Cricket 1895

O c t. 3 1 , 1 8 9 5 . CR ICKET A W EEK LY RECORD OF THE GAME. 4 4 3 A SAMOAN CRICKET MATCH. F rom the Pall Mall Gazette, O ctober 18th. The spread o f civilization in the Pacific is as surprising as it is rapid. Tram -cars, electric light, and telephones— laid on even to the very ships in the harbour— have penetrated to H on olulu. A t Tahiti football “ caught o n ” so am azingly that it had to be suppressed b y la w ; and in Apia, as I write, there seems to be a general fear that cricket matches m ay be a casus belli at any m om ent betw een the rival factions in the island. It is a hope­ ful sign fo r the E nglish race and the ultimate realization o f that fixed belief which exists in the hearts o f all true B ritons— that fo r them and their race is reserved the future control of the Pacific Ocean, and the universal dom inion of the A n g lo-S a xon race— that in this remote island so national a gam e as cricket should have such an immense hold on the native population. F or the Samoans are above everything a “ sp ortin g ” lot. T hey are lazy to the last degree, and are utterly averse to any regular w ork, which for the rest is not necessary to them , as they are absolute comm unists; yet any gam e exercises over them a fascination which seems quite overpow ering. On any fine evening here at the m ission o f the L ondon Society you m ay see tennis bein g played, while all round stand the Samoans, ad­ m iring, applauding, forgetfu l o f their business, if they ever have any, which seems doubtful, and absorbed in the con ­ templation o f the gam e. I t was our good fortune to be the spectators o f the “ tail end ” o f a cricket m atch betw een tw o rival villages. W e unfortunately missed m ost o f the actual play, which, h ow ­ ever, was n ot remarkable fo r any new or surprising innovations on the arts of bow lin g, batting, or fielding, save that each side numbered forty-six ! The striker does n ot run out his runs him self, but has tw o satellites w h o run alternately for h im ; they stand beside either batsman, and when the bow ler and um pire are there as w ell make rather a block. The Samoans are excellent fielders : they take hard and high catches w ell. I practised m yself w ith some o f them once for a couple o f hours w ith w ild oranges for balls, and they rarely missed h old in g any catch that was possible. They b >wl alter­ nately under ham i (nearly all fu ll pitches) or over i.itmi, fast, erratic, aud bumpy. W icket-keeping is still in its infancy, but that does not matter when there is a line o f fou r or five people to stop the ball behind the wicket. B E A T E N B Y T H IR T E E N W IC K E T S . W e were eye-witnesses o f the m ost curious ceremonial w hich follow ed the defeat of the visiting team. The hom e side had scored 246 for the loss o f only thirty-three w ickets— as the match only lasted tw o days, w ith prolon ged intervals for refreshments, there could not be tw o com plete innings— while the visitors had lost all their fo rty -six fo r 245. The usual E nglish ball is used, but only tw o sticks about a foot apart for wickets, w ith no bails, and the Samoans have discarded the E nglish-m ade bats for some o f then- ow n m anufacture, w ith which they make b ig if rather w ild hits. The pitch was a patch of ground which must at one time have been grassy, ly in g in the m iddle of the v illa g e ; hence any lon g or deep field was an im possibility and the humorous position o f the fo rty -six fielders can be m ore easily im agined than described. The huts all around were crow ded with p e o p le ; men, w om en, children, and in ­ numerable dogs all join ed their voices to the clapping o f hands, beating o f drums, b low in g o f bugles, playing o f concertinas and “ m outh organs,” et hoc genus omne strepitus, w hich the Samoan “ juventus ” raised much after the manner o f the O xford partisans in the “ eights w e e k ” as they run alon g the tow path from Iffley to the Barges. H ow ever, this match having been finished, the vanquished team, accompanied b y all their fellow villagers, o f all ages and sizes, w ho had com e to see their play, sat d ow n in a ring in the m idst o f the village, w ith a m ournful air, which was on ly natural, as the consequences involved b y defeat are serious in this country. F o r the losers forfeit to the winners all their im ple­ ments o f cricket, bats, balls, & c., w ithout reserve, and are, m oreover, at the disposal o f the victors until such tim e as their pleasure, prom ulgated b y means o f their “ talking man ” appointed b y the plebi­ scite o f his ow n village, shall be signified to their late opponents, that the show is “ um a,” or over. H ow ever, to begin at the beginning, the chief o f the victorious village, a m ost striking and stately figure, purely H om eric as he stood in the brilliant sun, girt w ith a deep blue loin ­ cloth, and leaning on a staff (w ithout which no speech can be m ade in Samoa) in the attitude w hich w e all k n ow so w ell from Greek urns, spoke som ething to the follow in g effect: “ F riends,— Y o u have com e to meet us in a friendly contest, and ou have been beaten. Y e t there has een n o ill-w ill chanced to happen, nor any damage to life or lim b, either from bat or ball, for which I return thanks to G od. I am pleased to see this, fo r it is a m atter to be thankful for that the gam e has passed off w ithout any fighting. I am glad that m y people have w on, and I am glad that you have taken you r defeat in kind part.” I wish I could reproduce even faintly the impression this heroic- looking figure has left u pon m y mind. The setting of the picture was splendid : at the feet o f the speaker sat a crow d of Samoans clothed with their b r ig h t 1 ‘ lava- lava,” or loin -cloth alone, like bronze statues; their heads were decorated with flowers o f the beautiful scarlet hibiscus, w hich made a splendid harm ony with their brow n skins and hair. A round grew beautiful trees, palms, and bananas ; the the prim itive huts m ight have stood for the tents o f the fair-haired Achaians, and the above scene was so utterly H om eric that I could not help thinking o f the splendid passage when P riam inquires of H elen w ho Odysseus is, and old Antenor b y his side breaks out in to garrulous reminiscences o f Odysseus and Menelaus, when they came on an embassy about H elen to T roy. F or, ended the speaker— Earth hath not seen their compeers in her day, Their arms have lost not nor shall lose their s w a y . Y e t his w ords were so cou rtly and d ign i­ fied and his presence so stately that every sound was hushed and the slightest noise am ong the spectators was visited by angry looks and m otions to be still. This H om eric passage m ay seem fa r­ fetched, but there was n ot one o f us present w ho did not feel its force and appropriateness. H e sp o k e ; and from the camp o f the defeated there arose another chief, his superior in stature as in fluency, w ho said, bu t w ith m ore gesture and less d ig n ity : “ W e have been beaten, and, like you r chief, I am glad that the contest passed off w ithout strife or hard w ords. Y e t this defeat w e cannot bu t a cce p t; w e k n ow and believe that we are as g oo d m en as you, and it m ay be that when we m eet again the verdict w ill be other than it now is. W hen y o u com e to visit us at our hom es, I trust that w e shall be able to give y o u as sound a defeat as y ou have ju st given us.” . This m an exactly fulfilled A ntenor’s contrast betw een Ulysses and Menelaus. H is w ords cam e freely and w ell, and he was evidently a fluent and practised speaker; he was you n ger and taller and had n o beard, and fo r a Sam oan was fair, while m y Odysseus was dark and bearded, and evidently a man o f w eigh t and in­ fluence. Then there arose another on the w inning side, an old m an, w ith white hair and beard, and clothed in a sort o f w hite toga, w hich becam e him very much. H e evidently did not like the tone o f the last speaker’s remarks, and said “ that w hile he too rejoiced at the happy con ­ cord which had obtained, both during the matoh and n ow that it was over, yet for his part he th ou gh t that it was in vain that the m en o f the defeated village talked o f beatin g his w ell-p roved clans­ men again, fo r surely they were best players, not on ly in the neighbourhood, but, indeed, he th ou gh t in all Samoa. L o o k ,” and he pointed triumphantly above his head at a bligh ted tree where w aved in the nascent evening laud breeze three w inning flags, “ at the flags above m y head. Three there are. E ach one means another victory as cheaply bou ght b y m y m en as this. In vain you speak o f m eeting us again. W e w ill play no m ore w ith you , but rather w ill I send m y men round all the villages o f U polu, where they m ay gain fresh victories and fresh flags. B u t now , seeing that the d ay is spent and that m y men w ill cer­ tainly require some o f y o u to make m erry fo r them , let m y maidens b rin g y ou re­ freshments, that you faint n o t; for I k n ow you have no food here, and y ou are far from you r hom es.” So this village N estor sat dow n, and suddenly there em erged from the huts a procession o f girls, fresh garlanded and sin gin g a re­ frain, while they bore baskets and in their hands broad banana leaves loaded w ith all the food they could get. This feasting is a tru ly H om eric feature in these local g am es; the visitors are regaled on their arrival at a feast to w hich each head of a fam ily of the hom e village supplies his quota, w hich must bear hard upon them , fo r they have n ot m ore than enough for their ow n wants. These presents o f fo o d are de rigueur in Samoa.