Cricket 1897

210 C R IC K E T A WlilSli.LV RECORD OK THIS GAME . J une 17, 1897. the inrings he played with a broken finger—broken by a ball which got up quickly when I was bow liug. It was a great performance of his to make 107 not out under such circumstances. H e did not attempt to hit. We swarmed round him, but he never b y any chance put a ball up, and now and then made a cut or snick for four. We had to get 250 in the sec­ ond innings on a bow ler’s wicket and were badly beaten. M y own share towards the result was 0 and 6 , and no wickets. A fter the match was over I went to Scot­ land and did not play any more cricket that year.” “ When did you begin to play for Nor­ folk ? ” “ In 1882. A t that time Norfolk was quite one of the best second class coun­ ties. One could not wish to play more delightful cricket, for nearly all the members of the team were amateurs, and all were good fellows. I had a good deal o f bow ling and of course I liked that immensely. Our chief bowler was P. H. Morton, then the best fast bowler in England. Norfolk was at the top with Essex and Leicestershire—we were all about equal.” “ Y ou only played in the holidays P” “ Yes. I used to take a holiday tutor­ ship, although I can’t say that my duties were arduous. The first year that I played I was tutor to a son of Mr. S. Gurney-Buxton, of Catton Hall, Norwich. The first week he took me duck and rabbit shooting on most days, the second week there was county cricket at Norwich, the third week cricket matches in the home park every day, so that there was not much time for work. W e had some good bats in the Norfolk team. In one of the matches against the M .C.C. our first three men, L . K . Jarvis, his brother (J. E .), and a professional named Hansell, all made centuries. The two Jarvises always went in first.” “ What was your best innings for Norfolk ? ” “ I don’t think I ever made more than 75. That was against the M .C.C., who made about 230. We had to follow on, and put up something like 400. L . K. Jarvis made 103; m y score was 75. We put M.C.C. in for 150 or so, and got them out for 90. Six of their wickets fell to me, the rest to M orton.” B y comparison with Mr. Smith, Mr. Meyrick Jones, and Mr. Roe, Mr. Wilson is a slow run getter, and he once over­ heard a conversation which amused him very much. “ A young brother of mine,” he said, “ who was captain of the Rossall X I . last year, with an average of 41, the highest ever known at the school, higher even than that of W . Townshend, the Oxford Blue, Royle, Bather, Phillips, or other great Rossall cricketers, was talking, when he was at Elstree, to another boy, during the holidays.” This was the conversation :— ‘ How do your masters play at Elstree f ’ 1Oh, Meyrick Jones is a one-er. Smith’s first class; he does hit ’em high, and Eoe’s not bad.’ ‘ How does Charlie hat ? ’ (I am Charlie). ‘ Oh,he’s awful. Nobody ever looks at him. They all read their hooks till he gets out.’ “ No doubt the boys like to see hard hitting more than anything else P” “ Of course. It is only natural, and they love to see Smith and Meyrick Jones particularly. I t will give you a very good idea of the rate at which Meyrick Jones scored if I mention a few instances. I always used to go in first with him. Once we were playing against the old Etonians. When he got out, the scoring board said 58-1-56. I ultimately made 60, and scored faster when Meyrick Jones had gone. I remember in the Rugby and Marlborough match at L oid ’s in 1877, I had made 49 when Steel came in, when I was out, completely run off my legs, his score was 73, mine 51. Those fellows who hit always seem to get much more than their fair share of the bowling. “ H ow do you account for that ? ” “ W e ll! If they begin an over they generally get a four or two, and at about the third or fourth ball they get a single, leaving one or two balls only for the other man. The result is that they are generally to be found at the other end when the next over begins, and so the thing goes on. To mention another instance of my partnership with Meyrick Jones. In another match he got out first with the scoring board showing 138-1-102; he generally made about three runs to my one. I have seen him hit a ball on to the top of the chapel twice in one over, the first hitting the coping and the second pitching about a foot below—both tremendous hits. I remember W . H. Game, the old Surrey hitter, com ing to Elstree to play in a match. When he went in he said to Royle. 1 Yernon, I ’m going to run to you every time. I want to see whether you can field as well as they say.’ I bowled him a ball which in ordinary circumstances he would have hit very hard ; he played i t . at his own pace towards Royle at cover point and ran. I got back to my wicket only just in time, but as the ball came Royle called out, ‘ D on’t stop i t ! ’ and it crashed into the wicket before Game was half way up the pitch.” “ Y ou still go on first to bow l at Elstree ? ” “ Yes. I may add that I generally go off first too. W e are very strong in bow l­ ing this year, with Ernest Smith, Le Mesurier, who last year took five wickets in one over against the Butterflies, all bowled, and the Rev. B. W . Bradford. Roe himself is no mean bowler, but he never goes on; in fact, he is never wanted. If we don’t get wickets pretty quickly we are soon shifted. I often watch Le Mesurier when I think it is about time for me to go o ff; he generally seems to be thinking the same thing, I notice, judging from the business-like way he is rolling up his sleeves. Bradford is an old Cliftonian; he did not get into the Oxford X I., although he is a very much better bowler than many men who get their blues. “ Are you as strong in batting as ever ? ” “ We have lost Meyrick Jones, who has gone to do parish work in Bristol, but otherwise we are decidedly strong. Smith is in splendid form this year. A short time ago he made 91 in about 50 minutes against three of the professionals from Lord’s ; he hit them all over the place. Roe has altered very much as a batsman since he was at Cambridge, and I think he is batting very much better than he has ever done. Last year he was, as you know, third in the averages, though his cricket was mostly in August, when runs take more getting than in the two pre­ ceding months. When he was at Cam­ bridge I thought him rather a slogger; he can hit as hard as ever, but has so much more defence. I remember one match at Cambridge in which we played on opposite sides. Our score read, Wilson, b Roe, 100; Roe, b Wilson, 4. I still possess the record of that score, and now that he is unmistakably first, and I particularly third class, I sometimes have to remind him of the Cambridge match.” Mr. Wilson was one of the very few men—there can only be two or three at the most— who have played both Rugby and Association football for England. He still plays when he has the oppor­ tunity, and last year went with the Casuals on tour, and played against Stoke and Notts county, among other league teams. ‘ The difficulty I find now ,’ he said, ‘ is to keep my cap on. I do a good deal of head work, and sooner or later off comes m y cap, and the crowd, seeing a bald-headed man suddenly discovered, roars with delight. It is different with Reynolds, the Aston Villa half-back, for his baldness is merely the size of a ton- sure, and he boldly comes on without a cap ; but I find it hurts too much to head a ball without one. A t first the roars of laughter used to annoy me, but now I don’t mind in the least. I have tried all sorts of dodges to keep my cap firmly on my head, and at last I think I have in­ vented a system of double elastic which will work. People say at times, ‘ Really, it is barely decent to be playing football at your age.’ Perhaps not, but by instinct one shrinks from becom ing old unnecessarily soon. I have a hope that some day my little eight-year-old son will be playing matches with me at cricket, or perhaps footer ; and I intend to keep it up as much as possible, or he will soon be thinking his father a veteran or a duffer.” W. A . B e tte s w o rth . L. C. B. TAKINGS XI. v. KENSINGTON PARK.— Played at Dunstable on June 2. T h r in g ' L. C. R. Thring, b Foy 12 J.H. Metcalfe,bThring 74 T. Giddings, b Thring 1 E. C. Green, b Foy ... 4 W. F. Brown, c Hesel­ tine, b Foy...............33 A. P. McDonnell,c Foy, b Thring .............. 1 J. Healing, c Stork, b Foy ..................... 6 s XI. F. W. Carpenter, c Thring, b Stork ... W. H. Spencer, c & b Foy ..................... J. Parkin, not out ... C. G. Smith, b Stork B 11, lb 2, wb 1... Total.. ...150 K e n sin g to n P a r k . J. G. Donaldson,c Gid­ dings, b Brown J. Dean, b Giddings ... E. H. Seaton, lbw, b Giddings ............... E. Y. Acton,b Giddings C. H. M. Thring, c Giddings, b Brown... W. H. Thring, b Gid­ dings ..................... B. Greatorex,bGiddings H. H. Foy, st Thring, b Brown.............. 2 Revr. H. S. Stork, c Smith, b Brown ... 0 E. Harrison, lbw, b £H Giddings.............. 0 W. Heseltine, not out 0 B 24, lb 5, wb 4... 33 Total... ...135