Cricket 1896

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. So. 4 3 7 . VOL. XV . THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1896. PR ICE 2d. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. ME. HA.RRY MOSES. It has always bean a great disappoint­ ment to English cricketers that Mr. Moses has never visited England as a member of an Australian team, for it was felt that without the famous left-hander tho team could never be absolutely repre­ sentative of Australian cricket. It has not been the fault of selection committees that he has not visited us before, but pressure of business and an in­ tense dislike to water, when it is salt, has deprived us of seeing a bats­ man who until he practically gave up cricket bad a reputation second to none in Australia. Since he has been in England Mr. Moses ha3 only taken part in a few minor matches, and has hardly had any practice at all. He played for the team of Australians which Mr. P. H. Dangar raises every year against Ealing, and made 11 and 57. For Mr. Farmer’s X I. v. Hampstead he made 39, the top score on his side. Then again he assisted Torquay against the Ishmaelites, making 141, and also played for Lord Jersey’s X I. at Middleton Park. Last year he did not play at all either in inter-colonial or club matches, but a strong desire to come to England, and the opportunity to do so, overcame his objections to salt water. “ I felt that I really wanted a trip,” he said, “ and I came. I have seen a lot of cricket since I have been here, and I wonder that Australians can possibly manage to compete with you on even terms. Men can play day after day all through the season, whereas in Australia the matches are practi­ cally confined to a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. Even the men who play in inter-colonial cricket only get a few matches. In New South Wales, for instance, we only play Victoria and South Australia out and home, and lately Queensland has been added to the list, though only one match in the year is played with them. It is true that a man can practise on other days than Saturday, but most men don’t get the chance. On Wednesdays there is generally a second eleven match on, which prevents practice. No wonder that we, with si few big matches, can arrange to play them all to a finish, though they seldom last more than four days. I remember sitting in the pavilion in an inter-colonial match for three successive days without getting a knock or fielding a ball—it raine 1 all the time. I think that cricketers in'Australia give up the game sooner than those in England. There are very few men of any agejjlaying in Australia now. MB. H. MOSES?. Blackham has given it up, and Alec Bannerman Garrett still plays; last year he was in better form than he bad been for several years. Boyle plays too— he has gone to Queensland now—but at this moment I can’t remember any other really old player.” “ Were you ever a member of a junior club ? ” “ Never. When I left school I went into a bank, and there I met a young fellow who used to play for the first eleven of his club, the Albert. He was anxious that I should get into the eleven with him. So, as I was just as anxious to play, he proposed me, and as the club was pleased to take any new member provided that he was a decent sort of fellow, I was elected. At first I played once or twice for the third, bat they gave a new member a good show, and before long I was in the second. There I remained for some time, but was eventually landed in the first.” “ Were you long before you made a reputation ? ” ‘ ‘ I soon had as good an average as anybody in the club ; one year it was 87 and 64 in another year. Our team at that time was very strong, for it included Spofforth, Murdoch, Nat Thompson, Dave Gregory, Massie, Wood (the wicket­ keeper), A. R. Docker, and I believe Bonnor—at any ra<e he used to play for the Albert somewhere about that time. One year out of the 18 or 20 men who were picked to practise for the inter-colonial matches 10 were chosen from our club. In the year that I had an average of 64 I was not selected for the inter-colonial matches. The reason for this was that one of the committee, a very prominent man, was strongly of opinion that a left-handed batsman could not possibly be any good. He has since told me this himself. But he wasn’t alone in this opinion in those days, for I was the despair of a well-known member of one of the Australian teams, who used to try to get me to face the bowlers, instead of standing sideways as eveiybody else does. He thought that by doing this I should be more likely to play with a straight bat. It was the general idea that left-handed batsmen could hit very bard to leg, but that was their only stroke; but as regards myself I have never made big leg hits, I have always glanced the ball away.” “ Do you still play for the Albert Cricket Club ? ” “ No. There came a time when we were at sixes and sevens, and couldn’ t get a team together; so I j oined the Belvidere, a junior club, which had just been promoted to senior rank; since its pro-