Cricket 1897

334 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A ug . 5, .1897. over a thousand rims have been scored. Surrey and Notts produced in all 1,021 runs for 31 wickets, and these add ed to 1,026 for 30 wickets in Surrey v. Kent," on July 22, 23, and 24, and 1,136 for 40 wickets in Surrey v. The Philadelphians, on July 29, 30, and 31. furnish an aggre­ gate of 3,243 runs for 101 wickets for the three matches. Counting Surrey’s Second v. Hertfordshire, on July 26 and 27, the last four games at the Oval have realised 4,028 runs for 125 wickets. S u r r e y ’s Second Eleven were peri­ lously near having their unbeaten record of the last five years broken at Cardiff on Tuesday last. They had to play up, in­ deed, at the finish to escape defeat, and, indeed, it was due to the two Mitcham lads, Hussey and Keene, that Glamor­ ganshire did not win, for the last bats­ men were in, and 76 were still wanted to give Surrey a victory. It may be re­ marked in passing that the last defeat of Surrey’s Second came from Bedfordshire, at Luton, on August 4th, 1892. U p to the present, the cricketers who have promised to accompany Mr. Stoddart are as fo llow s:—K. S. Ranjitsinhji, A. C. MacLaren, N. F. Druce, Richard­ son, J. T. Hearne, Hayward, Hirst, Storer, Board and Wainwright, while it it is announced that Mr. Jackson and Attewell have not yet decided whether to go or not. As at present constituted, the team is unquestionably strong in batting, though another team might be chosen which would be as strong, but the bow ling strikes one as likely to be its weak point on Australian wickets, where head work is absolutely essential. It is possible that the Australians will be strong in bow ling and a good many cricketers are of opinion that at the present time, Albert Trott, who will presumably return to Australia for the winter, is one of the best bowlers in the world, chiefly because of his skill in deceiving a batsman as to his pace. T h e follow ing remarks from the Sportsman on the Philadelphian team will meet with very few dissentients :— It must not he forgo*ten that circumstances have been against them. They committed a grave error in having to start so soon after landing, their choice of innings was generally secured when it was of practically little, if any, advantage, and vice versa the toss was lost when by so doing the chances of success were greatly diminished. Then, again, their circle of players is limited, and three or four of the best men were prevented almost at the last moment from undertaking the trip through business reasons. The daily playing on generally hard wickets has also told its tale, and more than one player has been thereby placed hors de combat.. The follow ing are some of the latest hundreds:— July 29— C . M c G a h k y . E psex v . S u ssex ... ...1 4 0 July 31— K . S. R a n jit s in h ji , S u ssex v . E s s e x ... 170 July 29— G . L. J esso p , G lo u c est er sh . v . Y orks 101 July 2 9 - 0 . L . T o w n s e n d , ., ,, 109 Aug. 3 —A b e l , S u r r ey v . N o t t s .............................. 215 Aug. 2— A. E .S t o d d a r t ,M id d le s e x v. S o m e r s e t 109 Aug. 2— A. C. M a c L a r e n , L a n c a s h ir e v . K e n t 244 Aug. 3— C. M c G a h e y , E s se x v . L e ic e s te r s h ir e 123 Aug. 3— D e n t o n , Y o r k sh ir e v . W a r w ic k s h ir e 141* Au*. 3—W. L. M u r d o c h , S’xv. G l o u c e st e r sh . 130 Aug. 3—W. G. G r a c e , G l o u c e st e r v . S u ss e x .. 116 Aug. 31—L.A>huter,BusheyPk. v.W.Wickham 108 Aug. 30—V. Leese, Leighton v. Cavalry Brigade 184 Aug. 30—F.W. Stancomb ,,„ 129 Aug. 30—R.Johnston.OldCliftoniansv.E’tbourne 206* Aug. 30—E. Matheson, Eastbourne v. Old Clift. 106 Aug. 30—FT. R. Broml- y-Davenp >rt, I.Z. v. R.E. 107 Aug. 29-H.Bush.E’tbourne.v.Mr.Hambro’sXI. 314* Aug. 29—J. Brown ., ,, ,, 116 Aug. 29—C.Wood.L’sterC.&G.v.Upp’ghmRov’rs 144 Aug. 29—C. Cheekland „ „ „ 162* Aug. 3 0 -V . Leese Leighton v. Emeriti . 141 Aug. 30—H. Moorhouse, O. B.’ s. v. B’ghton Coll. 132 July 28—J.Damant.SunningdaleSch v.Daleboys 106* July 28—A.E Stoddart,Hampstead v. Richmond 127 July 31—N. Miller, Streatham v. Merton.......... 106* July 3i —W. J.Hancock.Streathnm v.Marl.Blues 17 Aug. 2—C. E. Currie Kensington v. Pallingswick 164 July 31 - A. G. Rice. Incogniti v. Reiga e Hill... 128 July 29—R. Hoare.S George’sRovers v S’ndt-rl’nd 102 July 31 I.Grist.R<*y Naval Hos.v.Roy. Artillery 133 July 21—E. H. Setton. Kf*ns. Pk. v. Brentwood 127 Aug. 2—A. P. Lucas, Chelmsford v. Kens. Pk. 115 * Signifies not out. TH E P H IL A D E L P H IA TOUR. The object with which the tour of the Philadelphians was undertaken has with­ out any doubt whatever beeu attained. It was not with the idea of eclipsing, or even rivalling the performances of the Australians that the team came to En g­ land, although, like true cricketers, its members may have dimly hoped that they would do something phenomenal; it was rather with the idea of increasing their knowledge of the game by meeting the very best of Euglishplayers. It may be added that negotiations for the visit were not entered upon until many English authorities had been consulted with regard to the advisability of such a step. Befoie the tour began, Mr. Work, the manager of the team, in an interview which appeared in Cricket, in answer to the question “ Of course you don’t expect to beat the strongest Eaglish counties?” replied “ No. We do not anticipate that, unless, indeed, we are favoured by more than our share of good fortune, but we shall at any rate gain experience. We felt that the step had to be taken sooner or later.” His opinion was shared by all the team. When it is con­ sidered that the Philadelphians only have from 200 to 250 men to draw upon who take an active part in the g uue, whereas Eugland has thousands, and that all Philadelphian cricketers are connected with business in some form or other and have no time to spare for constant practice, it is impossible not to be astonished that such a powerful team can be turned out. The Philadelphians have played the game in a sportsmanlike manner, and have gained friends every­ where, and if they have occasionally felt annoyed at being defeated, there are few cricketers who can say that they invariably “ come up smiling.” It can­ not be taid that the Philadelphians have been attended with the constant luck which generally follows Australian teams on tour in England, and from first to last they have had to contend with no ordinary difficulties. They lost the toss when io was most important to win it; they began the tour in weather which a schoolboy would describe as “ beastly,” and played on wickets to which they were not accustomed; they lost the services of their captain just when be was at his b e st; and finally more than half the team met with accideuts which seriously handicapped th*m. Under these circumstances it was very satisfactory to Keat Sussex and Warwickshire, and to draw favourably with Yorkshire, Notts and Somerset. In batling the Philadelphians were strangely variable, the only man who played consistently well throughout the tour being Mr. Lester, who has certainly strengthened the very favourable im ­ pression formed of him last year when he visited England with the Haverford College team. Mr. Patterson, undoubt­ edly the best batsman in the team, w i« s ngularly unfortunate during the firt.r, part of the visit, but later came off with flying colours, only to be prevented from playing in the last two or three matches on account of a badly damaged finger. Mr. Wood is unquestionably a very tine bat and he played many excellent innings during the tour. Of the rest Mr. K ing was perhaps the most useful, tor he oftm made runs when they were badly wanted, but several others only want experience. There was a general lack of life in the batting of the team as a whole, but this was probably ow ing entirely to want of confidence. It was in bow ling and field­ ing that the team was weakest, but the poorness of the fielding was to a great extent accounted for by the fact that so many of the men were damaged in one way and another. Of the bowlers Mr. K ing was head and shoulders above the rest, but in a more fortunate season Mr. Baily, Mr. Cregar and Mr. C ark would have come more prominently into notice. There can be no doubt that the team has learned much from the visit and it may be taken for a certainty that no stone will be left unturned to improve the weak spots in each man’s armour. The present team has done well, but the next is likely to do better. W . A. B ettesworth . RESULTS OF MATCHES. W o n , 2 ; L o st , 9; D r a w n , 4; T o t a l , 15. June 7 and °, at Oxford, v. Oxford University. Philadelphians 165(for seven wickets). Oxford Uni­ versity 363. Drawn (rain). June 10 aud 11, at Manchester, v. Lancashire. Lancashire 149and 64 (for 3wickets). Philadelphians 123 and 86. Lost by seven wickets. June :4and 15, at Cambridge, v. Cambridge Uni­ versity. Cambridge University 412. Philadelphians 149 and 100. Lost by an innings and 163 runs. June 17 and 18. at Brighton, v. Sussex. Sussex 46 and 252. Philadelphians 216 and 83 (for two wickets). Won by eight wickets. June 21 and 23. at Lord’s, v. Middlesex. Middlesex 234 and 154 (for three wickets). Philadelphians 117 and 270. Lost by seven wickets. June 24, 25 and 26, at Oval. v. Oxford University, Past and Present. ' )xford University 261 and 84 (for threewickets). Philadelphians 120 and 221. Lost by seven wickets. June 28 and 30, at Sheffield, v. Yorkshire. York­ shire 104 (for four wickets). Philadelphians 225. Drawn (ra n). July 1, 2 and 3, at B >urnemouth, v. Hampshire. Hampshire 281 and 173 (for five wickets). Philadel­ phians 292 and 163. Lost by five wickets. July 8, 9 and 10, at Birmingham, v. Warwickshire. Warwickshire 296 and 201. Philadelphians 269 and 230 (for five wickets). Won by five wickets, July 12, 13 and 14, at Nottingham, v. Notts. Notts 244 and 249 (for eight wi?k» ts). Philadelphians 421. Drawn.