Mr. Iredale had been approached by Brockwell, on behalf of the Surrey County Cricket Club, with the view of hi» qualifying by residence for their team; the thing was on the face of it absurd, but no doubt the thought was fathered by a pretty general wish. He has the reputation of being a man whose cricket is always of the attractive order, standing well upright, getting well over the ball, and driving along the carpet whenever opportunity offers, his hitting, more especially on the off side, being o f' the cleanest descrip­ tion. Such batsmen have been frequent in the elevens which have come over from the colonies to the D.O.M.C. (Anglice —-dear old mother country), and it is inspiriting to know that the supply seems likely to con­ tinue. One of the most capable critics in the Australian dependencies goes so far as to designate Mr. Iredale as next to George Giffen, the best bat now in Australia. Of course, as Homer sometimes nods, there are occasions on which he fails, and in one of these, in the first match at Sydney against Mr. Stoddart’s eleven, he was in the un­ enviable position of obtaining the lowest score, and thereby became entitled to a con­ solation prize offered by a Sydney tobacco- dealing firm, in the shape of a set of gold- mounted pipes, the inapplicability of the prize to a non-smoker being as marked as the making of the lowest score on his side to Mr. F. A. Iredale. In the batting averages in first-class cricket in Australia last season, he is surpassed only by two Englishmen and two Australians—Messrs. Stoddart and M‘Laren, MR. F. A. IRKDALE (NEW SOUTH WALES). From a Photo by Talma , 119, Swanston Street , Melbourne, and Messrs. G. Giffen and C. Hill. Ho is third in aggregate of runs with 882, as against Albert Ward’s 916 and G. Giffen’s 902, and though his average is nearly four points below Hill’s, it must be re­ membered that ho played in more than twice as many innings and scored more than twice as many runs, owing his place more to con­ sistent success than to an abnormal and phenomenal score in a single match. The New South Wales batsman has not had a great reputation for success on a bad wicket, but in the game played between the Anglo- Australian eleven and the combined team of Queensland and New South Wales he batted in capital form on a very queer pitch, twice carrying his bat, and scoring 70. His first appearance for Australia was in the first of the five test matches, so that he was judged at the outset of the season one of his countrv’s un­ doubted representatives. In tJhis match he scored 81 in the first innings, but was caught and bowled from a high return by Briggs for 5 in his second attempt. His innings of 81 was played in a. partnership of two hours and a half duration with George Giffen, and 171 runs had been made for the third wicket. He had batted with great con* fidence against the best bowlers of England, when things wfere going none too well with Aus­ tralia, had made no mistake-in his innings, and his hitting on the off side attracted great ad-„ miration and applause'. Messrs. J. Darling and .J. Reedman. also, in this game, made their first show in international matches, and all three debutants showed that they could bat. Mr. Iredale does* not bowl, but in the long field he is one of the bestandsafestplayers to be found in Australia, insomuch that it is noted by all the sporting papers as an event when he fails to take even the most off chance. As a bat, it should be. said that though a hitter he has capital defence, and it is quite a treat to see him playing bowling too good to be freely scored, from. As an example of this may be taken the match -at Melbourne on March' 1st last, between England and Australia, when with Briggs and Richard­ son bowling at their very best, he stayed with Giffen for three-quarters of an hour and played with ' the greatest grace, ease and confidence ; and though finally beaten and bowled by the Surrey crack with his score amounting, to 8 only, he had taken a worthy part in a Spellx>f all round cricket, such as is rarely witnessed. He is in his twenty-eight year, and his mm* was mentioned when the last Australian toam