Cricket 1897

262 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J uly 8, 1897. “ What was your own score in the same time ? ” :i “ About 30. An odd thing was that the papers next day said that I was content to look on while my partner scored; bat this was hardly right. The fact is that he was hitting anything and everything, and no doubt I seemed very q*iiet by comparison with him. I don’t think anybody howled a maiden to him in that innings.” “ Can you remember any of the biggest hits in your career ?” “ I believe that I broke the first window in the new pavilion at Lord’s off the bowling of J. B. Wood, the Oxford lob bowler, and I can remember a hit of mine which took a curious course. We were playing Gloucester­ shire in 1888. W.Gr., who was bowling, gave me a ball to hit to square leg -his well- known trap. The ball went into the tennis court, hit something, and rebounded down the gallery into an out-of-the-way corner. They had to get a candle to find it. There were no boundaries at Lord’s at that time. I always used to go for W.Gr.’s square leg trap, but he has had me with it more than once.” “ Have you been a hitter from your earliest days ?” “ Yes, but I was never a firm-footed hitter, and 1 have often been pretty far out of my ground when I have been stumped ; one may j ust as well be stumped by a couple of yards as by an inch.” “ Which do you suppose is the innings in which you scored fastest ?*’ “ One of the quickest was owing to a fluke. Middlesex were playing Surrey at the Oval, and for some reason or other nearly all the best men in our team were unable to arrive by the time fixed for the beginning of the match ; so I. D. Walker asked me to go in first with him. We began to play at 12.30, and at lunch time the score was 136 ; I was 105 not out. We won in an innings—the sun came out and dried the wicket nicely for our bowlers when Surrey went in,” ‘ ‘ Do you ever bowl ?” “ In my early days I used to bowl an in­ ferior kind of round arm with a doubtful action, and I remember once being asked to go on in a match in order that the umpire might have an opportuni'y of no-balling me if he thought proper. It was at a time when there was considerable discussion about what was a throw and wfrat a fair ball. I went on and was promptly no-balled ; so after th it I had to get my arm straight. In a county match I have never bowled, although once or twice at the end of a game when there was nothing to gain or lose Webbe has asked me for a joke, to try my hand. But I have always declined. I may possibly have bowled in a first-class M.C.C. match, but I don’t re­ member doing so ; very rarely I have gone on in other matches.” In 1889 with a team of his own, and again in 1892 Mr. Vernon went to India with Lord Hawke, who was ill most of the tour, in the course of which thePursees beat the visitors byfour wickets. ‘ ‘ Captain Greenway,” he said, “ played a very fine innings of 130not out against us at Calcutta, where the wicket is always excellent, although in the tour of 1892-93 it did not strike me as being as good as before. The light on the ground is very peculiar owing to the dark trees nearly all round it, but the ground is very prettily situated. We had heard much about th ) hospitality of people in India, but their kindness far exceeded our expectations. In the tour of 1892-93 we played against natives at Madras, and I was greatly struck by the boldness with which they played without boots against Heseltine. I wondered what would have happened if any of them had been hit on the toes by a yorker, but they were wonder­ fully quick in getting their feet out of the way.” “ Did you findtheheat in India particularly trying? ” No. You see we went in the cold season, when it is only slightly hotter than an ordinary English summer, and we were able to play cricket during the middle of the day from eleven to five. In 1893 it was often bitterly cold. There had been lots of rain, while thehills were deeply covered with snow. At Allahabad I made 50, wearing a sweater while I was in, and never felt warm all the time. All the time that there was to spare from cricket I passed in shooting small game— snipe, duck and quail; one wants to stop for the hot weather if one goes in for big game shooting. Almost the only ‘ sights ’ of India that I saw were the Church and Memorial Well at Cawnpore, and the Taj Mahal.” “ You have also been with two tours to Australia P’ ’ “ I went withlvo Bligh’s teamin 1882, and in 1837. I went there with a teamwhich has somehow or other got to be known asmy own. Bat as a matter of fact, although I made the arrangements, Hawke was captain. He had to come home before the tour was concluded, and then I became captain, and that is probably why the team is wrongly known as mine.” Like so many other famous cricketers Mr. Vernon has distinguished himself on the football field. In 1878, 1880 and 1881 he played Rugby for England against Ireland and Scotland—the match against Wales was not then played. He was especially useful to his side in that in addition to being a power­ ful and clever forward he could take the place of any of the backs who might be hurt. The club for which he regularly played was Black­ heath. He still plays rackets and still enters for the championship. This year he was beaten in the second round, but two years ago he was the runner up. Fond as he is of cricket he is perhaps fonder of Alpine climb ing, and when he played for Middlesex was yays to be found in Switzerland at the beginning of August. If he had never done anything else in the way of big scoring at cricket, he would always be remembered for his share in the long pirtnership of 605 for the second wicket, with Mr. Trevor at Rickling Green in 1892. Mr. Vernon made 259 of this total. It may be mentioned that he used regularly to play for Gentlemen v. Players. W. A. B e t t e s w o k t h . INCOGNITI v. MR. J. A. BERNER’S X I.—Played at Wolverstone Park on June 30 and July 1. I n o ogniti . First innings. Second innings. Major W . F. Montressor, c Harding, b Shore ...........20 c Head, b Shore 2 E. A. Plunkett,lbw, b Shore 4 b Roberts .......... 8 J. F. Bawtree, c Trevor, b Roberts ..........................11 b Roberts .............36 N. A . Lewarne, c Collins, b S h o r e .................................. 7 c Godfrey, b H ar­ ding ...................33 E.G.W inter, lbw,b Roberts 64 c Roberts, b Shore 17 Capt. E.P. Prest, o Langton, b Roberts .......................... 0 c Nares, b Shore 24 W. F. Felton, b Roberts ... 0 cRoberts,b Shore 0 S. H. S. Haynes. b Roberts 19 b Shore ........... 7 Capt. W. H. Salmon, b Roberts .......................... 0 cLangton,b Shore 9 H. L. S. Macdonald, c Roberts, b Collins ........... 3 c N e p e a n , b Roberts ........... 0 Dr. C. S. W . Cobbold, c Nepean, b R oberts........... 0 not out.................... 2 W. A. Messenger, not out 0 c Roberts, b Shore 1 B 5, lb 2 ........... 7 B 1, lb 1 ... 2 RIC 1MOND v. CHELMSFORD.—Played at Rich­ mond on July 3. C helm sford . A.L. Gibson,cWelham, b Denham ......... 10 J. C. Tabor, b Denham 4 Innis, b Williams .. 12 M. G. Peterkin, b Den­ ham .......................... 0 W. Hillard, c Bacon, b Williams ... ......... 8 E. Shead, c Williams, b Deaham ........... 2 8econd innings:—A. L. Gibson not out, 22; J. C. Tabor, st Wrigley, b Williams, 0 ; W. Hillard, not out, 10 ; leg-byes, 2.—Total (I wicket) 34. R. L. Whittaker, b Denham .......... Hev. W.JBury, not out E. C. Gray, b Denham H. Crozier, b Williams Walker,lbw,bWilliams Byes ........... Total R ichm ond . Total ...135 T o ta l...........141 M r . J. A. B erner ’ s X I. First innings. Second innings. Captain C. E. Nepean, c Plunkett, b Cibbold ... 43 c Winter, b Baw­ tree ................ 10 W. D. Marshall, c Plunkett, b Baw tree.......................16 run out ............ 3 J. R. Head, c Bawtree, b Haynes ....................... 17 c Macdonald, b Salmon ........14 Capt. P. C. W . Trevor, b Hayne* ......................... 0 c Messenger, b Baw tree.......... 5 Leo Collins, b Salmon ... 35 J. A. Berners, b Haynes ... 1 b C obbold............ 5 H. F. Langtou, c Cobbold. b Felton .......................46 not out.................... 34 W. O. Nares, c Haynes, b Cobbold ........................ 9 c Messenger, b C obbold.......... 0 C. H. H irJing, c Bawtree, b Cobbold ........................ 1 c Salmon, b Hay­ nes ................. 5 A. Roberts, b Cobbold ... 2 not out................... 2 Rev. J. T. Godfrey, c Cob­ bold, b Salmon................ 7 Shore, not out ................. 1 B 14, w 5 ...........19 Lb 1, nb 1 ... 2 Total ...197 Total C U P r O N v. FINCHLEY.—Played at Clapton on July 1. F in c h le y . H. Diver, b Nelson ... 11 A. Bishop, b Nelson ... 1 A. Hooton, b Nelson 8 N. Whitby, b Nelson 15 C. H. Boyes, b Nelson 18 W. H. Collins,b Bishop 14 H. James,b Nelson ... W. E. Butterfield, not out .......................... Teelinar, b Bishop ... B 1, lb 2 ........... Total W.W.F.Pullen.blnnis 9 A. Worsley, c Tabor, b W alker.................. 6 C. Nettleton, c Gibson, b W alker.................. 8 H. B. Denham, runout 54 R. F. G. Chaldecott, b Walker .................. 7 A. S. Bull, b Gibson... 7 P. T. Wrigley, c Hill­ ard, b Walker.......... 6 E. W. Ball, not out... 80 R.N.Hincks, b’ Walker 3 D. A. J. Bacon, b Gib­ son .......................... 11 W. Williams, c Peter- kin, b Walker.......... 3 C lapto n . G. L. Lyons, c and b Hooton ...................11 J. H. Douglas,c James, b H ooton .................. 0 E. C. Palmer, c and b Hooton .., ...........16 H. Boyton, notout ...100 F. A. Bishop.b Hoo on 9 F. Boys, c James, b Teeling .................. 8 H. E. Trafford, c and b H ooton.................. 5 F. M. Harding, c Diver, b Hooton ... 6 O. Levy, b Bishop ... 3 C. H. Nelson,b Hooton 12 J. Roberts, c Nolloth, b H ooton................. 0 B 3, lb 2 ........... 5 Total ...175 CLAPTON v. LOUGHTON.—Played at Clapton on July 3. L oughton . J. Blows, b Chichester 33 F. P. Vasey, b Bishop 0 E. Herijt, c Tate, b Bishop ................. 0 L. Harris, b Bishop .. 0. R. Sharp, b Bishop ... 13 H.Jaques,bThorogood 18 T. Lund, b Chichester 5 C. Allis, run out.......... W . R. Tuck, b Chiches­ ter................................. S. Parkin, not out E. C. Norden, run out B 5, lb 6 ........... Total......... 100 Total ...194 C lapto n . J. H. Douglas, lbw, b H. Boytm , not out ... 68 A llis ..........................14 H. Trafford, b Allis ... 66 J. L. Tate, c Norden, B 2, lb 2, w 1 ... 5 b Blows .................. 2 — H. Chichester, hit Total (4 wkts.)164 wicket, b Blows ... 9 F. A. Boys, F. Bishop, J. H. Renals, W . Th>ro- good, S. Genders, and W . Saward did not bat.