Cricket 1896

1 9 3 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u n k 11, 1896. Higgested that it is best to get the left leg rigut across and play as if the ball were a straight one. In this way you don’t seem to give so many catches in the slips. Nobody, •except a fast bowler, seems to try to "bowl you out nowadays; the great idea is to get you •caught in the slips.” “ What was your first match for the County?” “ I don’t remember, but I should think that I began to play about 1883, when we w..re hardly a county ; in fact, C. E. Green •does’nt recognise Essex as being a county until we had the ground at Leyton. When I first began to play we were more like a family party, and there was no recognised county club. We played Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and the M.C.C. among other matches. Once we had to field out against Hertfordshire when they made about 500 runs, and we just saved the match on the last d a y; when our last man went in, there was still ten minutes to play. J. J. Read really saved the match. Frank Silcock used to play for us at that time, but Pickett and I are the only two of the old team who still represent the county. I remember a curious incident which occurred in a match against Yorkshire, after we began to be recognised as a rising county. I played a ball into my pad. At first I did not know what to do, whether to run to the boundary, or get it out, but I managed with the handle of my bat and a little help from the hand to dispose of it before the wicket-keeper and point could get up. Of course, there was an appeal for handling ball, but one umpire could not see, and the other said ‘ not out.’ I scored 98.” “ Do you play much club cricket now P” “ I don’t get very much. I chiefly play for Bradwell-on-Sea, and for Dengie Hun­ dred, near Bumham-on-Crouch. If you don’t know where these places are, I may say that they are in Essex—I may just as well advertise them while I get the chance. Formerly, when the ground at Bradwell-on- Sea belonged to Mr. Robert Page, the wicket was as good as could be found anywhere. We used to play very good matches there— against Uppingham Rovers and Colchester Garrison for example. For two years in succession we kept the Garrison in the field all day ; they didn’t get a knock at all. Mr. Page used to get together a very strong team, including Leonard and Fred. Stokes, F. Leibenrood, W . B. Pattisson, Charley Sewell, W . Sewell, R. P. Sewell—who used to play for Essex,—and Charlie Escott. Three of my brothers, who are older than I, also used to play. They were good cricketers, but have given up the game now. One of them—the Rev. J. R. B.—played against Scotland in Association Football. Mr. Page, was himself a good bat and wicket­ keeper and an excellent judge of the game, and now that he has given up playing, he has placed his beautiful and picturesque ground at the disposal of the local club, who are very fortunate in having such a keen and generous patron. The highest scores made on the ground were by Leonard Stokes, 285, and 224 (not out). Altogether in those days we had a very tine side, but nowadays we have quite a village team.” “ But you still enjoy the games ? ” “ Oh yes, very much. The worst of countiy matches is, that if the umpire on the other side has to give a decision you generally have to go. I remember once unconsciously influencing a local umpire—I forget where it was. There had been a good deal of appealing on both sides, and 1 said to the opposing umpire that I thought it was a great mistake to appeal unless you were convinced that the batsman was fairly ou t; I added, that I never did such a thing when I was bowling myself. A ball or two afterwards I was l.b.w. as fairly and squarely as it was possible for a man to be, but was promptly given in by my friend the umpire, and afterwards took a hundred odd, but I had no thought of influencing him when I spoke to him. In county matches I think that umpires do their best, and I am strongly of opinion that it is unfair to bustle them by half the field shout­ ing for l.b. w. I remember standing umpire at Bradwell-on-Sea in a local match. There was a catch at the wicket. No one appealed, but fortunately for my reputation as an amateur umpire the batsman proceeded to take off his gloves and walk away. I was very pleased indeed that he should have re­ cognised that the catch was so obvious that an appeal was unnecessary, for I had not the slightest idea that he was out.” “ What other club cricket have you played?” “ A good deal, besides college matches at Cambridge. Perhaps the best club cricket I have ever enjoyed, was during the nine years that I was a master at Trent College, when I used to play for Notts Forest Amateurs and Derbyshire Friars. 1had an average of 244 for Notts Forest Amateurs one year; this sounds very grand, but I only played five innings, and was four times not out. The boys at Trent College were better at football than at cricket. Our best match was at Radcliffe against Richard Daft’s team. His two sons, R. P., and H. B., were at the college. Richard Daft used to play against us, and I thought that his batting was almost as good as it could ever have been; it was nearly perfect. I was very pleased on one occasion by getting all three of their wickets. I remember a little incident in connection with one of the Radcliffe matches. On our w ay to the match, Shuker, the second master at the college, who used to play for Derbyshire, said to me, “ The very best w ay to get runs is to have half a bottle of champagne.” I laughed, but we had half a bottle between us, and I made a hundred. Although Mr. Owen is a good field, he says that he likes to be out of the way of catches. “ I don’t think I can see as well as I could at one time; certainly I get some very nasty ones to take at mid-on. I remember that B^gshaw gave me a very awkward catch at Derby; it hit my thumb, which has been bad ever since. I did not make the catch, and he scored 40 or 50 after­ wards. Last year I had rather a surprise at the Oval, in the Surrey match. Lockwood had made a very high drive, which seemed to me to hang in the air for about a minute. I turned round two or three times and then found that it was behind me, but eventually it landed in my hands, although I really didn’t know in the least how it got there. Of course, catches like those ought always to be taken. It is a cruel thing, as has happened to various men, when a catch made close to the boundary brings out loud remarks from the crowd to the effect that it is ten to one that it is dropped.” W . A. B ettesw orth . “ T h e N in th A u s tr a lia n T o u r ” is a neat little book, containing excellent portraits and biographies of the Australians and their Manager, together with notes about other Australian cricket. It is published at a penny at the offices of Cricket, 168, Upper Thames Street. Another useful book, published at this office at sixpence, is “ Surrey Cricket and Cricketers,” by the Rev. R. 8. Holmes. “ The Surrey Eleven in 1895” is published at 3d. by Merritt & Hatcher, 168, Upper Thames Street, and there can be no question as to its cheapness. WH ITGIFT WANDERERS (2) v. LONDON HOS­ PITAL.—Played at Lower Edmonton on May 30. W h i t g if t W a n d e r e r s . G. R. B. Jensen, c Skelton, b Vaile ... 16 C. 8. Jupp. b Mead ... 47 C. E. Hurst, b Vaile... 36 A. E. Softly, c Arthur, b Mead ..................34 C. H. Douglas, b Mead 2 G. B. Thwaites, not out ...........................12 B 25, lb 2, w 1 ... 28 Total ...175 R. S. McCulloch, H. W . Stovold, H. V . Green, E. Bailey, and A . Green did not bat. L ondon H o spita l . H. E d g in t o n , b Thwaites................... 3 R. C. T u rn b u ll, c Thwaites, b Softly 3 E. Skelton, c and b Thwaites ... ... ... 0 H. Vaile, run out ... 13 E.P.Mead, c H.Green, b Thwaites ...........11 A. Marsh, b Softly ... 0 F. H. Arthur, b Softly F. J. P. Daly, c Stov­ old, b Thwaites N. Symon, b Softly ... F. Ridewood, not out R. E. Wilson, b Thwaites................... B 9 ,lb 2 ........... Total ........... ITINERANTS v. CRAY & ORPINGTON .-Played in Kevington Park, St. Mary Cray, on May 30. C ray & O rpin gton . F.Stanger, c H.Holmes b A. Holmes .......... 15 Walter Smith, c and b Hoe ........... ...........13 I. Townsend, c H. Blake, b Cryer ... 6 W . G. Burgess, c and b Cryer .................. 5 W . Townsend, c and b Cryer .................. 22 Total T. Wood, run out ... 0 I tin e r a n ts . H. M. Blake, c Smith, P.W . Hoe, not out C. Berens, not out ... 23 J. Johnson, c Cryer, b F. Buck ..................ll H.Berens.b A . Holmes 3 H . Boult, c H. M. Blake, b A. Holmes 0 E. Packman, run out 1 B 6, lb 1 ........... 7 ... 1(6 5 0 18 b W . Townsend ... 31 H. Blake, notout H.G.Cryer, cl.T ow ns- B 12, lb 5, w 1 . end, b W . Townsend 70 H. Holmes, c and b Total (4 wkts) 145 W ood..........................10 A.Holmes,cW . Towns­ end, b W ood ...........11 H. Furaman, W . H. Buck, F. I. Buck, S. T. Buck, and A . N. Other did not bat. DULW ICH v. SPENCER.—Played at Wandsworth on May 30. S pen cer . F. Crowther, o Pearse, b M o rris..................21 S. W . Hedges, bPearse 5 H. W . Wheeler, b Longley .................. 41 B. Cox, b Morris ... 1 G. A. Jackson, G. Sykes' did not bat. S. Cook, runout...........24 E. H. Frith, not out... 54 T. J. Wheeler, not out 16 Extras...................17 Total (5 wkts)*179 G. C. Larkin, A . Lister •Innings declared closed. D u lw ich . E. J. Heasman, b L. Phillips, c Crow­ ther, b Hedges ... 9 T.C. Stafford,bHedges 10 O. Jones, not out ... 0 R. Longley, b Hedges 2 Extras..................... 10 H. Thompson, c Frith, bH ed ges................... 9Total (6wkts) 102 W . Morris, not out ... 53 T. R. Pearse, c Lister, b Wheeler ....... 9 C. P. Tregellas, E. White, and E. H. Heasman did not bat. FOREST H ILL v. NORWOOD.—Played at Forest Hill on May 30. F orest H il l . H.A. Hooker, b Rogers 6 H. M. Watmough, c French, b Rogers ... 1 C. Rew, lbw, b Roe ... 1 C. Phillips, c Elliott, b Rogers .................. 1 W . P. Dean, b Roe ... 48 C. S. J. Douglas, b Rogers .................. 0 W . L. Pierce, b Blain 10 C. J. Welchman, b Rogers ................... 0 L. B. Meredith, c Rogers, b Blain ... 12 W . Williams, not out 12 F. Woodman, b Blain 3 Extras ........... 5 Total 99 N orw ood . P. S. May, c Douglas, Phillips .................. 0 S. Hollands, not out... 75 F.C.Blain, c Meredith, b Welchman ... ... 13 R.S. Rogers, cHooker, b Welchman .......... 35 A. P. Roe, b Hooker... 25 A . French, lbw, b Welchman ........... 3 W . C. Elborough, not out ............................ 4 Extras ...........10 Total (5 wkts.)