Cricket 1897

472 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. D ec . 30, 1897. BUSSEY’S CRICKET BATS. THE HIGHEST GRADE. BUSSEY’S FO O TB A L L S . THE HIGHEST GRADE. BUSSEY’S < C 0 B « HOCKEY CLUBS. THE HIGHEST GRADE. BUSSEY’S « POLLOID ” HOCKEY BALL. Always the same weight. Always the same shape. Does not harden. No stitching to give way. Absolutely Waterproof. BUSSEY’S IfJPIiEPNTS FOR ALL SPORTS & GAMES - THE H IGHEST GRADE . A P P L Y P O R C A T A L O G U E TO 36 & 38, QUEENVICTORIA STREET, LONDON , OR DEALERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. MANUFACTORY— PECKHAM, LONDON. TIM BER M ILLS— ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK. BETWEEN THE INNINGS. SOME STATISTICS OP THE SEASON, 1897 (Continued). Turning from batsmen to bowlers, we find that there were in 1897 thirteen bowlers who took 100 wickets or more, as against fifteen in 1896. But four of the fifteen were Australians, so that there are two more English bowlers than there were last year on the list. C. L. Town­ send, Mold, Mead, Martin, and Peel drop out; and Bland, Cuttell, Hayward, Hal­ lam, G. L. Jessop, P. G. Bull, and Tate all make a first appearance. In the cases of Bland and Cuttell, indeed, neither had taken a wicket at all in first-class cricket prior to this season; and the former had never appeared in a first-class match, so that, like Mold and G. P. Harrison, of Yorkshire (the only similar instances I can remember) he has taken a hundred wickets in absolutely his first season. Mold’s case this year was a very hard one. He only required two more wickets to complete his hundred; but, under the doctor’s orders, he had to stand out of several matches at the end of the season and had no chance of taking them. This is the first season in which he has failed to secure a three-figure total. The number of bowlers taking 100 wickets or more in each oi the last ten seasons is : 1897, 13; 1896, 15 (four Aus­ tralians); 1895, 15; 1894, 11; 1893, 13 (three Australians); 1892, 10; 1891, 8; 1890, 9 (two Australians); 1889, 7; 1888, 5 (two Australians). In ail 106 instances in the ten years. Of these 106, 13 bowlers divide 75 among them. Briggs has taken over 100 wickets in each of the ten seasons, his totals vary­ ing from 124 to 166. Attewell in every season but the first of the ten (1888). Highest number 153. Mold eight times ; all but 1888 (when he was not playing) and 1897. Took 207 in 1894 and 213 in 1895. Peel eight times; missed in 1891 and 1897. Biggest, 180. J. T. Hearne seven times, each year since 1890. In 1893, 212; in 1896, 257. Martin six times, in two three-year runs, with an interval of two seasons between them. Highest, 190. Lohmann five times, with 209, 202, 222 in consecutive years. Absent altogether in three of the other five years. Richardson five times, with 290, 246, 273 in last three. Wainwright five times; best, 166. C. T. B. Turner three times; 314 in 1888, 215 in 1890. Hirst, Lockwood and Tyler each three times; best, 150, 151, 124 respectively. Each twice: J. J. Perris, G. Giffen, H. Trumble, S. M. J. Woods, C. L. Townsend, Mead and Hirst. The last- named had 99 and 98 in two other seasons, and Mead had 94 and 89. Richardson accomplished an absolutely unprecedented feat by making up his total of wickets in the four seasons, 1894-7, to over 1,000—1,005, to be strictly accurate. During the four years, 1893-6, Jack Hearne took 797 wickets; and George Lohmann, in his best four years (1888-91), had 808. Similar periods for the other great bowlers give Mold, 736; Briggs, 602; Attewell, 588; Peel, 574. Of the bowlers of a past generation, Ted Peate took 645 wickets in the four years 1881-4 ; and Alfred Shaw had 583 in 1878-81. Perhaps, considering the smaller number of matches in those days, the figures of Shaw and Peate compare more favourably with those of the great Tom than most of the others I have given. But anyway, all go to prove by comparison how great a feat was that of the Surrey man, than whom no more untiring player ever lived. Of the other principal bowlers in 1897, three (Mold, C. L. Townsend and Haigh) took over 90 wickets; two, 80 or more; ten, 70 or more ; one over 60; and eight, 50 or more. Thus 37 in all had 50 or more wickets, against 42 in 1896, and 34 in 1895. THE TAKEB9 OF 100 W ICKETS. 1 J. T. Heamc, June 26, M dx. v. Kent, Tonbridge 2 T. Richardson, June 28. Surrey v. Middlesex, Oval 3 C. Bland, July 29, Sussex v. Essex, Brighton 4 J. Briggs, Aug. 3, Lancs v. Kent, Canterbury 5 F. G. Bull, Aug. 6, Essex v. Lancs, Leyton 6 T. Hayward, Aug. 17, Surrey v. Kent, Beckenham 7 G. L. Jessop, Aug. 21, Glos. v. Somerset, Clifton 8 W . Cuttell, Aug. 24, Lancs, v. Middlesex, Lord’s 9 F. W . Tate, Aug. 31, Sussex v. Surrey, Brighton 10 G. H. Hirst, Aug. 31, Players v. Gents, Scarboro’ 11 E. Wainwright, Sept. 3, North v. South, Scarboro’ 12 A. W . Hallam, Sept. 11, North v. South, Hastings 13 W . Attewell, Sept. 15, Players v. Gents, Hastings. Richardson took his 200th wicket on August 13, while playing for Surrey v. Essex, at Leyton. The list of long partnerships (100 runs and over) is a somewhat lengthy one, containing no fewer than 153 instances, and it has already appeared in part in these columns. Two of the 153 partner­ ships were of over 300 runs—379 and 378 respectively; six more of over 200; 26 of over 150; and 119 of between 100 and 150. Twenty-one—or, nearly one- seventh of the whole—were the work of Yorkshiremen in the 30 matches in which the broad-acred county took part; 18 are claimed by the men of Surrey (including four of the eight over 200); 15 by the Sussex players ; 14 by Notts; 12 by Lan­ cashire; and 10 by Essex. On the other hand, Gloucestershire, Kent and War­ wickshire have but four each, Somerset only three, and Leicestershire but two. Of individual performers concerned, Abel and Brockwell stand out as a pair unequalled, 379, 231 and 204, in each case for the first wicket, being their joint contributions to the list. But not all of Abel’s long parnerships were with Brock­ well. He had three with Hayward, in each case for the second wicket, and one each with Albert Ward, Baldwin, Chin­ nery and Leveson-Gower. The little man thus shared in ten of the, 153 long stands. In this respect, however, he is equalled by the new stonewaller, our erstwhile dashing friend, George Brann, who took part in ten, four times having the Indian Prince as his partner, three times Marlow, twice Newham and once Murdoch. Albert Ward and J. T. Brown were each concerned in eight, J. A. Dixon and Wainwright in seven, C. McGahey, P. Perrin (these two in company on four occasions), K. S. Ranjitsinhji and Dench in six, Baker, Brockwell, Baldwin, P. S. N E X T ISSUE, THURSDAY , J A N U A R Y 27.