Cricket 1897

A ug . 12, 1857 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 349 members of tbe team do not get over­ worked and overtired b y constant running about on a ground as hard as bricks. Moreover, in the multitude of matches, there is more chance of defeat, and it must be remembered that Essex have not met either Notts or Gloucester­ shire, two counties which are always likely to make their presence felt. For a very weak team it is perhaps j ust as well to have to play as few matches as possible, but Essex has for a long time passed out of the ranks of the weak counties, and ought to be able to get an extended programme next year. A lthough there have been several instances in recent years of bowlers giving away a few “ extras” in order to pre­ vent the opposite side from follow ng-on, Mold is the first batsman who has out­ witted their manoeuvres. In the match between Essex and Lancashire, at Leyton, he knocked down his wicket when he saw that Mr. Bull was endeavouring to pre­ vent the follow . If the Lancashire tail had not gone to pieces on Saturday morning, it is possible that Mold’s action would have resulted in the success of his side. But it must have occurred to many people that, in this particular case, Lan­ cashire would have had a fair chance of saving the match if they had not folio wed- on, for Essex could hardly have declared before lunch-time on Saturday. F or the sake of reference, a list of the chief occasions on which the follow on rule has given rise to much discussion and loss of temper is appended: — August, 1892, at Canterbury (80 runs). Attewell bowled four wides to prevent Kent from following-on, after the Kent captain had come out to speak to the last two batsmen. Notts won. July, 1893, at Lord’s (80 runs). Mr. C. M. Wells bowled eight wides to prevent Oxford from following-on, after the last two Oxford batsmen had held a consultation. Cambridge won. July, 1896, at Lord’s (120 runs). Mr. E. B. Shine gave away 12 extras to prevent Oxford from following-on. Cambridge lost. January, 1897, at Melbourne (120 runs). Hugh Trumble bowled eight no-balls to pre­ vent South Australia from following-on. Victoria won. August, 1897 (120 runs). Mr. Bull bowled four wides to prevent Lancashire from follow- ing-on, but, off the next ball, Mold knocked down his wicket. Essex won. From the above it will be seen that, in the first four instances, the manoeuvre was successful three times. In th-i Essex v. Lancashire match it did not succeed, and so no comparison can be made. A DECISION which is not without in ­ terest has been given b y the New S >uth Wales Cricket Association. In a second grade match between Paddington and North Sydney, the umpires disagreed as to whether it was too dark for play. One of them left the ground and was followed by the two Paddington men who were batting. The other umpire waited for two minutes and then awarded the game to North Sydney. The association deci­ ded that the other man by leaving the ground was acting in defiance of the laws of the game, and that the match should be declared a draw. A n up-to-date and practical way of putting i t :—- Abel and Brockwoll (379) broke first wicket record. The collection realised £36. Star. (Latest telegram). This is an age of imitations. No sooner do Brown aud Tunnicliffe beat the record for the first wicket by putting on 378 runs for Yorkshire against Sussex, than Abel and Brockwell, a rival firm iu the South, set to work to copy their performance, and go one better by making 379 for Surrey against Hamp­ shire. It was unfortunate for Hainphire that when Abel was caught by Captain Wynyard with the total at only 50, the umpire should have decided in favour of the batsman; but most people think that the umpire was right. SCENE. — A suburban cricket ground : Umpire, after giving a batsman out lbw (a very questionable decision), turns to batsman at his end. “ D ’ you ’appen to know, sir, whether the new rule ’as come in yet ? ” Batsman : “ What rule ? ” Umpire: “ Ttie new leg-a-fore rule, about a man being out whether the ball pitches straight or n ot.” Batsman: “ Of course there’s no such rule.” Umpire: “ Well, sir, I didn’ t think there was m yself; but I saw about it in the paper.” Batsman is left wondering whether the decision was given under the old or the “ ne w ” rule. A curiosity : In Gloucestershire v. Middlesex Mr. H. B. Haymaa scored 84 in each innings for Middlesex, Mr. C. M. Wells 22 in each innings, and Rawlin four in each innings. Collections on cricket grounds, after a professional has played a good innings, have lately been common, not to say pro­ ductive. By his 215 against Notts for Surrey Abel netted £65, while Carpenter was presented with between £40 aud £-50 for his 57, not out, against Lancashire. The latest collections are £36 for Abel and Brockwell, for their long partner­ ship for the first wicket in tne Hamp­ shire match, and £35 for Bean, for his 115 against Yorkshire. The cricket puzzles recently set by various papers are quite easy to solve in comparison with some which appeared in the articles on the Canterbury Week by the special correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. The most interesting puzzle is as follows :— “ For the sake of variety, and at the risk of being considered the advocate of a “ down grade” movement, I could almost have wished that we had reverted yesterday to the ancient custom of bowling at wickets with only two stumps in them. During the con­ tinuance of this practice the number of “ lost balls ” was prodigious, for the inexperience 1 long-stops were bewildered to know whether the ball was coming alongside the wicket, or whistle through it at the point where we now place the middle stump. A cricket ball is a small object in a large field, and takes a deal of finding.” The puzzle is to find why the in­ experienced long-stops should have been bewildered, and what “ lost ball ” had to do with their bewilderment. Also to find where the “ down gra d e” comes in, and what the special correspondent is driving at. There has been another epidemic of “ run out ” iu matches on the first three days of this week. Undeterred by recent and awful examples, Barton, Hayward, Mr. Steele, Mr. C. J. B. Wood, Walter Sugg, Davidson, and Mr. C. B. Fry, not to mention batsmen of less importance, fell victims to this insidious disease, and goodness only knows what their collapse meant to their sides. It will be remem­ bered that Davidson and Sugg were both run out last week in the match against Hampshire. On Saturday morning most of the Philadelphian team left Waterloo Station en route for Southampton and New York, amid cheers from the many friends who had come to see them off. A t South­ ampton they at once went on board the American liner, the “ City of Paris.” The travellers were Mr. Work (the mana­ ger), Messrs. Thayer, Coates, Baily, K ing, Ralston, Scattergood, Clarke, Bates and Wood, the rest of the team being at present on the continent. The writers of the two follow ing let­ ters, says the Australasian, are certified as having passed the public school course iu New South Wales. They are joint secretaries of a cricket club, and wrote the managers of a rival team on the subject of a match. Bill opened the correspondence th u s:— “ Iu ancer to your chalance which i reseve on 3 inst. i wUl except yours chalance on good fridy to play at M— game to stard soon as the trane gits in to allow ours chaps time to make a early stard home it have bee in a hard job to rase a team but i think i have got one at last you say your team is week but my team is weeker still if any think shood ocur i will right and let you no Yours rsp Bill.” Something did “ ocur,” and Tom “ cried off ” in these terms :— “ i must inform you that i must wih-draw the match that wos to take place on good fridy as i cant depend on my tem as their to bissey Plowhing as wee av ad rane her hoping wee will av sum other canch again when wee are not so bessy i remin yours Tom.” It is obvious that the first writer had a keen eye for business when he said “ but in / team is weeker still.” I n the course of the last three Satur­ days the Streatham C.C. made 1,108 ruas for the loss of 14 wickets, an average of