Cricket 1896

114 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M a t 7, 1896. rehearsal is not required. Sometimes, too, it has happened that a cricketer has left before the rehearsal is over, and then Williamson has not noticed his absence. I need hardly say that he does not lose in popularity on this account. I am afraid that I must myself own to often going to him and squaring him on behalf of our cricketers.” “ You have had charge of a great many English theatrical touring companies? ” “ For fifteen years I have conducted them in Australia and New Zealand, and I can say, without a moment’s hesitation, that I have never had any trouble what­ ever with any of the tourists. And yet I have had a great many people to look after sometimes ; for example, there were ninety-four in the last Gaiety Company. Sometimes the distance to be travelled between one stopping place and another is very great, and yet there is but little time to get to one’s destination. Once, for instance, a company played at Melbourne on a Friday night, and opened at Bris­ bane—a distance of over 1,000 miles—on the following Monday. The greatest difficulty in conducting such tours is in making the necessary arrangements.” “ What made you think of becoming manager of the Australian team p” “ I saw an advertisement in the Argus that application might be made by men who were willing to manage the next team, and I thought of applying. I made enquiries as to whether the matter was already practically settled. Finding that it was not, I made my application, which happened to be accepted.” It is not only in connection with making arrangements for theatrical tour­ ing companies that Mr. Musgrove has gained his experience as an organiser. One of his greatest successes was obtained when failure was generally prophesied. He discovered that the Australian Dramatic Association was greatly in need of funds, and did not know where to look for them. He therefore proposed to organise an athletic and football meeting in which actors should alone compote. The offer was gladly accepted. When the day came for the meeting it rained in torrents. But,” said Mr. Musgrove, “ there were some 25,000 people on the ground, and we took £950, leaving a net profit of £820.” “ Did you ever get any chance of playing cricket while you were in charge of touring companies ? ” ‘ 1Oh yes. In our own opera company— theWilliamsonand Musgrove Opera Com­ pany—we have seven really good cricketers, and can always get together a fairly strong team. We arrange matches beforehand at places where we are to stop right through the tour. One of our best players was Sid Deane, who is very well known in Australian cricket. We had rather an amusing experience when we went to Dunedin, where we had arranged to play the town club, which was pretty strong. We won the toss and put them in, much to their surprise. They had heard very little of us, and could not understand our move at a ll; in fact, I am afraid that they thought we must have more impudence than sense, or else that we did not understand the game, being merely theatrical people. But as we were only to play for a short time it seemed to be the only possible way of winning the match, and we did not want a draw. As it happened we got them out for about 38, and made 180 ourselves in our one innings. They took their beating in very good part, and were very anxious to play us a return match, which would have come off if the weather had held good.” “ Is much interest taken in Australia outside the large towns in the visit of the team ? ” ‘ ‘ A vast amount of interest. I was, I must own, surprised at the crowds of people who had collected at all the small country stations along the line by which the team travelled to Sydney. Every­ where there was loud cheering. As for the big towns, the enthusiasm in them was very great. At Melbourne and Sydney, and at Adelaide, the men were cheered by large assemblies of people who came to see them off. And at Albany, the last port in Australia at which the boat stopped, the Westralian cricketers came off in a body to wish the team ‘ God speed.’ ” “ Were there the usual cricket matches and athletic sports on board the Cuzco ? ” “ We played cricket all the way up, but we had to stop Jones from bowling fast because it turned out to be dangerous A good many men g >t out through trying to make a fancy stroke, which if it came off, was certain to create a time of wild confusion. You had with this stroke to hit a fanlight and drive the ball into the saloon. This generally meant ‘ lost ball,’ but it was found that by diving through the faulight into the saloon a good deal of time was saved in returning the ball. Iu the athletic sports which were, of course, open to all siloon passengers, Jones came off the best, but there was always plenty of excitement in the final heats. In pe^ quoits I was decidedly the dark horse, and very much to my surprise I happened to be first. We expected to find it very hot in the Suez Canal, but the heat was not at all excessive there : the hottest part of the voyage was when we were nearing Colombo.” There can be no question that Mr. Musgrove will make himself greatly liked during his stay in England, for he possesses all the qualities which go to make up a successful manager; and, in addition, be has a twinkle in his eye which shows that he has a keen sense of humour. He is a Warden of the Actors’ Fund, and, since he has been in England, has been elected an honorary member of the Green Room Club. An excellent idea of his capabilities as a batsman may be obtained from the following remarks by “ F elix” in the Australasian of November 29th, 1884 :— “ In mentioning individual performances, Musgrove’s name pre-eminently stands first. His innings of 91 was by far the best I have seen this season. Perfectly at home, and aggressive from the start, he played throughout a masterly game. There was not the faintest shadow of tameness in his display, every stroke was vigorous, true, and well timed; every ball was met with the full face of the bat, there were no flukes of any kind. His characteristic gracefulness of style, his quick and attractive wrist action, his natty figure, never showed to such advantage as in this instance ; those four splendid hits, each for five, appeared to cost him no effort. Looking at Mus­ grove hitting a fiver, it seems the simplest thing in the world to go and do likewise, his manner of making the stroke is so easy, so devoid of anything like exercise of strength. In addition to the four fives, he made six fours, all of them capital Hits; and when he was at last dismissed by Sam Morris, you regretted he had not made an additional nine runs, so that his admirable, artistic, and fault­ less exhibition of batting might be crowned by the coveted three-figure record. He was greeted with loud and hearty acclamation on retiring, and the Richmond men joined in the well- deserved tribute to the skill of the dashing young Jolimonter.” W . A . BETTE8WORTH. PRIVATE BANKS v. STOICS.—Played at Catford Bridge on May 2. P rivate B anks . H. R. Swatman, c Roberts, b Haycraft 8 J. L. Davidson, b Rammell ... ... ... 43 A. W. Harper, b Hay­ craft ........................ 7 F. A. Tapson, b Hay­ craft ................. ... 2 T.H.Mason, cRoberts, b Every ................. 5 C. T. Donaldson, run out ........................ 6 W. H. Hilton, o C. E. E. Lee, b Roberts ... 3 C. A. Becker, b Every 22 S. Cooper, b Haycraft 11 L. H. Curtis, c Rich­ ardson, b Every ... 0 H. Pegler, not out ... 1 B 13, lb 2 ..........15 Total ...123 S toics . A. W . Rammell, b Becker ................. 6 C. E. E. Lee, c Tap­ son, b Becker ... ... 14 R. R. Harley, c Swat- man, b Harper .. 9 W. J. Hayeraft, not out ........................17 C. E. G. Lee, C. D. Poole, B. Reame, and A. N. Other did not bat. A. G. Every, b Becker 0 C. C. Roberts, bBeeker 9 E. W. Richardson, not out .................23 B 7, lb 5, w 1, nb 1 14 Total (6 wkts.) 91 FOREST HILL (2) v. CROYDON (2).-Played at Forest Hill on May 2. C roydon . I. A. Archer, b Reid... 4 G. F. Long, bWilliams 20 S. W . Patey, b W illiams.................15 J. Aris, c and b Reichert ................. 6 R. Archer, c Holt, b W illiams................. 4 L. K. Watson, b W illiams................. 0 J. C. Neech, b Reichert 1 R. Biscoe, b Reichert 8 A. W . Cooper, b Reichert .................10 A. E. Drage, not out 18 G.F. Balch, bWilliams 1 Extras ........12 Total... 99 F orest H ill . M. Reichert, b Drage 1-2 W. S. Holt, b Archer 64 W. Williams, c J. Archer, b Balch ... 58 F. Woodman, b Drage 3 J. W. Pratt, run out 18 E. A. Senior, b Balch 6 P. Gibbon, b Balch ... 0 H. Reid, c Patey, b Neech ................. J. G. Trotter, not out L. J. Selfe, b Baleh ... F. Seel, not o u t.......... Extras ......... Total (9 wkts) 177 C RICKET Report Sheets, lOd. per dozen, post free. Order of Going-In Cards, 7d.per dozen, post free. Pocket Scoring Book, 7d. each, post free.—To be obtained at the Office of Cricket. 168, Upper Thames Street, London, E.C.