Cricket 1897

Aua. 19, 1897. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 361 W .G .— 131 and eight wickets for 58. Has any better all-round performance been done this season? J. R. Mason’ s grand all-round play v. Somerset, at Blackheath (31 and 183, and five for 52) ; Brockwell's 66 and 131, and nine for 87, v. Sussex, at the Oval; Jessop’s 101 and 0, and nine for 177, v. Yorkshire, at Harrogate ; Wainwright’s 101, and seven for 123, v. Gloucestershire at Bristol; Hirst’s 134, and seven for 112 in the same game, and his 41 and 54, and 11 for 120 v. Essex, at Huddersfield, are among the best of the year; but I don’t think one of them can be put before the Grand Old Man’s doughty deeds at Cheltenham. But Gloucestershire’s position among the counties just now, will, I am sure, please him better than all the praise lavished upon his own feats. It was probably the remembrance of last year’smatchwithHampshire, at Southampton, that induced Mr. Bainbridge to take in Willie Quaife first with him on Thursday instead of Walter, his usual partner. Last August the Midland county wanted 110 to win in the last innings; the captain and .little Quaife went in, and hit off the number without being parted—if I remember aright in pretty quick time, too. On Thursday, some of the specta­ tors must have wondered whether the new record made by Brockwell and Abel was destined to go by the board even sooner than that of Brown and Tunnicliffe. It must, I think, be unique for any county to have had two such partnerships (for the first or any other wicket) recorded against it in one week as 379 and 288. Poor Hampshire ! A plucky, hard-working team, too, and at full strength capable of making the strongest county eleven fight all the way. What a pity it was that Abel and Brock­ well did not go for Gunn and Shrewsbury’ s 398 instead of merely for the first-wicket record ! One feels almost sure that they would have beaten it, andmade the first stand of 400 in first-class cricket had they tried, for it was evident that a sense of “ duty done ” had a good deal to do with Abel’sgetting out. Thfe little man was very fatigued; but he might have managed to stay another half- hour, and that should have been ample time. It is good news that Captain Wynyard is going to Australia with Mr. Stoddart, though I cannot help a feeling of regret that ‘ ‘ Johnny Brown fra’ Halifax ” is not included lingering with me. I suppose it is impossible ; but one would very much like to see Mr. Stoddart’s fine team pitted against a Rest of England Eleven before leaving — an eleven selected from W . G. Grace, G. L. Jessop, S. M. J. Woods, L. C. H. Palairet, C. McGahey, F. G. Bull, W . Newham, G. Brann, C. J. Kortright, Lilley, Abel, Brockwell, Gunn, Shrewsbury, Ward, Brown, Briggs and Mold. Indeed, two entirely different elevens might be put in the field against them, one after another, for besides the eighteen splendid players mentioned above we have Baldwin, A. O. Jones, J. A. Dixon, W. L. Murdoch, P. Perrin, Denton, W . G. Quaife (batsmen), C. L. Townsend, Hallam, Cuttell, Haigh and Mead (bowlers), and Hunter. And still there are Bean, Diver, H. W . Bainbridge, Attewell, R. C. N. Palairet, G. Fowler, Davidson, Uhatterton, Frank Sugg, Baker, Tyldesley, C* B. Fry, J. Douglas—but enough. After all, with fourteen first-class counties, to say nothing of the two ’ Varsities, it would be strange if we had not more than thirteen front rank men. By the way, I don’t feel the same fear as to the bowling of Stoddart’s team that some critics have expressed. Richardson is a hoet in himself ; Hirst, Jack Hearne, Wainwright and Hayward are all first-class bowlers ; and as further changes there are Mason, Storer and the Captain him­ self, to say nothing of Ranji and Norman Druce, who get a wicket now and then, though they do not claim to be bowlers. The bowling averages were very high during the last tour; but, as you cannot have an omelette without breaking of eggs, so high scoring implies high bowling averages, and it is better in every way for the game that the individual colonies should show good batting form against the visitors than that they should collapse as did Victoria against Shrewsbury’s 1887-8 team, when, if my memory serves, the English score was 624 and the total of the two Victorian innings 217. I notice that the Englishmen are to visit Westralia. I suppose cricket there is not yet sufficiently advanced to allow of matches on even terms ; but I do hope that Queensland will not revert to the fifteen or eighteen business, and that Tasmania will pluck up courage to try a bout level-handed. The Adelaide Observer of July 10th, to hand this morning, says that the Brisbane people were anxious to get one of the test matches; but they do not appear to have suceeded in doing so, though I believe it is likely that, as in 1894-5, they will receive two visits from our men. Poor “ Percy Mac ’’ will be missed; but Sammy Jones and Donahoo (formerly of Melbourne) are now playing for Queensland, and I believe Charlie Turner has removed to Brisbane, in which case it is likely he will also be seen in the team. By the way, what has become of Ferris ? It is true that his left hand had lost his cunning before he left England; but he could bat above a bit, and and it is strange that we should have heard nothing of him during the last Australian season. It has been suggested that Albert Trott will probably be back in Australia, and that, with his greatly improved form (that he has made immense strides of late few will doubt) he will prove a thorn in the side of our men. But I don’t think Trott is going back this season ; and even if he does, I doubt there being any particular cause to fear him. If our men cannot beat the very best team Aus­ tralia can muster, I, for one, am quite con­ tent that they should be beaten. It is early yet for prophecy ; but I should like to put on record my opinion that the team to meet Stoddart and his men in the first test-match will be something like this: G. H. S. Trott (Victoria), G. Giffen, J. Darling, C. Hill, and E. Jones (South Australia), F. A. Iredale, S. E. Gregory, M. A. Noble, T. R. McKibbin, and J. J. Kelly (New South Wales), and either H. Trumble (Victoria) or W . Howell (New South Wales). When Somerset wins a match, it almcst in­ variably happens that Lionel Palairet, “ Sammy” Woods, and Tyler have a very large share in the victory. Tyler, it is true, had a lot to do with beating Kent last Satur­ day; but Palairet only made 18 in the match, and Woods did comparatively little, so that the win was all the more creditable to the “ Zummerzet ” men. Surrey has yet to visit Taunton ; and I should not wonder if the re­ sult of her match there had as much to do with the destination of the championship as that of the great fight which begins next Thursday at the Oval. Somerset nearly al • ways come on wonderfully well in August, and the team has done so badly this year that one thinks there must be surprises in store. J. N. P. WHITGIFT WANDERERS (2) v. MITCHAM (2). —Played at Mitcham on August 7. W h it g if t W a n d e r e r s . A. E. Softly, c Har­ wood, b Freeman ... 47 E. Smethurst, c Free­ man, b Russell..........16 T. F. Perrin, b Bance.. 18 A. Docking, run ou t... 17 H. W. Stovold, b Rus- H. H. Baich, b Bance.. 0 P. J. Hansell, c and b Russell ................. 5 E. T. W a rn er, b Hudson ................. H. V. Green, c Hud­ son, b Russell J. W. Thwaites, st Harwood, b Russell R. S. McCulluch, not out ........................ B 10,lb 1 .......... Total.................1 M it c h a m . E. Nash, b Balch......... 0 W .J. Poston,b Perrin 9 J. Foster, -c Perrin, b J. W. Harwood, not Warner ................. 1 out ........................2") A. R. H arw ood, c Byes .................13 Docking, b Hansell.. 41 — F. Russell, b Perrin ... 7 Total.................91 W. Russell, J. Bance, R. M. Freeman, F. Adams and G. Hudson did not bat. LLOYD’S REGISTER v. COLUMBIA.—Played at Honor Oak. L l o y d ’ s R e g is t e r . S. A. Hill, c Porch, b P. F. Rook ..........36 E. Carey, c Porch, b Bodell...................... 0 C. F. Spinks, c Gann, b Bodell ................. 5 P. L.Warlow, b Porch 34 J. R. Boxall, b P. F. Rook........................ 1 A. K. Dyer, b Porch.. 1 C. H. Bradshaw, b Porch........................ A. S. Hill, not out ... A. S. Martin, b P. F. Rook........................ M. F. Alexander, b Porch....................... E. M. Salmon, b Porch Extras................. Total 7 0 11 ..100 Second innings :—C. H. Bradshaw, c and b Tingay, 7; A. S. Hill, not out, 3; M. F. Alexander, b Hud­ son, 2; E. M. Salmon, not out, 5; byes, 2.—Total (2 wickets), 19. C o lu m b ia . E. T. Gann, b Brad- P. F. Rook, b Brad­ shaw ........................ J. Bodell, c Spinks, b Bradshaw................ W . Tingay, b Carey... E Rook, c Martin, b Bradshaw................ A. Porch, b Carey ... 20 J.Hodson,b Bradshaw F. G. Day, b Carey ... H. Webb, c Martin, b Bradshaw................. H. E. Perkins, b Carey M. Jarvis, not out ... B 5, lb 1 .......... Total ..........i PANTHER v. LLOYD’S BANK.—Played at Catford on August 5 and 6. L l o y d ’ s B a n k . C.E.Melville,b Mantle 26 H. R. Swatman, lbw, b Wallers.................39 G. R. Godbold, c Wal­ lers, b Bayley.......... 7 A. W . Harpur, b Bay­ ley ........................ 2 Becker, c Standish, b Wallers ................. 9 A. Wallers, b Godbold 20 E. W, Mantle, c Swat­ man, b Becker ... 0 A. E. D. Lewis, not out ........................12 W. L. Bayley, not out Jendwine, b Lewis ... H. Kidson, b Lewis ... F. Webster, b Wallers E. B. Lean, b Lewis . R. C. Baskett, not out B 16, lb 1 .......... Total ..........1 0 A. P. G. Bingham, b Godbold ................. 0 P. Newton, b Godbold 4 B 2, w 1 .......... 3 Total 48 W . A. Standish, J. Pownes, J. Armstrong, G. W. Hodgson and W. Standish did not bat. PANTHER v. NORTHBROOK.-Played at Catfoid on August 7. N o r th d r o o k . A . H. Woolmer, c Bay­ ley, b Standish..........10 C. Willis, b Bayley ... 1 A. B. Bacon, b Bayley 9 G. A. Wood, c Heir, b Mantle .................17 E. R. Wright, b Stan­ dish ........................ 0 N. Walker, c Newton, b Standish................. 0 W. L. Bayley. c Mur­ phy, b Wood ..........57 E. W. Mantle, c and b L. Willis .................36 A. E. D. L e w is, b Wright ................ 12 W. A. S tan d ish , b Wright .................27 R. Sykes, b Wood ... 3 P. Newton, c Sander­ son, b Wood ..........33 G. Murphy, c Hodg­ son, b Standish ... L. Willis, b Standish G. Sanderson,c Lewis. b Standish ......... A. Treliving, c Bing­ ham, b Standish .. W. Standish, not out B 12, lb 2 .......... Total................. Total... C. F. S. Sulley did not bat. G. Bingham, c Wood, b L. Willis ......... 7 B. M. Green, c Wood, b L. Willis ......... 48 M. J. Heir, not out... 1 G. W . Hodgson, not out ........................ 1 B 30, lb 1 1 .......... 41 .. 216