Cricket 1896

A pril 16, 1896. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 69 more or less warmly advocated. But as the full score and analysis of the N.S.W.- 8.A. match at Sydney is not to hand at the time of writing this, must wait until next week. Meanwhile I have prepared a full list of the centuries secured in first- class matches by the various members of the team. I have included Moses, who will probably play for it once or twice. LIST OF CENTURIES. 271 . 237 . 205 . 203 . 181 . 180 . 171 . 166 . 161 136 , 120 119 113 103 172 162 145 102 100 187 140 219 . 107 . 105 . 297*. 147 , 109 . 112 101 208*. 150*. Nov. ’91 , Melbourne... Jan. ’91 . Adelaide ... Dec. ’93 Adelaide Adelaide ... Dec. ’87 ... Mar.’93 ...M ay,’93 ...June, ’93 ... Feb. ’88 . Dec. ’94 ’92 G . G if fe n . S.A. v. Victoria ..........Adelaide S.A. v. Victoria ........ S.A. v. N .8.W ............ S.A. v. Mr. Vernon’ England X I............. , S.A. v. Victoria ... . . 8th Aust. XI.V. Glos.... Bristol.. . 8th Aust. X I. v. Yorks Bradford . S.A. v. Victoria ..........Adelaide Australia v. Mr. Stod- dart’s England X I. .. Sydney . S.A. v. Victoria ..........Melbourne... Dec. . S.A. y . N.S.W.............. Sydney ... Jan. . 5th Aust. XI. v. C.TT., P. and P..................... Leyton .. Aug. ’86 . 4th Aust. X I. v. Lancs. Manchester June, ’84 . S.A. y, Victoria ..........Melbourne... Jan. ’94 (i. H . S. T r o tt . . 7th Aust. X I. v. C. U., P. and P..................... Leyton ,. 6th Aust. XI. v. N.S.W. Sydney Victoria y. S.A..............Melbourne. . 8th Aust. X I. v.Mddlsx. Lord’s... . ,. 7th Aust. X I. v. Glos.... Bristol... . . 8th Aust. X I. v. Leics... Leicester . F. A. I r e d a le . .. N.S.W. y. S.A.............. Sydney . . Australia v. Mr. Stod- dart’s England X I— Adelaide . .. N.S.W. v.Mr.Stoddart’s England X I................Sydney .. N.S.W. V. Victoria ... Melbourne Aug. ’90 Dec. ’88 . Feb. ’95 . July ’93 . July ’90 . July’90 Mar.’96 . Jan.’95 . Nov. ’94 . Dec. ’92 121 117 160 120 H. Graham. 8th Aust. X I. v. Drbysh. Derby... 8thAust.XI. v.England Lord’s... Australia v. Mr. Stod- dart’s England X I— Sydney Victoria v. N.S.W. .. Melbourne.. D ec.’95 H . M oses . . N.S.W. v. Victoria ... Sydney . N.S.W. v. Victoria ... Sydney , N.S.W. v. Shrewsbury’s EDgland X I...............Sydney . N.S.W. v. S.A..............Sydney .S. E. G regory . . Australia v. Mr. Stod- dart’s England X I .... Sydney . 8thAust.XI.v.Mddlsx. Lord’s... , N.S.W. v. Victoria ... Melbourne... Dec. C. H ill . . S.A. v. N.S.W.............. Sydney . S.A. y. Mr. Stoddart’s England X I. ..........Adelaide J. D arling . . S.A. v. N.S.W. ... ... Sydney . S.A. v. Mr. Stoddart’s England X I............... Adelaide H. Donnan. .. N.S.W. v. Victoria ... Melbourne. ,. N.S.W. v. S.A............. Adelaide . C. J. E ady . July ’93 . July’f Feb. ’95 Jan. Feb.’91 Jan. Jan. ’94 Dec. ’94 July’93 ~ '94 . Feb. ’96 . Mar. ’95 ... Feb. ’96 ... Nov. ’94 Dec. ’95 Dec. ’92 116 112 * Jan. ’95 Tasmania v. Victoria ... Hobart * Signifies not out. Albert Trott, Kelly, Jones, McKibbin and Johns have not yet reached three figures in an important game; and would not mind giving long odds that no one of the last three does so this trip One of the popular “ weeklies” (I had nearly spelt that word with an “ a " came out a week or two back with an article on the Australian team which con­ tained some absurd mis-statements, by the way. What reminded me of this production just now was that one of the statements made was that Giffen had ‘ ‘ made more centuries in first-class cricket than any living cricketer except W,G. This is news to me. Giffen has made fourteen such [scores. Now Mr. W. W. Read has made over forty. Shrewsbury has made about as many. Gunn has been credited with 26, Barnes with 21, Ulyett with 18, Mr. Stoddart with 16, Abel with 19, Mr. Newham with 15, Mr. Webbe with the same number as Giffen, Mr. Hornby with 18 or 20. I need scarcely add more names; and indeed I don’t think I could, for I believe the list I have given is practically exhaustive. But there is no need of more. All these ten players are very much alive. I can’t oblige the writer of the article I allude to by giving him the full list of their three figure scores, but I would refer him to Wisden and Lillywhite if he doubts me. He mentions Clem Hill’s “ extraordinary average ” of 113 against Stoddart’s team. Granted that Hill’s performance in the last match of the tour was extraordinary, I cannot see how one can attach any value to an average gained in only two completed innings as an average. The writer speaks of McKibbin’s last “ per­ formance in Australia before starting for England; ” but the match he is referring to was the return between New South Wales and Victoria at the end of January. His n a if inference from the story of McKibbin, Stoddart, the ball, and the photograph is amusing. He says that only W.G., Stoddart, and Brann have scored two centuries in a match in Eng­ land. If he means first-class matches only, he is correct; but he expresses no such limitation. He states that Donnan has never yet faced any of the English bowlers.” Well, Donnan played against Shrewsbury’s team as far back as 1887-8, and twice appeared in the Australian team against Lord Sheffield’s Eleven. These are not the only holes one could pick in the article. And the moral of all this criticism is, if people want to read about cricket why don’t they buy Cricket, and get facts ? Speaking of the double century feat, I notice that our good Editor said last week that, if he remembered rightly, only some thirteen batsmen had achieved it. For once in a way, however, his memory has played him false. My own list of such records—and I am not sure that it is quite complete—-contains the names of nineteen batsmen and one batswoman. And among the instances is one case in which, like that of K. E. Burn, both the innings were not out. Mr. R. A. A. Beresford, who afterwards played for and nearly got his Blue at Cambridge, scored in a house match at Oundle School, in 1888, 102 not out and 307 not out. Here is my list—I shall be greatly obliged if anyone can add to it a genuine instance:— In first-class matches : W. G. Grace (three times), G. Brann, A. E. Stoddart and C. J. Eady. In minor matches : W. W. Read, A. C. Bannerman (in Australia), E. Beech (in South Africa), W. Lambert (anno 1817), R. A. A. Beresford, F. W. Maude, F. G. J. Ford, D. G. Spiro, J. S. Liddell, H. S. Bush, W. D. Llewellyn, W. Townshend, K. E. Bum (in Tasmania), Capt. E. G. Wynyard, A. G. Richardson, and Miss Deane (in Australia). It is somewhat ungallant of me to place the lady last. Her record, at least, is one that will not be easily broken. She is a sister of the S. Deane who kept wicket once or twice for New South Wales some years ag o; and her scores— 195 and 104—were made in a ladies’ match in Sydney in 1890. There comes over me a shade of doubt, [though. Is this really cricket ? Ladies’ matches in England are not, as a rule. Mr. Read’s is certainly the best of the instances recorded in minor cricket, being, indeed, on the borderland of first-class. His scores were 105 and 130; and the match was Gentlemen of Surrey v. Gentle­ men of Philadelphia, in 1887. Banner- man’s scores (111 and 104 not out) were also made in good class cricket, in a match between two of the leading Sydney clubs. Mr. Beresford’s rank with that 404 not out of Mr. E. F. S. Tylecote. In that case the game was continued from half-holiday to half-holiday at Clifton to see how many Tylecote would make ; and I rather fancy the same sort of thing occurred at Oundle. Mr. Maude’s 146 and 143 were made for the M.C.C. and Ground v. Wiltshire; but Wiltshire was never strong. Was it not of Wiltshire that the Old Buffer pathetically wrote that he always went to Lord’s to see it play the M.C.C., because it was his own county, and always saw it made an exhi­ bition of ? Mr. A. G. Richardson and the late Mr. W. D. Llewellyn made their scores in college matches at Cambridge and Oxford respectively; one surmises that the bowlers were not of first-class pretensions. Capt. Wynyard’s were made in a match at a summer resort in India. In looking through my MS. book of records for these, I came across a short entry to which I should like to make additions, if there are any to make. It is headed: “ Instances of double figures by every batsman on a side in one-innings in a first-class match.” And beneath it I find but seven entries. They are: Cambridgeshire (v. Yorkshire) in 1865; All England Eleven (v. Yorkshire) in 1865; Oxford University (v. Middlesex) in 1876; Lord Londesborough’s Eleven (v. Australians) in 1886; Kent (v. Sussex) in 1893; Tasmania (v. Victoria) in 1893 ; Mr. Stoddart’s Eleven (v. Australia, at Melbourne) in 1894. Surely there must be more than this ? Can anyone assist me ? There is another matter about which I am curious — the heaviest beating on record in a first-class match. The worst I can find is Surrey’s defeat of Sussex by an innings and 485 runs in 1888. Shrewsbury’s Team beat Victoria, in a match referred to earlier in this article, by an innings and 456 runs in 1887. These are the only instances I know of where the margin has been an innings and 400 runs. Erratum. —Printers, of course. The injury to Bates’s eye was in 1887-88, not 1877-78, as I was made to say in last article. TC 0 Secretaries of Cricket Clubs.—For sale. Horse Mowing machine by Green, 30 inches, in thorough repair, cost £22. Price £12. H. J. Stone, Bedford, Havering, Essex.