Cricket 1895

“ Together joined in Cricket’ s m an ly to il.” — Byron. ofi^ad. THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1895. price ad. MR. W. T. GRABURN. There are many makers of history who to the popular eye have very little personal share in its events. Nor is it always those whose names are in the mouth of the street- corner philosopher who exercise the greatest influence upon the fortunes of the enterprises in which they are concerned. But not to adopt too didactic a lone or to lead to the enquiry what in the world all these pioverbial philosophisings have to do with a cricket interview, 1e it at once said that they are hut a sort of call-bell preceding the raising of the curtain upon an interior scene, a domestic in- ler’or too, that of the nursery of the Surrey County Cricket Club. ! f it be a delightful task to teach the young idea how to shoot, it must be a much more desirable vocation to teach the young idea how to handle the bat and the 1all, and the present holder of the post of cricket instructor to the youngsters of Surrey—the children of the Oval — most assuredly has no doubt as to the pleasurable nature of the duties which he so genially and so successfully fulfils. There are many minds in men —that is not an original remark, I fear, but the interviewer is in a position to emphasize the truth of the ancient adagemore forcibly than most people. He finds sub­ jects of all sorts. Some who have nothing to tell, some who won’t tell what they can, others who cannot tell what they would. Some who give no opportunity for even an edge­ wise enquiry in a stream of irrelevant chatter, others who give monosyllabic replies which leave one in wonderment as to the existence of the minutest in­ tellectual faculties in their com­ position. But Mr. Grabum, when I found him at the Oval the other day, proved a model interviewee, and therefore, if this interview is not interesting, the fault is not his but entirely mine, with which exordium let this veracious chronicle players, yes. I had been playing cricket for some years round London when I was offered the post.” “ And since that time you have turned out some very good men ? ” “ One very good man I can claim. The time has been so short that I cannot say that I am entitled to any credit for more than one member of the first eleven. Men like Ayres, MR. W . T. GRABURN. From a Photograph by MayaU dc Co ., Limited , Piccadilly , W. commence. “ I think, Mr. Grabum, you came to the Oval in 1892?” “ As cricket instructor to the young Surrey Street and Smith, who were here before I was, I can hardly say owed much to any training from me. But Holland, whom I look upon as one of my own pupils, is certainly one of whom I feel justified in being proud.” “ How many players have you now engaged for Surrey ? ” “ About thirty-two or thirty-three. These include, of course, the first team players, the second team men, and the youngsters under my care. Of these latter there are eleven or so outside the second eleven, and my work lies chiefly amongst them.” “ Some of these are quite young, I think. At what age do you take them ? ” “ As early as possible. We have recently adopted means by which we shall get hold of mere lads. Mr. Stein, a member of the Committee, has persuaded that body to allow the best boys in the School Board schools cricket competition to come up once a week to the Oval to be coached, and I have now amongst these lads two or three ‘ little nippers’ who show very con­ siderable promise, and whomayin process of time be regularly taken on at the Oval. They are quite small boys now—about fourteen years of age—but you would be surprised to see how keen they are on the game, and what really decent form they show.” “ You think the expense caused by taking the lads at the early age you do will be repaid to the county ?” “ Yes, certainly. For one thing you always have a reserve to draw upon. Then you have them under your eye, and can get them whenever they are good enough into the second or the first eleven. What is the use of finding a man of eight and twenty, say, who has been play­ ing well for some out-of-the-way club ? He may be useful to you for a few years—-perhaps only three or four—and then he is done with. With a lad you have trained up, you have the whole of his cricket career. He, too, is teachable. If he has faults they can be corrected. It is not so easy to get rid of cricket faults at six and twenty as at sixteen. In fact, with examples of the best batting before his eyes, with the best ground to play upon, and with competent bowling against him, a lad, if he has cricket in him, must acquire a good style.” “ But do you not think that you may be training lads who may take themselves off to other counties?” “ No, I think there will not be any leakage. The youngsters go upward in the ordinary course of events, and there are in every year