Cricket 1895

M arch 28, 1895. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE CAME. 41 S o m e months ago I hinted that the old Incog J. S. Udal, who has been for some time past Attorney General of the Fiji Islands, was sighing for new worlds to conquer in the way of cricket. The New Zealand papers to hand by the last mail contain particulars of several matches in which the Fiji team have taken part in that Colony. Several of Mr. Udal’s Fijians are real live natives. One of them, too, with the euphonious name of Nai- lovolovo seems to be above the average as a batsman. I am afraid some of our English scorers would get a bit mixed if they had to record the doings of bowlers like Kadavu Levu and Tui Yanna. The success of Mr. Udal’s new departure, in cricket touring, should be interesting. I f the statement in the Melbourne papers are correct, as they are pretty sure to be, there is little chance of A. E. Trott coming over to settle in England as it was reported some weeks ago was not unlikely. According to the Austra­ lasian, A. E. has entered into an agree­ ment, duly drawn up in legal form, with the East Melbourne Cricket Club, to date from the close of the present Australian season. To make perhaps assurance doubly sure, the younger Trott will be in the service of the East Melbourne Club not only during the cricket but also during the football season. The same paper states too, that his father and mother both wish their son to remain in Australia. C. E a d y ’ s double century for Tasmania against Victoria not only entitle him to the distinction of a feat as yet unrecorded to an Australian cricketer, but places him on a line with the only three batsmen, W. G. Grace, A. E. Stoddart, A. G. Brann, who have so far made a hundred in each innings in a first-class .match. Eady’s performance was of the greater merit from the fact that while he made 116 in the first he was not out in the second innings having scored 112 out of 250 for three wickets. His brilliant achievement it need hardly be added has given great satisfac­ tion to Tasmanian cricketers. The Tasmanian Mail in commenting on the feat adds that it is intended to send Eady’s photograph with an account of his per­ formances generally to Cricket for pub­ lication. The Tasmanian cricketers “ do us proud.” T h e following story of Jim Phillips, theMiddlesex cricketer, in his capacity as Australian umpire, may possibly be a chestnut after all. Still, even if it is, there will be a large number of Cricket readers to whom it will be new. When Spofforth was at his zenith as a bowler he liked to get as far over the crease as possible, and if no-balled used to set a little trap for umpires, in which several of them, to their own mortification, were caught. After being no-balled once he would step at least mches over the mark and go through all the motions of bowling without letting the ball leave his hand. And the Demon’ s laugh n v the umpire yelled “ No ball” without the ball having been bowled at all was as mocking as that of Mephistopheles. In ' ydney he once tried the trick on Phillips, who happened to be watching for it. He went over as usual, swung his arm, but didn’t let go, and then, in excuse for this extra­ ordinary pantomime, said to the umpire, “ My foot slipped, Jim.” Next ball was bowled from well behind the crease, hut to the astonishment of the howler Phillips shouted “ No ball.” “ W h y !” said the astonished bowler, “ what do you mean - I howled a foot behind the crease.” “ Yes, I knowyou did,” Phillips added calmly, “ but my tongue slipped, Spofi.” A SUCCESSFUL cricketer is never in want of admiring friends, even if their support is at the best of a rather fickle character. Albert Trott’s great per­ formance in his first match against Stod­ dart’s team, brought him the penalty of notoriety, and with it a rather mixed assortment of public favours. Amongst the presents he received from various sources were four pipes, three hats, orders for three suits of clothes, a box of cigars, and a bat. A Sydney firm offered a set of gold mounted pipes as a consolation prize for the lowest scorer on the Aus­ tralian side, and of course Frank Iredale, who won it, is not a smoker. This reminds me of a similar incident in which a well-known English Secretary was the recipient. In his case the presentation was a silver cigar case, and by the same token he was a non-smoker. M c K ib b in , of New South Wales, who was introduced into the Australian team for the last test match on the strength of his effective bowling in the Inter­ colonial matches against Victoria and Queensland, it will interest English cricketers to know, is a right-handed bowler with an easy delivery, and a fast once breakback. P. W. McLeod, who was with the last Australian team in England, has, it is said, a high opinion of McKibbin’s capabilities as a bowler. T h o u g h best known, of course, as a bowler, Hugh Trumble showed more than once while he was in England with the last Australian team that he could make runs and make them quickly too. One of his performances in particular occurs to me that at Portsmouth in the huge innings of 843, against Oxford and Cambridge Past and Present. Just be­ fore the departure of the last mail from Australia he had been piling up the runs for the Melbourne Club. Melbourne’s score on February 9th against Hawthorn was 533 for seven wickets. Of these Trumble made 252 and Houston 148. G e o s g e L o h m a n n , who is according to all accounts returning to England dur­ ing the course of next month with a view to take his place in the Surrey eleven, came down to Cape Town to assist the Cape Town Club against the Western Province in the Inter-Club Championship match on the 2nd of this month. Neither Lohmann nor Mills, also of Surrey, did much with the ball on the first day of the match at all events. The latter, however, made amends by his batting, as with C. Prince he put on 84 for the first wicket of Cape Town. I t is not long since I had the occasion to refer with sincere regret, to the death of one member of the Colman brother­ hood, who used to play as an eleven, and with success, against some of the best clubs in Norfolk. Henry Colman, whose death was reported in the Eastern Evening News of the 15th inst., was the last survivor, so that the entire eleven have now passed away. The record of the brotherhood was so unique that I have thought it worth while, as a matter of cricket history, to reproduce the accounts of their matches in another place. T h e triumphal reception Lord Harris met with at Faversham on the 9th inst. on his return home from India, was an eloquent tribute to the public appreciation of the good work he has done, not only locally and for Kent cricket, but of the dignity and capacity with which he filled the high office he has just vacated as Governor of Bombay. Lord Harris, who is staying at Brighton, had been paying a visit to Mr. Hawkins, the well- known cricket photographer, just before I called there the other day. He will, I am sure, be amused to read'the follow­ ing paragraph, which appeared in the Chicago Tribune of January 23rd. “ Lord Sanhurst, just appointed to the Governorship of Bombay, is one of the greatest living experts at the game of cricket and owes his prominence to his connection with that game.” The correspondent of the Chicago Tribune hasjgot just a bit mixed. Anyhow Lord Sandhurst will no doubt be con­ cerned to find from a paper published four thousand miles from London that “ cricket claims him as her own.” A m e r ic a of late years has been one of the happiest of hunting grounds for the English amateurs. The hospitality of American cricketers, indeed, is so pro­ verbial that one year there was actually a possibility of three touring parties from England at the same time. Already news is to hand of another visit of English amateurs for next fall. This time, Mr. Kenneth McAlpine, of Maid­ stone, who went to America with Lord Hawke in 1891 and 1894, is to have charge of the team. The invitation has come from the Germantown Club, of Philadel­ phia. Mr. T. Westray, the old Upping­ ham cricketer, too, if rumour be true, is to personally conduct a team of English Amateurs to Portugal presently. “ J * f T h e death of Captain Oates, for many years the Hon. Sec. of the Notts. County C.C., will have caused genuine sorrow to a large number of Cricket readers outside the immediate limit of the shire with which he was so prominently identified in so many ways. An old Harrovian him­ self, his interest in cricket descended to his son, like himself a soldier, by the way, who did good service in the Harrow Eleven some years ago. Had not the