Cricket 1897

238 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. J une 24, 1897. I n “ Gossip ” of April 22 I remarked that it was somewhat difficult to under­ stand what could have induced th e Western Province captain, in the match against Natal, to refuse to allow a man to run for D. C. Davey, who was very lame. F. E . W ., writing from Natal, gives an ex­ planation of the reason why the Western Province captain acted as he did. The letter is as follow s:— “ D. C. Davey was not injured in this match but in a match that was played two days previous (namely, a sprain in his knee). Now, “ Natal” had two men standing out (they brought up 13) who were on the ground and quite capable of playing, but the Selec­ tion Committee for Natal had put Davey in the team knowing perfectly well that he would not be able to run or field throughout the match, assuming, of course, he would be allowed a substitute to run and field for him. Well, he was allowed a substitute in the field, butthe captain of theW estem Province refused (and, I think, naturally) to allow a man to runfor him when he was at the wicket. This, I think, alters the aspect of the case somewhat as portrayed by you. I may say I am a strong upholder of Natal Cricket and in no way wish to decry the actions of the team on the whole, but I think it only right on behalf of the captain of the Western Province to let you know the true facts. You say “ Such a decision is un­ usual to say the least,” but I think that such an action is also very unusual (to say the least) to play a man who is ‘ ‘ hors de combat ’ ’ when other players are available.” F . R. W . adds:— “ I am glad to be able to tell you S. African Cricketin improvement is makingrapid strides, chiefly, I think, owing to the importing of first-class English professionals such as Loh- man, Brockwell, Lockwood, Bean, Frank Heame, etc. I should like to see a S. African team touring England next summer, and, if a representative team was sent, it would, I think, be on equal terms with the first-class English Counties, as a gauge might be taken by the fact in the late Currie Cup Tourna­ ment, two S. African bowlers (Rowe and Llewellyn) had as good (in fact Rowe had even better) an analysis as Lohmann taken throughout,” While I can understand the enthusiasm of my correspondent I am afraid that the fact that two bowlers had better analyses than Lohmann in the Currie Cup Tourna­ ment proves very little one way or another. A USUALLY well-informed athletic paper the other day in an article dealing with the county qualifications of the members of this year’s Oxford and Cam­ bridge elevens, gave H. W . De Zoete, o f Cambridge, and P. S. Waddy, of Ox­ ford, both to Middlesex. The latter’s credentials for the county would appear to be, to say the least of it, doubtful. H is father, who was over in England at the time of the visit of the first Australian team, and played some club cricket in London then, at all events, lives in New South Wales, and P.S. himself has not long returned from a flying trip home. In the case of the young Cantab, our own information is that he was born in Kent and lives in Essex, near Chelmsford, to be precise. A t Lord’s in the Middlesex match the American bow ling made a favourable im­ pression, but it was generally felt that it did not possess enough variety. Most of it is fast, some of it very fast. Baily is almost the only representative of other styles; he may be described as medium, with a ball which almost seems to hang in the air. A t present the chief weakness of the Philadelphians in batting seems to be that they are too diffident. For the most part they act as if they had said to them­ selves “ Here I am. Now try to bow l me out if you can,” instead of “ Here is a bowler, and I ’m going to score otf him if I can.” Some of the tail seem to get on all right, until they feel that they must have a hit, whatever the ball may be. When this feeling of diffidence wears off they are likely to be quite a different team as regards batting. T h e Queensland Cricket Association has decided to adopt the system of elec­ torate cricket matches as played at Sydney. These matches are on the same footing as the Pennant matches at Mel­ bourne, and are practically first class. W i t h reference to a catch at Sydney ia an electorate match the Sydney Mail says “ Hardie was caught on the terrace, and if so, he surely was not out. Certainly he did not wait for a decision, but had he done so it ought to have been not out. The matter caused much discussion in the pavilion, and those who held the opinion that he was out quoted the rule of the Sydney Cricket Ground (where a man may be caught on the asphalte path, although the edge of the turf is the boundary for ordinary hits); but they are not parallel cases, for the rule in the latter case is one that applies to that ground only, and is, moreover, a special one, and it appears to us an absurd one. Unless otherwise specially provided for, all catches made outside the boundary are not out. It is, however, recog­ nised that where a fence is the boundary a fieldsman is at liberty to use his reach, but not to leave the ground within the bounds to make the catch.” This is the old question, for which the laws do not provide. A s h i l l i n g book entitled ‘ ' The County Cricket Championship from 1873 to 1896,” by the Rev. R. S. Holmes, has just been published b y Mr. J. W . Arrowsmith, 11, Quay Street, Bristol. The book is divided into five parts:—Introductory, The Counties, The Batsmen, The Bowlers, and Odds and Ends. Everything that one could possibly wish to know about the matches,^except the actual scores, is to be found in the volume, which is almost a reference library in itself. L a s t week Hornsey played University College Hospital and, after winning the toss, made a good many runs. The Horn­ sey captain, knowing that he had very weak bow ling at his disposal, decided not to declare. This, however, did not meet with the approvalof the opposingteamand for some time a strike seemed imminent, but, fortunately for the credit of the Hospital, it confined itself to one man, who went off the field and smoked a cigarette. It may have seemed hard lines on the Hospital not to get an innings, but they can hardly expect that theircaptain should act for both sides. Their obvious policy would have been to accept the situation quietly, and to have returned the compli­ ment on soma future occasion, when they would have found the Hornsey men the first to acknowledge that they had been hoist with their own petard. C r i c k e t was writ large in more senses than one in the Honour List published on Jubilee D jy . Ttie Surrey Committee furnished two stalwart additions to the number of K .C.M .G . in the persons of Major-General Frederick Marshall, the Vice-President, and Major F. A. Marin- din, better known perhaps in connection with Association football. Another new K .C.M .G . is W. A. Biillie-Ham ilton, the Chief Clerk of the Colonial Department, who was at Harrow in the sixties, and is or was an Incog. The appointment of Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, who played for Charterhouse in 1888, as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal V ic­ torian Order, also appeared in Tuesday’s list. A h i t for eight without an overthrow and on an enclosed ground is such a curiosity in its way that it should not escape the light of print. The latest record of the kind fell to Kersley, the Surrey colt, in the match against Mitcham at the Oval yesterday. “ C ri ck e t ” readers, the more enthu­ siastic of them, at all events, will find a very readable account of the Haverfor I College tour in England last year in the last issue of the “ Athletic Annual,” published in connection with that school. The initials W . P. M. suggest that it was written b y Wilfred P . Mustard, who holds the latin professorship at Haverford. Public school men in particular will be interested in the com­ ments on the game as it is played by our school teams. It will gratify those, too, who acted as hosts to the Haverford team last year, to know that their hospitality was thoroughly appreciated. This is how W. P. M. finishes : “ To the head masters and masters of the English schools we owe a special debt of grati­ tude. Long before our expedition was suggested each school had already all the cricket matches it cared to play, and the time of our visit was particularly inconvenient, because of the near approach, or actual advent, of the annual examinations. But the officers of the various institutions readily granted permission for one game more, and thanks to their courtesy and kindness we were 1 put up ’ and entertained everywhere, and everywhere received a cordial welcome and the handsomest possible treatment. We have thus been able to see something of English schools and private life, and have not had our acquaintances confined to railway porters and waiters in hotels. In fact, we all know more of the English public schools than the average English public school man. Our fixtures have taken us into many nooks