Cricket 1896

410 CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. S e p t . 10, 1896. and if they could only get better grounds, some of them would be good. In the last seven or eight years there have not been more than four or five new men in the North and South match—perhaps there may have been more than this, but, as far as I can remember, four or five is about the number. I would like to mention that the North possesses, in my opinion, one of the very best bowlers I have ever played against, in the person of a young fellow named Windsor. Playing for Tasmania against Victoria in January, 1896, in the second innings he captured the first four wickets for no runs, which was one of the best performances I ever saw, as they were all real good balls which clean beat the batsmen.” “ What is the population of Hobart and Launceston ? ” “ Hobart has a population of about 35,000, and Launceston 27,000, so that there ought to be plenty of players if the opportunity offered. The difficulty in the way of inducing teams from Australia to visit us is the time taken by the voyage; it takes forty-eight hours, or thereabouts, from Sydney to Hobart, and thirty-six hours from Melbourne. It is possible to go from Melbourne to Laun­ ceston in about twenty-one hours, but there is a long railway journey from there to Hobart.” “ When did you first play against really good bowling ? ” “ I had never played first-class bowling until Lord Sheffield’s team came over to Tasmania, and I thought it very different from anything I had seen before. I was particularly struck with the fact that I didn’t get any of the loose balls to which I had been accustomed ; you had to play for all you were worth every time, while the men were so well placed in the field that it seemed impossible to get through them. We only made small totals, on a very bad wicket, against George Lohmann, Attewell, and others. My scores were 9 and 0. The next time I played against good bowling was in the match between Stoddart’s team and Tasmania; I made top score, but it was only 35.” “ You were asked to practise with a view to playing against Mr. Stoddart’s team ? ” “ Yes. I had made two hundreds in thematch between Tasmania and Victoria, and the Melbourne C.C. sent a letter to our Association, suggesting that I Bhould go over to Melbourne to practise for the final test match, which was to be played in March. I went over early in February, but was not selected. On the first day that I arrived in Melbourne, I went into a barber’s shop to be shaved. The barber began to talk about cricket, and presently said ‘ A fellow named Eady has come over for practice from Tasmania.’ I asked who E aiy was, and he proceeded to tell me. Among other things, he said that Eady had made two huudreds in a match in Tasmania, ‘ but,’ he added, ‘ it wasn’t his fault that he got them. The fact is, that neither of the umpires would have given him out if he’d wanted to go ! ’ Two friends had gone into the shop with me, and I could see the reflection of their faces in the glass in front of me. It was a very trying position to be in, but I succeeded in keeping my countenance until the end of the sitting.” “ Were you invited to practise when it was decided to send the present team to England ? ” “ I went over to Melbourne for a month’s holiday last year just after Christmas, with the idea of getting some practice and, if possible, a few matches. Ever since I began to play cricket I had been hoping to be included at some time or other in one of the Australian teams, and last year it struck me forcibly that the Selection Committee knew nothing, or very little, about me, but that if I went over and practised, I might possibly attract their attention. There was just the bare chance and no more. At Mel­ bourne I was treated very handsomely indeed. The Melbourne C.C. made me an honorary member, with permission to, practise at the nets, and I had the best of opportunities of getting into form. As the Pennant matches were on I was only able to play in a match once or twice. At the end of the month I played for Tasmania against Victoria in Mel­ bourne. We had a very bad wicket, and I took eight wickets for about 14 in the first innings, and four for 34 in the second. After this I was chosen as one of the team to come to England, greatly to the delight of our fellows in Tasmania. I went back to Sydney in the middle of February and played for the Australian team against the Rest, doing nothing at all in the match.” “ Did you get any runs in the matches which you played for the Mel­ bourne C.C. ? ” “ I only played one match for the club, and that was for the second eleven—I made 78 ;—but I was asked to play for the club against a team brought by Mr. Woods of Sydney. The Melbourne Eleven included: Hugh Trumble, Gra­ ham, Charlie Rasa, the two McLeods, Donahoo, and Roach. At the last moment Woods found that he was short of a man, so he asked me to play for him if Major Wardill would consent. I said that I didn’ t mind, and as Major War­ dill readily gave his consent I played against the club instead of for it. Luck was altogether in my way. I made 156 not out, and took six wickets for some­ thing like 80 runs. Oddly enough, Woods afterwards took a team to Tas­ mania and I played against him for South Tasmania, making 188 not out.” “ Were you good at cricket as a young­ ster ? ” “ I did not play at school at all, I used to go yachting in all my holidays and spare time. When I was about 14, a friend of mine, named Garrard, an enthusiastic cricketer, persuaded me to try my hand at the game. He gave me some practice in our yard, and then made me join the club of which he was captain, at the same time paying my subscriptionforme. This was particularly good of him, for a boy of 14 has not generally much spare cash. In the fol­ lowing year, I had the bowling avtrage for the club, and when I was 16, I was picked for the South against the North ; I believe I was the youngest cricketer who ever played in this match. After that, I had the best bowling and batting average for three consecutive years, but in the following year I missed the bowling average by a decimal.” “ Have you enjoyed your first visit to England ? ” “ Immensely. I am very glad, indeed, that I came, and although I am dis­ appointed that I have not done better, the tour has been an education to me. We have been treated most kindly and hospitably wherever we have been. It has been a very great pleasure to me to play for the team, and to travel about with it ; it would be impossible to find more pleasant companions to be with on a tour. Cricket, as played in England, has been a revelation to m e ; it seems to me that in order to make runs here, a man must be a good batsman, for the ball does such a lot more than it does with us. I was very disheartened when I got rheumatism soon after the Hamp­ shire match, and for a month or five weeks I was not able to get my arm up to bowl or throw.” W. A. BETTE8WOB.TH. ITINERANTS v. DULWICH.-Played at Dulwich on September 5. I tin e r a n ts . J. T. Drake, b Phillips 3 H. M. Blake, not out 21 H. Blake, c Stafford, b Phillips ................. 0 P. W. Hoe, run out... 16 A. Lockhart, not out 12 B4,lb 2, w l,n b l 8 H. Holmes, run out. J. C. Stone, c S.Hunt- ley, b Phillips......... 29 H. G. Cryer, b White 3 Rev. J. C. Boyd, b Phillips .................21 A. S. Hoe, c and b Phillips ................. 6 A. Holmes, c F.Hunt- ley, b Phillips.......... 2 •Innings declared closed. D u lw ich . T. C. Stafford, not out, 25; E. White, not out, 30$ Total, 55. L. Phillips, E. J. Heasman, W . A. King, S. Simp­ son, F. Huntley, S. E. Huntley, H. Bullock, F. J. Finlinson and E. A. Redman did not bat. Total *122 PALLINGSWICK v. BARNES.-Played at East Acton on September 5. P alling sw ic k . A. J. Clarke, b Young H. G. Rowley, bHack­ man ........................ P. Schooling, not out W . A. Watson, notout 2 0 B 13, lb 4, w 1 ... 18 Total ..........116 J. S. H a y c ra ft, Young ................. 2 F. S. Heynemann, c Robertson, b Franco 73 B. A. Carter, b Young 2 M. T. La Thangue, b Young ................. 4 A. J. Carter, b Sissons 0 H. Y. Bate, b Young 2 H. W . Burnside, c Mossop, b Young ... 10 B arn es . J. J. Franco, not out, i l ; C. E. Ratcliffe, not out, 9; b 3, w 1.—Total, 34. F. Butt, C. Y ou D g, A. Sissons, J. G. Robertson, A. Cornell, C. C. Sissons, G. R. Mossop, C. A. Hackman and A. J. Franco did not bat. MARLBORO’ BLUES v. PRIVATE BANKS.— Played at Catford Bridge on August 29. M arlboro ’ B luks . C. H. M. Thring, Japson,bRichardson 44 S. A. P. Kitcat, not out ........................67 T. C. Bett, c Curtis, b Byrne....................... 5 S. A. Alexander, b Byme.............................. 2 F. W . Bellamy,bByrne 0 S. A. Jones, not out 2 Extras.................17 Total (5 wkts) 137 Rev. M. A. Bere, W . A. F. Rogers, S. F. Rumball, H. Veasey, J. M. Ellis and H. A. Jones did not bat. P r iv a te B an k s. W . H. Hilton, not out 7 L. H. Curtis, not out 4 Extras................. 4 C. A. Neilson, c Bel­ lamy, b Alexander... 32 W . Gowan, b Bere ... 0 F. A. Japson, b Bere 2 J. H. Mason, b Kitcat 0 Total (5 wkts) 59 H. R. Swatman, b Alexander ..........10 C. O. Becker, C. E. Byrne, J. J. Manning and E. W. Richardson did not bat.