Cricket 1897

438 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. O ct . 28, 1897 Patterson came in. Patterson played the first ball straight into mid-on’s hands—a very gentle catch—and was missed. They then kept us in the field from 12 to 4 o’clock the next day, scoring at the rate of 40 rung an hour. It was a vast relief when B. T. Thornton came in and made runs quickly. Thornton kept running out to Humphrey’s lobs and occasionally kicked them for leg byes. Humphreys appealed against this—for obstructing the field, I believe—but the umpire did not see his way to doing any­ thing.” When he used to bowl fast Mr. God­ frey was much given to going outside the crease, and in one season he was no-balled 80 times ! Once or twice he was no-balled for throwing, though itwasnotconsidered by good judges that his action was open to question. He had been fairly success­ ful against the Australi-ins for Oxford University, and on the following day was playing for Magdalen against Malvern College. He began to york the boys out one after another, until at last the Mal­ vern umpire no-balled him for throwing. “ So,” said Mr. Godfrey, “ I changed ends. At another time I was no-balled for throwing at Hastings, in a match against Canterbury. There was a lot of feeling attached to this particular match. We made about 180, and when the Canterbury team went in, I began the bowling, to find that I was promptly no­ balled. I thought that I must have stepped over the crease, but I was no­ balled again and again. Thereupon the captain of the Canterbury team, in a very sportsmanlike manner, came out and told the umpire that I had been bowling that week at Lord’s where my action had not been questioned, and suggested that there was no necessity to no-ball me now. Nevertheless I was again no-balled for throwing. Of course there was nothing to be done but to bowl from the other end. My propensity for going outside the crease has been inconvenient at times. Granville were playing Blackheath, who wanted two to win, with the last man in. I bo spied him with a no-ball, which went for four byes ! It was very exasperating.” “ Talking of ‘ no-balls,’ I recollect a very amusing incident at Badley College in 1881. North Oxford were playing the College, and the latter, with three wickets to go down, required two runs to win. Tom Mallam, put me on for the second time. I yorked all three of the young­ sters, and after the last wicket—the off- stump—fell, the Badley umpire called ‘ no-ball ’ amid much laughter, after­ wards explaining I gave him no time to ‘ no-ball ’ me ! ” After being four years at the Philberds, Mndenhead, where there was a powerful masters’ learn, as at Elstree, Mr. Godfrey starttd a school of his own for boys under sixteen years of age—Audley House School, Lee—and has met with the greatest success in his undertaking. The boys as a rule go to the London Public Schools when they leave. Cricketers who know Mr. Godfrey will pot need to be told that lie is not content to let the grass grow under his feet; that he has D ot lagged behind the times in his methods and course of instruction, and that he does not forget that boys want to play cricket and football. With regard to school coaching at cricket Mr. Godfrey said :—“ I think that the schoolboy gets far too much coaching, and that his natural abilities do not have a chance. Present public school cricket form seems to me to consist of playing five out of six half-volleys to mid-off. This year I played against three Eton boys, who all had a most delightful (and the same) style. It looked as if it would be impossi­ ble to get them out, so easily did they play the bowling—at first. But as they made the same strokes every time, their end very soon came. It is my firm opinion that if a boy has a stroke of his own, however unorthodox, if he makes runs by it he should be encouraged to keep it rather than to get rid of it. If, for instance, he cuts off the middle stump for threes and fours, let him do so. I shall never forget being pasted in this way by B. N. Douglas in a Sussex and Surrey match. Boys, especially small boys, have such numerous and unheard of ways of getting out that it is a great thing when they make 20 runs, and if ever I get a hitter I let him h it; he is much more likely to develop into a good cricketer in this way, than if he were con­ fined to playing a steady game. You can teach boys to play football much more easily than cricket, and some boys take to it as a duck takes to water. My boys playin theKentSchoolCup—though in club football I dislike the league system. It has, I believe, been said that 1 was trying to persuade the secretaries of the chief London cricket clubs to form a league, and I should like to take this opportunity of saying that there is absolutely no foundation for such a statement.” “ How long have you been captain of the Granville Cricket Club ? ” “ For four or five years. I succeeded W. E Iwards, the old Kent cricketer, who had held the reins for twelve years. The club has been in existence for about 27 years, and has a ground which, among London Clubs, is second only to that at Streatham. Granville has turned out many good youngsters, notably, of course, F. G. Bull, who must have been about thirteen or fourteen when he joined them. At that age he possessed the same wonderful break that he has now, but he has gradually covered it up and developed a fine length and change of pace. I remember that in two consecutive years he took all the wickets at the Saffrons, E istboume, before he played for Essex. Iu one of these matches, A. F. J. Ford, no doubt thinking that there would be plenty of time, went into the town for half an hour or so when the Saffrons innings began. Having returned to the pavilion after disposing of the rest of the team, we saw Ford just coming through the turnstile. I may say that among past and present players of the Granville Club are A. S. Johnston (Essex), G. F. Gerds (Hampshire), C. Hayward (Melbourne), L. 11. Havers (Yorkshire), A. B. Liyman (Kent), W. Morris (Kent), and Gordon Beves (Notts).” “ Did the club ever suggest to the Kent committee that Mr. Bull was good enough to play for the county ? ” “ Of course we did. We have, never­ theless, often been most unjustly re­ proached for letting him slip out of the hands of the county; and Middlesex, though he had a birth qualification, did not avail themselves of his services.” “ Have you seen much first-class cricket besides that in which you have played ? ” “ I have been singularly lucky in being present at four of the shortest first-class innings on record. I saw the match on Cowley Marsh between Oxford and the M.C.C., which was finished in one day, when Shaw and Morley got rid of the ‘Varsity for 12. The ‘Varsity were one short, for Webbe, the skipper, who was in the Schools, ariived too late for his knock. Again, I saw the same famous pair of bowlers dispose of Surrey for 16; and I was at Lord’s when the M.C.C. collapsed for 19 before Boyle and Spof­ forth. Listly, I saw Pougher and J. T. Hearne at Lord’ s dismiss the Australians last year for 18; the latter, like Oxford, playing one short. I also witnessed the famous tie match between the Gentle­ men and Players at the Oval in 1883, W.G.’s 344 at Canterbury, Lyons’ 149 against the M.C.C., and the first match between Englind and Australia. “ Were you ever unfortunate enough to hurt anyone when you bowled fast ? ” “ I can only recall one serious accident of which I was the cause. I was playing for South Saxons against St. Leonard’s School, whose professional—I forget his name —a short man, ducked to what he thought was a rising ball. But it struck him above the elbow and broke his arm. In 1885 I nearly did for an invalid when batting on the Tunbridge Wells ground against Beigate Priory. The invalid, a John’s man, was in a bath chair which had been moored by his attendant by the side of the canvas. A very hard straight drive of mine took him first bound on the fore­ head, making a shocking mark. There was a general stampede of players and spectators to see the damage, which, very fortunately, was not as bad as we all feared.” “ What was your first match of impor­ tance ? ” “ Twenty-two of Hastings against the Australians in 1880, during the holidays, when I was still at school, but I only made 2 and 4. My school was Magdalen, of which I was captain in 1880 and 1881. I bowled very fast then and took a great many wickets. Weak Oxford colleges were rather a harvest to us boys. Wynyard was one of my old enemies at school; we went hammer and tongs at each other. He was at St. Edward’s— a big fellow even then, and I never remember him getting out for less than 80 against us. He didn’t bowl much then. F. W. Terry, who has for many years been one of the best bats in Canada, was their captain; he was a magnificent cricketer. Once when he was playing for a wandering club at Oxford, he made six hundreds in a week on successive days, beginning on the Monday—on Cowley Marsh, t o o ! ” N E X T ISSUE, THUR SDAY , N O V EM B E R 25.