Cricket 1896

A ug . 6, 1896. CRICKET: A WKEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 331 BETWEEN THE INNINGS. Richardson took his 200th wicket in first- class matches this season on Saturday last, a wonderful performance! Two hundred wickets in a season have been taken by other bowlers, among them, Mold, Jack Hearne, C. T. B. Turner, J. J. Ferris, and Peate; but except perhaps by Turner in 1888, that num­ ber has never been reached so early in the season as August 1st. Richardson himself was 15 days later in getting to it last year, yet he managed to reach the wonderful number of 290 by the end of the season. This time he should be able to pass 300, a feat in which he will have only Turner as a predecessor. Heame should also have secured well over 200 by September, as he has 166 now, and his County has seven more matches to play. Meanwhile Ranjitsinji and Abel are press­ ing forward towards the completion of their 2,000 runs. The former should reach it first; but Ihe little man, who secured that number, with some to spare, last year, will not be long behind him. The Indian Prince has also something more than an off-chance (if the weather continues fine) of beating W.G.’s record of ten centuries in first-class matches in one season. He has seven to his credit now, and will almost certainly play in at least nine more matches. To count on the likeli­ hood of any other player—bar W. G. and Arthur the Great at their best—making four centuries in nine matches would seem ridicu­ lous : but as the Prince has so far made seven in nineteen games he would appear to have a chance. _________________ One of my most vivid cricket memories is of the first time I saw “ Ranjy” play in a first-class match. I had seen him once before playing for a South of England Eleven against a local twenty-two, in Huntingdon­ shire, at the fag-end of the season of 1892; but the weather was cold and raw, and the Prince, numb and shivering, was not at his best. This other match of which I speak was that between the Cantabs and the Australians at Fenner’s in 1893. Ranji had played in two other matches before this, and had done well enough to secure promotion in the order of going-in. (In his first match he went in No. 7 or 8, and scored 18.) But his play againsttheColonistsmust have been something by way of a revelation. He scored 58 and 37 not out, by batting, which for ease and grace I had seldom seen approached on Fenner’s. Even then, that beautiful leg-stroke of his was fully developed, and he employed it with great effect. An old farmer from the Fens, out Ely way, sat next to me open-mouthed for a time ; but one of Ranji’s “ glances ” at last elicited from him this remark : “ Whoy, he only tooch it and it go to th’ boondary ! ’ ’ Coming from the match I was asked by an acquaintance what I thought of the Prince, “ Think, why I think he’s good enough for anything.” “ Good enough to beat W. G. ?” was the half malicious question that followed. “ Good enough to beat anyone else,” I an­ swered, not to be shaken in my adherence to my cricket idol, and for once, I think I was a prophet. Like Shrewsbury, the Prince has not the wonderful physique of the master; and I question whether he will ever make a 300 score—I don’t think he could last out. Short of that, anything seems possible to him, for his health is far more robust than is Shrewsbury’s. Perhaps we have not yet seen Ranjitsinhji quite at his best. But even now, I rank him with the Master and Shrewsbury, and before al. othjrs. Since my last published article (for last week’s went astray in the post) seven more batsmen have completed their 1,000 runs, and three more bowlers have reached their 100 wickets. The complete list to August 1 now is (in order in which the feat was accomplished by each):— T h e 1,000 Runs. R. Abel, K. S. Ranjitsinhji, J. T. Brown, W. G. Grace, W. Gunn, J. Darling, S. E. Gregory, T. Hayward, F. A. Iredale, J. W. Tunnicliffe, F. S. Jackson, W. Storer, W. Chatterton, A. E. Stoddart and W. Brockwell. T h e 100 "W ickets. J. T. Hearne, T. Richardson, A. Mold* W. Attewell and J. Briggs. At the time of writing, nine other batsmen have over 900 to their credit and eleven between 800 and 900, while ten bowlers have between 70 and 100 wickets. Last year eight batsmen: — W. G., Abel, Ranjitsinhji, Stoddart, Ward, Lilley, Woods and Alec Hearne; and seven bowlers:—Richardson, Mold, Martin, Jack Hearne, Attewell, Peel, and Mead, were in the lists by the end of July, and Mr. H. W. Bainbridge scored his 1,000th run on August 1st. Up to the end of July last year, i*8 centuries had been scored ; this year there were 112 in the list to that date. The game between Surrey and Yorkshire was in some respects similar to that at the Oval in 1894, when Surrey scored 401 and won by ten wickets. W. W. and Brockwell, with 161 and 103 respectively, were the heroes of that match; they put on 172 while together, in rather less than two hours, faster scoring than Baldwin and Hayward indulged in on Thursday last. Ernest Smith (as on Saturday), Moorhouse, Mounsey and Wainwright all played up in the pluckiest possible fashion for Yorkshire, and just saved the innings defeat. I am glad to note that as abenefit to Lohmann, the greatest all-round cricketer Surrey ever saw, to my mind the king of bowlers, and known to ail asone of the best andbiggest hearted cricketers who ever playei the game, the match was an immense success, in frpite of somswhat grey skies and a one-sided game. I regard the team chosen for the England v, Australia game at the Oval, as a distinctly fine one, and if Peel or Lohmann or Peel and Jack Hearne (according as either the Surrey or Middlesex man is in the best form at the time) be the pair chosen to complete it, I really fail to see how it could be strengthened ; for Captain Wynyard, great batsman as he is, I don’t see how room can be found, for Richardson is the only great bowler among the nine certainties (though Jackson, Hayward Stoddart, Grace and Abel are all useful with the ball, and even Gunn, Lilley and the Prince can go on if necessary), and two others must surely be needed. Right down to Kelly, any one of the Australian team is likely enough to secure fifty, and even Jones and McKibbin are not likely to let their wickets go as a gift. Against such an array of batsmen our best bowling is imperatively needed. I need scarcely say that I don't agree with those who think it an injustice that the Surrey Committee should choose the England team. I don’t care who or what the Com­ mittee whom the malcontents might choose should be, it could not select a better team. And it is to the Surrey Club that the origina­ tion of these matches in England is due. Lord’s had nothing to do with them until four years later. As for the fuss about Ran- jitsinhji, I still think it ridiculous, Long stands for a wicket, fortnight ended August 1:— Jnly 120...2...Giffen & Iredale Aust. v. Derby Derby...20 211...5...Donnan & Trott „ „ „ 20-21 183...6 . Donnan & Hill ,, ,, „ 21 139 ,.5...Chatterton&Storer Derby v. Essex Leyton..23 110...1....R.Palairet&Woods S’m’tv.Lancs. Man’er.27 100...3...Tyldesley&Ward Lancs.v. S’ra’t... „ 27-28 107...7...Hirst & Jackson...Yorks.v. Glous .Sheffi’d.28 111...3...Abel & Hayward...Surrey v. Aust...Oval.....29 101...2...MacLaren&Ward.Lancs. v Glous. ..Man ’er.30 221...3...Baldwin&H’ward.Surr’ y v. Yorks..Oval . ..30 142...3...Barton& Quinton..Hants. v.War*k.B’ham.. Aug. 109.. 2.. .Gunn&Shrewsbury.Notts.v. Su’x...B’ton .. 1 120...5...Quinton &Webb..Hants. v.War’k. B’ham.. 1 101...2...Marlow and Ranjitsinhji. Su’x v. Notts...B’ton.... 1 Six centuries in each week. Run-getting: week ended July 25, 7223 runs, 322 wickets (average 22*43); weekended August 1, 8187 runs, 360 wickets (average 22-74). J.N.P. ADDISCOMBE v. HAMPTON W ICK.-Played at Hampton Wick on July 28. H am pton W ick . J. Price, b Peck......... 16 H.E.Knight,eFlowers, b Roberts................ 83 C. Grahame, b Peck .. 38 Smith, b Peck ......... 3 N. V. Norman, b Flo­ wers ........................31 H. A. Budden, cPeck, b Moore .................13 J. W. Biggs, eDesprez, b Peck ................ 18 A. J. Clarke, not out Capt. Williams. bPeek T. Eady, c Coulthard, b Peck ................. H. Onslow, b Flowers Extras................. Total ..........5 A ddiscombe . J. R. Coulthard,bNor- man ..................... 21 P. Allen, b Smith ... 6 Peck, b Price ....10 R. Penfold, lbw, b Price.....................33 H. G. Roberts, b Nor­ man ......................... 8 T. F. Perrin, bBigsrs 28 H. P. Moore C. S. Desprez,cKnight, b Eady ................. Flowers, not out L. J. Andei’son, lbw, b Biggs ............... H. L. Desprez, not out Extras................. Total (8 wkts) 1G0 did not bat. ADDISCOMBE v. WEST MIDDLESEX. — Played at Acton on August 1. W est M id d le se x . J. Knowles, b Peck ... S. Graves, e Purser, b Perrin ................ E.’Neale, b Peck......... C. A. Beldam, b Peck G. Richardson, b Peck C. H. Pye, b Peck ... F. Buxton, b Peck ... B. Secretard, b Perrin 0 E. Beldam, not out ... 17 II. Ntale, b Wiltshire 1 J. S tirtoD , b Peek ... I Extras .......... 8 Total . 50 A ddiscom be . E. Wiltshire, b C. Bel­ dam ........................ 0 Peck, c Knowles, b C. Be'dam ................ 20 J.H. L'urser, c Beldam, b Neale .................25 T. F. Perrin, b Neale 1 A. Wiltshire, b C A. Beldam ............... 5 S. Wiltshire, ran out 1 H. Clark, b C. A. Bel­ dam ........................ 3 H. O. Gr«.en, b C. A. Beldam ................. C. S. Jupp, not out .. A. G. Green, lbw, b C. A. Beldam .......... W. Richardson (sub.), b C. A. Beldam Extras................. Total ... NORWOOD v. FOREST HILL.—Played at Nor­ wood on August 1. N orw ood . A. Goodwin, run out 29 C.G. Austin, b Bradley 10 C. A. Che.;kland, b Bradley ................. 0 S. Hollands, c Rew, b Bradley .................15 R. S. Rogers, b Squiies 1 *Innings declared closed. F orest H il l . W. Austin, not out ... 47 C. F. Blaine, b Squires 0 L. F. Elliott, not out 7 Extras ..........12 Total (6 wkts.)*121 C.S.J.Douglas,cCheck- land. b Blaine........ 33 C. Phillips, c sub, b W . Austin ..........23 L. V. Cockell, lbw, b Goodw in................ 0 W. M. Bradley, c Hol­ lands, b W. Austin 16 n . A. Hooker, not out 14 W. L. Pier.e, b W. Austin ................. 6 C. Rew, not out.......... 3 Extras ..........18 Total ...113