Cricket 1897

A do . 5, 1897. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 333 lunch no less than 62 were put on by Mr. Jessop and Mr. Champain, of which 58 belonged to the former ; his total of 101 was made in 40 minutes. I n the three matches which were brought to a conclusion on Saturday, no less than 3,352 runs were scored, the total in each match being 1,100, more or less. The number of wickets taken (including that of N. F. Druce) was 103, which gives an average of a little over 32 runs per wicket. Of the 102 innings which were completed, 74 were of double figures. As many earnest cricketers are anxious to know how to score, there was a rush on the News o f the World last Saturday, whose contents bills announced in large letters “ H ow to Score, by Archie Mac­ Laren.” The feelings of those who bought the paper on the strength of the contents bill may be better imagined than described when they found a notice prominently displayed in the paper, “ H ow to Score, by Archie MacLaren. Next week.” Doubtless some explana­ tion of this discrepancy will be forth­ coming. T h e Barbados Annual for 1896-97 has just made its appearance. It may be described as the “ Wisden ” of the island, for it contains the scores of all the principal matches, with short introduc­ tions, and complete lists of averages, etc. The visits of Lord Hawke’s and Mr. Priestley’s teams are, of course, fully recorded. A b e l has at last broken the run of ill-luck which has latterly attended him, and, after scoring 0 and 0, 5, 4, 12 and 6, he has suddenly come out with 215 against Notts on Bank Holiday at the Oval, before a very large crowd which appreciated his success to the utmost. U p to the middle of last week A. T. Coode had scored 777 for the Jesus L.V. C.L. in ten innings, of which no less than eight were not out. Hence his average was 338J, which is something quite out of the common. D u rin g the last week or two the minor counties have been busily engaged against each other, and occasionally against the first class counties. A strong Notts X I, including all the best men, except Mr. D ixon and Attewell had none the best of the draw against Northamptonshire, while Staffordshire gave a remarkably good account of themselves against W arwick- shire. Nash, the old Lancashire bowler, who now plays for Bucks, came off ex­ ceedingly well for his county in the match against Worcestershire. He took six wickets in the first innings for 59, and in the second four for 79. I t is evident that Mr. O. G. Radcliffe, once so well known as a member of the Gloucestershire X I, has not lost his form, for although he has lately played two or three small innings for Wiltshire, he made 83 last week for his present county against Monmouthshire. Newfoundland cricket is considered now-a-days of sufficient importance to warrant the publication of an Annual for the season of 1896. The batsmen had a sorry time, for the wickets were almost without exception very sticky, and no one exceeded in getting a higher average than 19. The Annual is published at the Daily News office, St. John’s, New­ foundland, at 20 cents. Since Mr. A. C. MacLaren reappeared this season in first class cricket his scores have been 193, 152, 70, 68 and not out 8, 18 and not out 17, and 244. This is a remarkable record. There are now fourteen names on the list of batsmen who have scored a thou­ sand runs this season, Hirst, W . G., Mr. Mason, Ward, Baldwin, Mr. Jessop and Tunnicliffe having placed themselves be­ side K. S. Ranjitsinhji, Abel, Brown, Mr. Brann, Wainwright, Hayward, Baker, and Mr. Jackson. Others who may very soon be expected to join the band are Mr. Dixon, 996; Tyldesley, 976; Mr. Key, 917; and Mr. Murdoch, 988. The number of good batsmen who were run out in the first innings in this week’s matches is large enough to be heartrending. When the wickets of K. S. Ranjitsinhji, Mr. Perrin, Barton, Davidson, Walter Sugg, and Dench are all thrown away, it makes one question more than ever whether the game is worth the candle. The averages of these batsmen up to Monday amounted to 206 (roughly) when added togeth er; the total of their scores in the innings in which they were run out was 47. It may not be possible to argue that it would have required 159 short runs to make up the balance, but it is evident that the opponents of short runs have here a very good text to preach upon. The victims of “ run ou t” in the second innings included Rawlin, Mr. Newham and Mr. Jackson ! There was a delicious little piece of banter in Tuesday evening’s Star which Abel would appreciate as much as any­ body:— “ During the first two hours Abel was naturally careful to redeem his more recent failures, and at no time could it be said that he took Jessopian liberties with the bowling.” I t seems strange at this time of the year to find the name of A. E. Stoddart missing from the list of those who have scored their thousand runs, and not only just missing, but missing b y a very long way. Until the Middlesex match against Somerset, he had not made a hundred this season— another unusual thing—but as just previously he had scored 91, it is, perhaps, not too much to hope that he may end the season in triumph. There could hardly have been a greater contrast between the end of the first innings of Notts at the Oval and the beginning of the second. For the last wicket in the first innings, Guttridge and J. Gunn put on 83 in remarkably quick time, hitting all the bow ling with much vigour; at the beginning of the second, Shrewsbury was in for twenty minutes without scoring, and his partner was almost as patient. Last year in the Lancashire and Kent match during the Canterbury week an innings of 226 made at a critical time by Mr. MacLaren enabled his county to make a very satisfactory draw ; this year his 244 at the beginning of the match gave his side such an enormous advantage, that they won without difficulty. In both matches Mr. MacLaren’s batting is the more remarkable because the scores made by the rest of his side were only very moderate. An article entitled “ H ow to Field at Cricket ” by Prince Banjitsinhji, is the chief attraction in this month’s Windsor Magazine. Banjitsinhji’s advice, as might have been expected from such an accomplished field, is sensible and to the point, and although it is no more possible to learn how to field from a text book, than it is to learn how to bat or bow l, the article is exceedingly interesting. E x­ ception will probably be taken to Ranjit- sinhji’s statement that the term “ a safe field ” implies a certain degree of slowness in the fielder. Gunn, Hayward, Captain Wynyard, H . J. Mordaunt, F. S. Jackson, and numerous others, including Banjit­ sinhji himself, are recognised as “ safe fields,” but a misguided batsman who trusted to their slowness would soon be wofully undeceived. For the third year in succession the Abbey School, Beckenham, has gone through the season without being defeated on its own ground. K. M. M istri and Billimoria, two well-known Parsee bowlers, were playing for Patiala (whose team was coached in the winter by J. T. Heame) against Simla, and on a caked wicket disposed of Simla for 13. Mistri took seven wickets in seven overs for three runs, and Billi­ moria two for eight. Referring to Mr. Stoddart’sapproach- ing visit to Australia, the Adelaide Observer says:— One of Stoddart’s difficulties, when he comes to the final selection of his team, will he the choice of bowlers. It will only depre­ ciate the value of Richardson to bring' three or four of the fast school, and the choice of medium-pace or slow bowlers is exceedingly limited in England j ust now. Dapper Johnny Briggs seems to have gone clean off, and Bobby Peel is no longer the Bobby of old. The only youngsters of the Briggs-Reel type, who give special promise, are Bull, of Essex, who was in Australia last March, and Towns­ end. Bull, possibly, has more than an out­ side chance of getting into Stoddart’s Eleven. The match between Surrey and Notts, concluded yesterday, is the third consecu­ tive first-class fixture at the Oval in which