Cricket 1897

S ept . 9, 1897. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 41 3 “ played out,” and ended in a tie. If they did not, the game was not “ played out, and the match would be decided on the first innings, that is to say Portage won. The rule is not as clear as it might be, but there can be no other interpreta­ tion of it in this case. Mr. Palmer adds:— “ The summers here are favourable for cricket, being generally dry. We have a good City League, there being seven teams entered, and we have some really good games. Of course, cricket here is not on such a sound basis as in England, hut there is no doubt about its coming popularity, aud the interest which is being shewn at the present time warrants the assertion that in the near future it will be the chief game in the country. Another important move which has been made this season is the formation of school cricket clubs.” A c c o r d in g to the Lancashire press, not only the members, but the manage­ ment of the Surrey County C.C. are greatly perturbed in spirit over their failure to obtain the Championship. The correspondent of the Manchester Evening Mail even goes so far as to say: “ I understand that at the meeting of County Cricket Secretaries at Lord’s in December, the Surrey representative will make a great effort to induce the M.C.C. to adopt the system used by the Football League, that is to say, two points for a win, one for a draw, and lost games to be ignored.” To the intelligent Cricket reader it is hardly necessary to say that there is not the shadow of a foundation for such an assertion. The Surrey management would, of course, have liked to again win the highest honours of County Cricket. But that is the head and front of their offending. Only that and nothing more. T he Maharajah of Patiala is fortunate in having been able to secure the services of William Brockwell for the coming winter, in succession to J. T. Hearne, who is, as everyone knows, going to Australia with Mr. Stoddart. On the other hand, as the Surrey cricketer is sure to have a really good time of it all round during his stay in India, his numerous well-wishers may fairly con­ gratulate him on his new engagement. Both parties in this case have reason to be satisfied. J. A. LESTER, the last of the Philadel­ phian team to leave England, should be, at the time these lines see the light of print, pretty well on to the other side of the “ big drink.” Before he sailed on Saturday he had arranged for an English professional to spend the winter in America, for the purpose of coaching the young cricketers at Haverford College. I have reason to believe that his choice fell on Holland, the Surrey player. Holland’s style should be a good model for the batting of the coming cricketers at Haverford. T h e completion of the season at Northampton on Saturday week found the second eleven of Surrey still unbeaten. This makes the fifth summer in succession they have gone through without a defeat —a record of records surely. T h o u g h the work of demolition did not commence until Monday last, by this time the old pavilion at the Oval is gone beyond recognition. In a day or two the tavern, too, will be down, and then the buildings which have housed the frequenters of the Surrey ground for four decades or thereabouts will be things of the past. But after all necessity has no law. In any case, the greatest good of the greatest number required a consider­ able extension of accommodation which could only be provided in new premises, up-to-date, and with every modern requirement. M b . M. R . J a r d in e , who played with so much success in M.C.C. matches at the beginning of the season, is now assisting the Bombay Gymkhana. In two recent matches, in which the scoring was small, he made 6 and 45. O w in g to the formation of the new electorate clubs in Adelaide the old clubs have had to dissolve. The Norwood C.C., which was the premier club in the city last season, ended its career with eclat, a very distinguished company having gathered together on the last evening of its existence. Speeches were, of course, made, most of them of no interest to readers of Cricket. But Mr. J . Cresswell, the secretary of the South Australian Cricket Association, made some remarks which are worth quoting. He thought the next cricket season would be the most brilliant ever seen in the colony. They would have a fine programme of big matches. Already hehad received applica­ tions for tickets from ladies who said they wanted to see' the Indian Prince. (Laughter). That showed what they were likely to have and that they would have some of the largest attendances they had ever had. When they got the new ground they would have the finest bicycle track in the Southern Hemisphere. It would be one of the best'in the world on account of the length of straight. They would also have bowling greens, which would stimu­ late healthy rivalry. It was also pro­ posed to have seven or eight more lawn tennis courts, which, to be modern, would be of grass. If he had his way he would like to borrow £10,000 to improve the Oval. I t is noticeable that J. J. Lyons, the captain of the above club, has only once been at the head of the averages, but this is accounted for by the fact that George Giffen has been at the top of the list on six occasions; he has also headed the bowling averages the same number of times. T h e club has issued a souvenir giving a complete summary of the doings of its members since its foundation in 1865. Up to 1869 the records are not complete, but since then 314 matches have been played, of which 219 were won, 64 lost, and 31 drawn—an excellent record. In the list of scorers of a hundred the names of Giffen and Lyons occur with a frequency which must be interesting to members of other clubs who have played against Norwood. The last honorary secretary was H. Blinman, himself a fine cricketer. T his season K. S. Ranjitsinhji has made 12 scores of over 50, and it is curious that no less than seven of these were the result of brilliant batting in the second innings after an almost complete failure in the first, while one other of the scores was made after a moderately good first innings. The scores may be divided into divisions, as follows :— Only innings or First innings. both innings. Second innings. 79 & 9, not out ...... 260 ........ 7 & 157 87 & 0 ...... 149 ........ 0 & 55 ....... ....... 0 & 74 ....... ....... 3 & 65 not out. ....... ....... 8 & 57 ....... ....... 7 & 170 ....... ....... 11 & 58 ....... ...... 84 & 129 not out. M r . B rann has scored over 50 on 15 occasions. These scores, which make a very interesting contrast with Banjit- sinhji’s, may be thus divided ;— Only innings or , First innings. bothinnings. Secondinnings. 66 & 0 ....... 126 ....... 1 & 60 67 & 1 ....... 68 ....... 52 & 0 ....... 87 ....... 64 & 7 ....... 75 & 55 ....... ....... 69 & 107 ....... 77 ....... ....... 55 & 109 ....... T he list of men who have taken a hundred wickets and scored a thousand runs has been increased by one; Wain­ wright is the latest addition to it. Before North v. South at Scarborough, he required five wickets to complete his hundred, and took six in the only innings of the South. The list is now closed for the season, as no one else has a chance of adding his name to it. On Saturday, the members of Mr. Warner’s American team left Waterloo for Southampton, on their way to New York. As already mentioned in Cricket the names of the players are as follows : P. F. Warner, G. L. Jessop, H. H. Marriott, F. W. Stocks, H. D. G. Leveson- Gower, H. B. Chinnery, W. McG. Hemingway, J. N. Tonge, F. G. Bull, B. A. Bennett, A. D. Whatman and J. R. Head. T o - day the season enters upon its close with the ever popular Hastings Festival. At present there is a reasonable prospect that the weather will be fine. There are still a few men who have the chance of adding to their reputation, while no one can spoil his average very much, even if he gets three or four ducks eggs. In last Sunday’s Referee, Mr. G. R. Sims thus refers to his fiftieth birthday : “ Fifty and not ou t” said a brother journalist to me as we met under an umbrella when the lightnings were flashing in Fleet Street on the afternoon