Cricket 1895

J u l y 18, 1895. CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 281 T here is a gentle tapper in the far North, who according to all appearances, would do the heart of my faithful friend and pitcher, Robert Thom, real good. He plays at Newcastle-on-Tyne, where the coals come from, and is just now on the job in a way which would make such mighty men of valour as C. I. Thornton and Gr. J. Bonnor jealous. But I had forgotten his name, which is George Simpson. Last week he was busy with a big score of 154, and since then has made 106 against the Northern Nomads. There were such trifles as seven 6’s and eight 4’s among his hits. Moreover, he was credited with twenty-four runs from four consecutive balls and in the same T he excellent cricket of L. H. Gwynn for the Gentlemen last week has drawn special attention at the moment to Irish cricket. The performances of the Dublin University eleven against Cambridge too would seem to suggest that there was another of the Brothers Gwynn who might possibly have been tried, A. P., who scored 130 against Cambridge. Another member of the Dublin Univer­ sity team, A. D. Comyn, who made 54 against Cambridge, has been scoring very heavily in Ireland this year. His 142 against the Curragh Brigade last week was his third century inside a fortnight, and his (last four innings read thus:— v. Leinster, 18*7; v. Garrison, 113; v. Kildare, 34; v. Curragh, 142, or an aver­ age of just 119. He has now scored 1,203 runs in twenty-four innings, and without being assisted by a single not out, so that he has the full average of 50. I t is worthy of remark in connection with Comyn and L. H. Gwynn, that the pair made 213 for the first wicket of Dub­ lin University against the Curragh Brigade on Monday week. A R E F E R E N C E to Irish cricket reminds one that some exception has been made to the statement I made last week that L. H. Gwynn is the first instance of a player, who had made his reputations entirely or nearly on Irish grounds, representing the Gentlemen against the Players. The Irish Field goes so far as to say that it is a mistake to think L. H. Gw jnnis the first Irish cricketer who has ever been asked to represent Gentlemen of England v. Players. D. N. Trotter, it continues, the season after taking part in the North v. South match in 1877, was asked to play for the Gentlemen at Lord’s, but was unable to accept the invitation, and my informant further adds he is under the impression that W. Blacker, subsequent to playing for Gentlemen of South v. Players of South, was asked to do duty for the Gentlemen. Quite so, to every word of it. But Trotter did not play, and W. Blacker, even if he did play, made his name as a cricketer at Harrow and Cambridge. I f in the matter of players there was a huge difference between the two matches of last week between Gentlemen and Players, there was one point.of similiarity and that was in respect of the high scoring. In each case over a thousand runs were totalled, but whereas 1,156 runs were got at Lord’s, at the Oval only 1,062 were recorded in the three days. Yet of the two matches, the average of the Surrey ground was a trifle the better, for while at Lord’s the four innings were completed, at the Oval only thirty-three wickets fell. So the record which “ The Master” has held for nineteen years has had at last to go by the board. In 1888, W. W. Read got within six of W. G.’s score of 344 for M.C.C. v. Kent, at Canterbury, in August, 1876, which has remained since then the highest innings in a first- class match. W. H. Murdoch, the W. G. of Australia, too, four years after W. W., got within measurable distance ot it at Sydney (in February, 1882), with his 321 for New South Wales against Victoria. W. G.’s 318 not out for Gloucestershire against Yorkshire at Cheltenham, also in August, 1876, has also continued to be the record in a first-class county match till A. C. Maclaren sent them all to the right-about at Taunton on Monday. In any case the Lancashire captain’s 424 was such a remarkable performance, with every chance of remaining unbeaten for some time, that it will be well, perhaps, to give particulars of the six scores of four hundred and over so far recorded in any kind of cricket. 485. A . E . Stoddart, H am pstead v. Stoics, August* 1886. 424. A . C. M aclaren, Lan cash ire v. Som ersetshire, J u ly , 1895. 419. J . 8. C a rrick, W e st of Scotland, v. P rio ry P a rk, Ju ly , 1885. 415. W . N . Roe, Em m anuel L .V .C ., Cam bridge, v. Caius College L .Y .C ., J u ly , 1881. 404. E . F , S. Tylecote, C lifto n College m atch, M ay, 1868. 400. W . <}. Grace, U n ite d South Eleven, v. T w enty- tw o o f G rim sby, J u ly , 1876. The total of the Lancashire eleven in the same innings, as most Cricket readers are well aware by this time, also consti­ tutes a best on record for a first-class match. It has only, as far as I know, been three times beaten, that is in a properly authenticated way, in any kind of fixture. The three instances of higher scoring are as under:— 920. O rleans C lub v. R ic k lin g Green, 1882. 843. A u stralia n s v. Past and Present of O xfo rd and Cam bridge, 1893. 803. N on-Sm okers v. Sm okers (M elbourne), 1887. TnE Somersetshire eleven have an odd way of making history. A few years ago and they had the unenviable distinction of twice within a short period taking part in a match finished in a day, a very rare occurrence in first-class cricket. Just now they are having a very different time of it within the last .week, they have had to field out in succession, while scores of 692 and 801 were piled up. A matter of 1,193 for two consecutive outings is not one of the most agreeable of experiences, and in this weather. Eheu ! The letter signed Epsilon which appears in this issue of Cricket is the outcome of cogitations of an old Kent County and All England Eleven player of 40 years ago. As one who has seen much cricket he is satisfied that the bat has at present too great a handicap, and if cricketers in general are so convinced, no doubt it will be necessary to amend the laws of the game to the advantage of the ball. And yet what sort of scores would be made at wickets ten inches wide and 30 inches high, with some of our best bowlers in their most destructive moods p At any rate the question will bear discussion. THE POSITIONS OF COUNTIES. The following table shows the positions of the fourteen first-class counties in the championship contest so far as it has gone— i.e., to July 17 :— Surrey ........... Played. W on . Lost. D rw n . Pnts. ... 13 .. . 10 .. . 1 ... 2 ... 9 Y o rksh ire ... 15 .. . 9 .... 3 .... 3 ... 6 Lan cash ire ... ... 11 ... 8 .. . 3 ... 0 ... 5 D erbyshire ... 9 .. . 3 .. . 2 ... 4 ... 1 W a rw icksh ire ... 12 .. . 4 ... 3 ... 5 ... 1 Sussex ........... ... 9 .. . 3 .. . 3 ... 3 ... 0 M iddlesex ... 10 .. . 3 .. . 4 ... 3 ... — 1 Essex ........... ... 10 ... 4 ... 5 ... 1 ... — 1 G loucestershire ... 7 ... 3 .. . 4 ... 0 ... — 1 H am pshire ... ... 7 .. . 2 ... 4 ... 1 ... — 2 Leicestershire ... 10 .. . 3 ... 6 ... 1 ... — 3 N otts ........... ... 10 ... 2 ... 5 ... 3 ... — 3 K e n t................... ... 8 .... 1 .. . 5 ... 2 . .. — 4 Som erset........... ... 9 .. . 1 .. . 6 ... 2 ... — 5 Losses are deducted from w ins and draw n ignored. games BALL v, BAT. To the Editor of “ Cricket" Sir,—-There seems something like a general consensus among cricketers, past and present, that something requires to he done to give the ball a better chance versus the bat! What is this to be ? For my own part, I should propose that Law 24 should be altered as follows :— L a w 24. O r, if w ith any part of his person he stops the b all, w hich, in the opinion o f the um pire at the bow ler’s w icket, shall have been pitched in a straig ht lin e from it to the strik e r’s w icket, and w ould have h itit.— “ Leg before w icket.” L aw 24 ( altered ). O r if , being himself in a straight line between the tw o w ickets, w ith any part of his person he stops the ball, w hich, in the opinion of the um pire at the bow ler’s w icket, w ould have h it the w icket.— “ L eg before w icket.” It need only be observed that such an alteration gives to the umpire no further dis­ cretion than he had before, and it may be even less difficult for him to determine the position of the batsman, than the pitch of the ball in the direct line between the wickets. A further assistance to the bowler, if necessary, might be found by an alteration of Law 6. “ Each wickets shall be eight inches in width, and twenty-seven inches out of the ground,” to ten inches, or thirty inches, respectively. If nothing is done, it will be impossible to finish county and other great matches with single scores, from Mr. McLaren of 424 and W.G.’ s double centuries downward.—I am, sir, yours, EPSILON. “ C ricket, the Song o f the Centuries.” B y J . H arcou rt Sm ith, and dedicated to W . G . Grace. This song is appropriate to the present Grace fever, and w ill probably be fou n d acceptable to m any follow ers o f the game. The composer intends, we believe, to devote a po rtion o f the proceeds of the sale to the augm enting of the Testim onial Fund, so that purchasers w ill be getting value for their m oney and at the same tim e help ing a good cause. The song, w hich is published by H ow ard & Co., of G reat M arlb oro’ Street, costs 2/- net, and m ay be sung an y­ where provided the natives and the police don’t object.