Cricket 1895

A u g . 8, 1895. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 329 the early days of Australian cricket passed away in the latter part of June. A contemporary at Rugby School of B. B. Cooper, with whom he was subsequently identified in the Victorian Eleven, Gr. P. Robertson also gained his blue at Oxford, where indeed he enjoyed a high reputa­ tion. Later on in 1866, he represented Victoria against New South Wales, con­ tinuing to play for it till the spring of 1872. H e was captain of the Eighteen of Victoria which so decisively defeated Mr. W . G. Grace’s Eleven in 1873, the match in which Frank Allen, “ the bowler of a century,” first made anything of a name. W ith a commanding and attrac­ tive style he was regarded as one of the most finished batsmen of his dey in Australia. A n o t h e r cricket curiosity comes to me through the medium of the Irish Field. In this particular case, It. H. Lambert, who is representing the Leinster Club on its visit to London this week, was the principal actor. The match, which, on Monday week, was for Shedalt against a team got up by Lord Louth. The latter, who turned up five short, had substitutes to complete their eleven in the field, although there were six of them to bat. The result was that Shedalt, who went in first, declared their innings when they had made 341 for two wickets. O f the 341, J. H . Walsh contributed 107, Rev. J. N. Lombard 55, and R. H. Lambert 170 not out. It was the latter’s day out in other ways as well. When Lord Louth’s side went in he clean bowled all their five wickets, and again, in the follow on, disposed of the five batsmen in the course of six balls at a cost of only two runs. He had too the rare distinction of performing the hat trick in each innings. T h e schoolmaster after all might be much oftener abroad than he is, to instruct the cricket masses in the ele­ mentary principle of the game. He would certainly have been of use at the Oval on Tuesday if only to teach the crowd, which made such an unseemly demonstration when stumps were drawn, that the question of the fitness or unfit­ ness of the wickets does not rest in any way with the contending elevens, much less with those who are responsible for the management of the ground. The um­ pires alone are responsible for the decision whether and when play is possible. To boo and howl for an hour at players and officials who have nothing to do with the case— “ nothing to do with the case ! Tra- la ! ” —may be magnificent in the way of a joke, but it is not sport. And what is more, such demonstrations under any circumstances, are not only un-English but are calculated to do serious injury to the game and all its surroundings. T h e success which has attended C. L. Townsend cannot fail to be gratifying to a large number of Cricket readers as much for the fact that he is the son of his father as for the good it has done to Gloucestershire cricket. The principle of heredity in his particular case is forcibly illustrated. As everyone who knows anything about cricket is well aware his father, Frank Townsend, was one of the best all-round players Gloucestershire had in the palmy days when the County was not only held to beat the strength of its rivals, but also, as was proved on one memorable occasion, to hold its own against England. L a s t week I had occasion to notice the fact that the old Cantab, A. M. Sutthery, who, if I remember rightly, played once or twice for Sussex during a short stay at Hastings, was keeping the ball moving over the water. The hundred he made for Na Shuler against the North of Ireland at Belfast last week was the second score of three figures credited to him during Na Shuler’s tour. The North, for whom F. B. Newett, of last year’s Rossall Eleven, was one of the principal scorers, found his bowling was anything but to their taste. At all events, ten of their wickets fell to him in the match, four in the first and six in the second innings. In the same match, G. F. H. Berkeley, scored 33 and 14 for Na Shuler without being out in either innings. T h e following epistolary gem comes to hand, and is far too good not to be given in full. Reginald’s sad case must excite the commiseration of all cricketers and I do hope that the dear boy when he gets bigger and stronger will not pine too eagerly to get his smaller opponents out lbw. I will suggest, meanwhile, to the writer of ‘*Cricket Notches ’ ’ thatno umpire whose fighting weight is less than 12 stone ten shall be allowed to give Reginald out lbw provided the lad is certain that if the ball had not hit his leg it would have hit his bat. This might tend to restrain any intimidation on the part of the bowler. Hackney, 6th August, 1895. To the Editor of Cricket. D e a r S ir , —I venture to write to you to ask you to bring before the public the hard case of my boy Reginald. He was playing in an important match to-day in Victoria Park, and was given out “ leg before wicket.” H e tells me he was not before his wicket. Reginald is a very truthful lad, and quite incapable of telling a falsehood, and you may rely upon his statement being absolutely correct. He also tells me that the bowler was bowling round the wicket. H e thinks the ball hopped several times before reaching him, which in itself shows that the bowler was up to no good, and the plain inference is that he was in collusion with the umpire, or intimidated him. Reginald thinks the latter is the case, as the umpire was only nine years of age, and rather smaller than the bowler. Surely such cases should not occur. Only competent and unbiassed umpires should be allowed. Reginald himself is a very fair umpire when it is his turn, and his ability and knowledge of the game prevent any possibility of his being mistaken. Last Wednesday he made seven runs in a single innings, and also a catch. These things speak for them­ selves. Can you suggest a remedy ? Ought anyone to be given out “ leg before w icket” ? I am told Mr. Holmes made the law. Surely he will repeal it now he learns how it is abused. A t any rate, an umpire ought to be bigger and stronger than any of the players. Yours faithfully, J. P o d d e r . E x c e l l e n t as the record of the Abbey School, Beckenham, has been this year, a correspondent very justly points out that the performance of the Sunningdale School Eleven will not compare unfavour­ ably with them. During the term Sunningdale played nineteen matches, of which they won thirteen, drawn one, and lost five. The aggregate results showed : Runs for, 3,044 for 238 wickets. Aver. 12’79 Runs against, 1,610 for 237 wickets. Aver. 6‘79 A. P. Strange, the Captain, scored 865 runs in 28 innings, which gave him an average of 30’89. His highest innings was 146, but besides this he made 100, 92, 84, 76, 75, 54, 50, 44, 41, &c. In bowling, though he took ninety-four wickets, he was not nearly the most successful trundler. The best figures w ere:— O. M. R. W .Aver. J. H. Kemp-Welch... 276'4 115 386 105 3'67 A. P. Strange ............... 310'1 106 587 94 6'24 In point of numbers, Sunningdale School is only about a third of the size of the A b b e y ; but nevertheless, the school match-list includes several of the strong teams played by the latter, viz., East Ham, Ctieam, &c. T h e majority of Cricket readers will hardly need a reminder that the proceeds of the match between Surrey and Y ork ­ shire at the Oval iu the early part of next week, are to be given to Robert Abel. Still, in case there should be anyone so ill-informed it will be as well to repeat that for some fourteen years ‘ ‘ The Guvnor ” has been one of the main supports of Surrey Cricket. Nor has this been his only recommendation. On the contrary, to his credit it may fairly be said that the cricket field has never seen a harder worker or a keener player. Cheery at all times and under any conditions, unassuming as well, good tempered to a degree, and loyal to the best interests of his side Abel has played a by no means unimportant part iu cricket, and played it in a way to deserve the respect of every­ body with whom he has been associated. T h e performances of the Old Stagers are once more delighting the visitors at Canterbury, and once again Mr. Oliver Twist, the McFingon, the McUsque- baugh, Mr. Dodson F ogg and the rest of them are to the fore. On Monday, the pro­ gramme was Tom Taylor’s “ To oblige Benson” and the well-known “ Professor,” and on Tuesday the company acted, by Mr. George Alexander’s permission, the comedy “ Liberty Hall.” These are repeated respectively to-night and to­ morrow, on the latter occasion the usual epilogue being spoken. Yesterday, there was the usual ball in the Margaret Street