Cricket 1896

A pril 30, 1896. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 105 A t the annual general meeting of the Gloucestershire C.C.C., the chairman was able to point out that the finances were in an encouraging state, and that the success of the county team last year brought about a large increase in the attendance. In fact, about £600 more was taken at the gates than in any pre­ vious year. It is intended to again give luncheon to visiting teams, a practice which it was found necessary to discon­ tinue 'last season. The County Ground Company has granted a 21 years’ renewal of the lease, and has lowered the rent by £20 per annum. Y o r k s h ir e and Nottinghamshare have already selected their teams for the early matches. The Yorkshire eleven will be selected from Lord Hawke, P. S. Jackson, P. W. Milligan, Brown, Hirst, Hunter, Denton, Peel, Moorhouse, Tunnicliffe, Wainwright, and Mounsey. The Notts team against M.C.C. on May 4th and 5th is as follows :—J. A. Dixon, C. W. Wright, A. O. Jones, Shrewsbury, Gunn, Flowers, Attewell, Pike, Hardstaff, Armstrong, and Wass. W hile practising at the nets at Cam­ bridge, K. 8. Eanjitsinhji played a ball into his face, but escaped with loosen­ ing some of his teeth. S c e n e . A smoking room. Conversa­ tion about cricket. During a pause, a small voice from a manwho has frequently tried to get a word in, is heard— *•How are the M.C.C. going to do this year ? Are they in good form yet ? ” Mr. G. L a c y replies to “ Between the Innings ” as follows :— D ear S ir , —I haveno intention of quarrell­ ing with you, quite the contrary. I am very glad to see that Cricket can take the initiative in matters statistic, instead of relying on casual “ Amateurs. ” But had X known you were a logic-chopper, I should have been more precise in my remarks; your logic- chopper is always a dangerous creature— especially to himself. It is a great many years since I read logic, and I have forgotten most of the jargon of the cult; but I remember enough tobeabletopoint out that your reductio ad abmrdum cannot arise out of my premiss, and is a non sequitur, and that it also consti­ tutes a petitio principii. It does not follow that because a first-class county plays a match with another county, the latter also becomes a first-class county for other purposes than the match in question. Not at all. If a Dutchman comes to reside in England, he does not thereby become an Englishman; and if he subsequently goes to France, he goes as a Dutchman, not as an Englishman. The becoming of an Englishman is another, and quite different, affair; and the becoming of a first-class county is another, and quite different, affair. True, this is only an analogy, which is always a red rag to your bull of a logician, but it is good enough for cricket. How this other question is to be settled is the crux of tho matter, but you beg the question in assuming that it settles itself in the severely arbitrary way you indicate. To myself it appears that the only satisfactory way is by general consensus of opinion, and that this general consensus is attained by tho annual meeting of the county secretaries. To accept as final the dicta of one or two irresponsible journalists, who are condescend­ ing enough to pat a county on the head (how’s that?) one year, and politely damn it the next, is the ne plus ultra of absurdity. I was a journalist for many years myself, and, therefore, cannot be accused of writing with­ out knowledge of the way of j ournalism; but if you are inquisitive as to my views on the subject, you will find them at length in the chapter “ Liberty of the Press,” in my “ Liberty and Law” (Sonnensehein, 1886). A county once first-class, is alwaysfirst-class, and all its engagements de facto first-class, until the only fit authority removes it from the list. Before the annual m”etings were inaugurated, the engagements made by the county committees answered the same purpose, and for my own part, I shall never accept any other authority. Both logic and common sense—not always convertible terms —support me in this conclusion. It rests with any county to constitute itself first-class, i.e., by arranging a first-class programme ; if the other counties decline to meet it, why, you have your verdict pat. As for the proviso that it shall play a certain number of matches, I look uponit as childish. Anyway, it cannot prevent the matches the county does arrange being first-class, any more than you can prevent a man being a gentleman by cutting him. When the M.C.C., in that wonderful “ scheme,” of which it was delivered, laid down the sapient formula that “ first-class counties are those from which first-class averages are compiled,” it did its little utmost to plunge the whole question into inextricable obscurity; but, fortunately, county secretaries and committees are not quite so muddle-headed, and I hope to live to see the day when you, Sir, will accept them as, in at all events this matter, the only fitting authority we possess. In the mean­ time, Sir, farewell; and I hope you will continue to supply us with, from your own point of view, accurate tables of statistics of various phases of the game, which we may cut out and paste over the frightful columns of inaccuracies with which various incapaci­ ties, to whom “ multiplication was vexation,” have inflicted on us in the past, to our own dire confusion. A f t e r the tiffin at the match between the Australians and Ceylon,the Australian captain, in reply to a toast, caused much laughter by earnestly appealing to the Ceylon bowlers not to injure any of his men “ as they had to play in England.” Before the tiffin the Australians had only bowled two maiden overs, and there were only thirteen bowled throughout the match. The top scorer of the Ceylon team made an 8—4 for an overthrow. I n a match between the second teams of Melbourne and East Melbourne, four of the East Melbourne team were stumped off successive balls. T he Thombury team, which played Bedminster on Saturday, contained, as usual at this time of the year, several of the county men, including W. G. and E. M., Painter, Board, and Murch. W. G. showed that he is already in good form by making 31, while Painter hit up 68. The rest of the team did very little indeed in batting, but with the ball E. M. was nearly irresistible. Thornbury won very easily. I n anticipation of the Carnival week and Battle of Flowers at Eastbourne, the managing committee have issued a dainty and artistic programme. It would seem that the Australians, who play at East­ bourne during the week, will not find it difficult to while away their evenings during their stay in the town. T h e first appearances during a season of two such fast bowlers as Richardson and Mr. Kortright are always interesting, and from their doings on Saturday in the Stoics v. Thames Ditton match, it would appear that they have lost none of their skill. Mr. Kortright had the better analysis, but Richardson also did well. In batting Mr. Kortright made 92, and Richardson 24. Mr. Grabum and Ayres were also in great form with the bat. T h b New Zealand record for the highest individual score has been beaten by W. Raphael, who, in a cup compe­ tition, carried his bat through the innings for 298 (not out) for Lancaster Park (A) v. Midland (second) at Christchurch. The previous highest score was 220 by C. A. Strange. W it h regard to Jones’s bowling, about which a great deal of curiosity is felt just now, George Giffen, in an interview at Colombo, is made to say, “ Perhaps he isn’t quite so fast as Spofforth, but he’s something like ‘ Spof ’ in-style, and, in my opinion there is very little difference as regards pace between Jones and Richardson. And for strength and endurance, Jones would, perhaps, beat Richardson. Did you notice that long run he takes before he delivers each ba ll; but as he runs up to the crease he slows down, and in the end delivers the ball with the action of a slow bowler, and yet it comes in at such a terrific pace—that’s nothing but sheer strength ; and it’s a wonder how he can keep it up in the way he does. He never tires.” The following criticisms on the play of some of the Australians at Colombo, from the Overland Times o f Ceylon, may be of interest:— “ Darling did not give the onlookers an opportunity of witnessing his wonderful all­ round hitting that is so much spoken about, for he was caught off his hand when he had contributed but three runs. We saw him at practice earlier in the day, and can testify to the fact that, though he smites well, he is no Bonnor and no Lyons, nor does the team possess a lifter of the type those two repre­ sent. . . . Iredale is a tall slim young player with a wonderful eye, and he plays all round in fine style. His innings yesterday was a pretty display of cricket. Donnan will surely prove a run-getter. His off play is better than his leg-hitting and he comes down very heavy on the ball generally. Graham and Gregory we have seen before, and they simply confirmed previous good impressions. One of the most attractive batsman in the team is Clem Hill, and his score of 14 was compiled by very pretty cricket indeed. He bats left and is particu­ larly strong on his leg-hitting.