Cricket 1896

480 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. D ec . 31, 1896. long since underwent a slight renovation on the advice of 8. Apted, the ground superintendent at the Oval. Hence, some, at least, of the Club’s success in the matter of increased rungetting. T hat George Lohmann is looking for­ ward to the English cricket season of 1897 is shown by the fact that he has already booked his passage by the Scot to leave Cape Town on the 24th of March next. All going well, therefore, he will be in London in time to get into practice for Surrey’s first match, which is on May 3, v. Leicestershire, at the Oval. C ricket in South Africa, Lohmann writes, has gone ahead rapidly of late. The visit of Lord Hawke’s team last winter has given a great impetus to the game all-round, and, if only the cricketers could get away from their offices and so obtain more practice, Lohmann is con­ fident that in a few years time South Africa would be able to put a team into the field equal to most of the English counties. A proof of the increased interest in cricket in South Africa is to be seen in the large number of professionals now finding employment during the winter in the chief cricket centres out there. W. H. Lockwood of Surrey, A. H. Holland of Leicestershire, and James of Wiltshire are engaged with the Western Province Club, which has a very beauti­ ful ground at Newlands some seven miles from Cape Town. T he Cape Town C.C., which now has Frank Hearne and Middleton as its pro­ fessionals, is a strong club, so strong, indeed, that for the last two years it has beaten the Western Province. Brockwell is in Pretoria, the presidental colony of the South African Republic, and Brown, of Bedfordshire, in Port Elizabeth. At the end of last month G. Bean, of Sussex, had just arrived at East London to coach the cricketers there. All this shows that it will not be for lack of enterprise if South African cricket does not improve generally. It is early as yet to speculate, but perhaps the season of 1898 will see another South African team in England. M r . C. A. A bsolon was the honoured guest at a dinner at the Holbom Restaurant on December 16th, the occasion of the presentation to him of a testimonial. It had been expected that many prominent cricketers would be present, but most of them were unable to appear. Letters expressing their regret at this were received from Lord Harris, Lord Hawke, Dr. W. G. Grace, Capt. E. G. Wynyard, Messrs. W. L. Murdoch, A. E. Stoddart, G. MacGregor, S. M. J. Woods, V. T. Hill, and C. W. Alcock. Sir R. E. Webster and Mr. Burdett-Coutts also wrote. Nevertheless, a large com­ pany assembled, and the dinner was most successful. After the speeches, Mr. N. L. Jackson, the chairman, in well chosen words presented the testimonial, which was a purse containing £126, to Mr. Ab­ solon. T he “ New Zealand Cricketers’ An­ nual ” is the “ Wisden ” of New Zealand. The issue for 1896 is a complete summary of New Zealand cricket, the scores of the principal matches being given as in “ Wisden.” There are several interesting articles by specialists, and also some photographs of teams. It seems that nearly all the Australian bowlers tried their hands at baseball throwing while they were in America. It is said that Jones developed a much greater proficiency in the art than any of his companions, and that he tried some curves with success in one of the matches. O n Tuesday, December 15th, a compli­ mentary dinner was given to Mr. C. E. Green, who has done so much for Essex cricket. There was a great gathering of cricketers, including Mr. J. Round, M.P., Rev. R. C. Guy, Capt. Ricardo, Capt. Ind, Messrs. E. N. Buxton, G. Buxton, A. P. Lucas, C. M. Tebbutt, C. E. Hart, C. Wreford - Brown, F. R. Pelly, D. Womersley, Arthur Wilson, C. J. Kort­ right, P. Perrin, A. S. Johnston, R. P. Sewell, F. Green, F. G. Bull, J. W. Bonner, A. W. Rammell, W. Mead, Car­ penter, H. Pickett, J. Bums, H. G. Owen, O. R. Borradaile, and Fred Silcock. The Earl of Warwick, who presided, said that nothing gave him greater pleasure than to preside that evening, and it was seldom that so representative a gathering assem­ bled to do honour to a cricketer. He referred to the good influence of sport and to the fact that all Essex men appreciated to the full the services of Mr. Green in the cause of Essex cricket. At first it was an uphill task, but they ought to be well satisfied that the county now stood No. 5 on the list in the County Championship. First at Uppingham, and then at Cam­ bridge, Mr. Green had performed doughty deeds, and his success should be an incentive to younger members of the team to follow his example. In con­ clusion, he stated that the handsome cup they saw before them had been subscribed for by Essex men alone, the subscription being limited to 10s., and in presenting it he wished the recipient every luck both as a cricketer and a sportsman. T he first innings of the Australians v. X V III of Auckland began in a very in­ auspicious manner, one wicket falling for 5, two wickets for 11, and three for 16. The New Zealanders had five down for 39. While the Australians were batting, singles were very frequent. In Graham’s first innings of 26, he scored off 18 balls, and Hill in his second innings of 51 scored off 34 balls ; his first 14 runs were made by a 2 and 12 singles. Jones, however, made 16 in four successive balls, his hits being 3, 5, 4 and 4. W hat may without doubt be called the most complete record of first-class cricket of the year, viz., John Wisden’s Cricketer’s Almanac, has made its appearance for 1897. As usual, it is quite “ up to date,” and includes every­ thing that a cricketer wants in the way of reference. In addition to this, it con­ tains some very pertinent remarks by the Editor, Mr. Sydney H. Pardon, upon subjects which are of interest to all cricketers; an article on Public School cricket by Mr. F ord ; an exhaustive criticism of the Australians, and many other things too numerous to mention. That this year Wisden is better than ever, there can be no possible question. I n the interview which appears in this issue, Lord Hawke explains his reasons for taking a team to the West Indies, and no one can doubt that he has amply cleared himself from the charge which has been brought against him of acting in an unsportsmanlike manner. CONSPlOlOtrs among the many floral tributes borne with the body of the late H. H. Stephenson to its last resting place in Uppingham churchyard, was one from a valued contributor to Pavilion Gossip, “ R. T.” “ H. H .” was one of Robert Thoms’ closest and most attached friends, and the pair were in constant touch as fellow workers for over 40 years. No one knew more of Stephenson’s cricket, for R. T. not only watched him during his early career for Surrey and in other first- class cricket, but also saw him in his last match for Surrey against Middlesex at the Oval. A fter Stephenson’s appointment as coach to Uppingham School, where to quote R. T. “ he reigned as a Cricket King,” Thoms used to pay him periodical visits, exchanging reminiscences of cricket which must have been delightful. Thoms’ tribute to his old comrade will best be given in his own words: “ Harry, as I—and we—always called him, was without doubt one of the best and most sterling ‘ all rounds ’ that ever hatted for Surrey, and unquestionably has never been excelled as a cricket coach, as the samples he has sent forth from Uppingham testify. He was a judge of the game, and upheld it in all its integrity. His place will be hard to fill; and he is one of those, who will be missed by many.” As a result of the bad weather, which greatly interfered with the cricket at Hastings during the Festival last Septem­ ber, the committee have to announce an adverse balance of £82 12s. 8d. Never­ theless, thanks to the invariable success of previous Festivals, for which the honorary secretary, Mr. W . Carless has been largely responsible, there is still a balance in hand of £705 4s. lid . Next year the matches during the Festival will be North v. South, and Gentlemen v. Players, and Sussex will play Notts at Hastings, on July 8, 9 and 10. O ne of the famous Old Stagers, Mr. J. Loraine Baldwin, died at the end of November at St. Anne’s, Tintem, in his 88th year, after a long illness. He was one of the founders of I. Zingari, and he had a great deal to do with the institution of the Canterbury Week. He was also |in his best days an excellent cricketer. N E X T ISSUE, T H U R S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 28.