Cricket 1897

44 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. M a k c h 25, 1897. S in c e the meeting of the county secre­ taries in December a slight rearrangement has had to be made in the Somersetshire card. The Hampshire match on July 12, 13 and 14, is to be played at Portsmouth instead of Southampton. The out­ matches with Kent on July 15, 16 and 17, and Gloucestershire, on August 19, 20 and 21, will take place at Blackheath and Clifton College ground instead of Maidstone and Cheltenham as originally fixed. ------ G e n e r a l Sir B e v a n E d w a r d s , M.P., is to be the new president of the .Kent County C.C. The Hon. Ivo Bligh, Mr. Stanley Christopherson, Mr. C. S. Hardy and the Revd. C. Randolph, who retire from the committee by rotation, were recommended by the committee recently for re-election at the annual general meeting of the Kent County C.C. to be held yesterday. The six vacancies, they suggested, should be filled by the election of Colonel Isacke, the Hon. J. Tufton, Mr. Percy B . Neame, Mr. J. N. Tonge, Mr. M. J. R. Thornton and Lord Camden. ----- T h e “ ‘ G.G.B.’ Cricketers’ Diary and Companion,” which has reached its sixth year, has come as a boon and a blessing to all sorts of cricket men. Its size makes it particularly convenient for daily reference, as it can be got easily into one’s waistcoat pocket. Bat apart from its advantages as a means for recording cricket engagements, it contains a lot of statistical information, which cannot fail to be of use throughout the season. To those ■who can go back to the days of the first Australian team, that is to say, to the year 1878, not the least pleas­ ant recollection of the remarkable suc­ cesses of the New South Wales team this season, will be in the personal triumph of the veteran, T. W. Garrett. That the New South Wales eleven, under his com­ mand, should have secured the Sheffield Challenge Shield with four consecutive and mostly decisive wins, bespeaks a good deal of judgment on the part of the captain. ------ W h a t a long and distinguished career too Garrett has had as a cricketer. To start with he has had the distinction of having played in a greater number of intercolonial matches than any Australian player, having this season outdone Black- ham’s record. His first “ century” in first-class cricket it is of interest to recall, was his 163 for New South Wales against Victoria in 1882. It was in the memora­ ble match when L. Murdoch put up a test for first-class cricket in Australia with his 321 out of a total of 775. And now, after fifteen years, Garrett comes up smiling with his second “ century” in the shape of 131 for New South Wales against South Australia a few weeks ago. Con­ sidering that it is nineteen years since he came to England as a member of the first Australian team, Garrett’s cricket record has been surpassed by very few. T h e batsman of many parts would find plenty of opportunity for proving his capacity on New Zealand wickets if the description of their variety given by Dr. Macdonald is strictly accurate. In an interview in the Queensland Sportsman the Brisbane doctor sums them up thusly : ‘ ‘ The Auckland wicket is so slow that one of our fellows made a stroke at the ball, and missing it, came back quickly and hooked it round for four; the Wellington wicket is fast and fiery; the Napier wicket is perfect, and is the best wicket in New Zealand; the Christchurch wicket, which had the reputa­ tion of being the most reliable of all, failed sadly to uphold its reputation, and many of us sustained blows all over thebody as a result of its fiery condition. Dunedin is a rival of Auckland for slowness, and Hoare completely stuck up the Dunedin batsmen on it.” But Doctor Macdonald’s experiences of New Zealand generally make one regret that the Colony is so far off, not near enough in fact for an easy cricket tour. This is what he says: “ If you are a cricketer going to New Zea­ land and desire to make a good score, go to Napier; if you desire impartial applause and enthusiasm, go to Welling­ ton ; if you desire a howling good time, go to Christchurch; and if you have a good story, tell it anywhere except in Dunedin, which is so Scotch that China­ men have to call themselves, not Lee Wang or Chee Wang, but Mac Wang.” A c c o r d in g to the Doctor the team are not likely to forget the invariable hospi­ tality and kindness extended to them during their tour by the good people of New Zealand. “ They are a happy peo­ ple,” he says, “ and should be, as they have every blessing to help them towards success—a perfect climate, a fertile soil, no wild animals, no snakes, aDd plenty of Scots. And yet they'have their troubles, for one fair girl of Christchurch told M'Glinchy that ‘ they had mortgaged everything in New Zealand except the atmosphere.’ ” C r ic k e t as represented particularly by Harrow School is well to the fore in the weight putting at both Universities this season. Oddly enough the chief repre­ sentatives at Oxford and Cambridge are both ex-captains of the Harrow eleven. Each too was the school wicket keeper in his time, J. H. Bullock, of Cambridge, in 1894, and the Hon. P. R. Henley, the Oxonian, last summer. In view of the remarkable divergence of opinion between the managemeuts of the principal clubs to whom the Committee of the M.C.C. appealed by circular last October, the Marylebone Club has decided that it is not advisable to make any altera­ tion in the “ follow-on.” A second circular, as many Cricket readers are aware, was issued fromLord’s, with theobject of finding outif therewasa possibility of anything like unanimity among those interested in favour of some alteration in law 53, other than those originally suggested. The decision of the M.C.C. to leave things asthey arefor the present seems to indicate that their second attemptwas as unsuccess­ ful as the first. After all, the retention of the law as it stands is perhaps the best solution for the moment. Even if an alteration of any kind had been determined on it could not have come into force this year till June! And swopping horses in the middle of a stream is at the best a risky experiment. C o n in g h a m , the farceur of the Eighth Australian Team, vho left Queensland to settle in New South Wales, evidently does not believe in “ Letting I dare not wait upon I would Like the poor cat i’ the adage.” In the last match between New South Wales and Victoria it occurred to him to back himself to make a bigger score than S. E. Gregory in the first innings of N.S.W. Needless to add he had no difficulty in finding a taker. But fortune favours the brave, at least so the poet says, in this case the poet came off, for as Gregory got a “ blob,” Coningham’s six gave him an easy victory. T h e Surrey Cricket Ground, in com­ pliance with the decision of the Special General Meeting held some months ago, is to be opened to the members of the Surrey County C.C. for the future on April 15, instead of on May 1 as hereto­ fore. The usual trial between the County Eleven and the Next Sixteen will be played this year on April 30 and following day. The Annual General Meeting has been fixed for Thursday, May 6. T he response to the Percy S. McDonnell Testimonial Fund is an eloquent reminder how soon the greatest of men are forgotten when they are gone. Altogether the sum collected amounted to £84 8s. 6d., of which £21 came from Melbourne in the shape of donations of ten guineas each from the Victorian Cricket Association and the Melbourne Club. Considering the brilliant services he rendered to Aus­ tralian cricket it certainly does seem strange that neither the New South Wales, South Australian, nor Queensland Associations should have contributed. The prominent part he took in New South Wales cricket, in particular, one would have thought would not have been over­ looked. The balance, after payment of the necessary expenses in connection with the funeral, was to be handed to the widow. T h e members of the Warwickshire County C.C. had no cause to be dissatis­ fied with the financial position or pros­ pects of the club as indicated in the annual report, presented at the General Meeting last Saturday week, even if the successes of the eleven last year were only moderate. While the balance sheet showed a working surplus of £110, the gate receipts reached £2,601, or an in­ crease of £700, the result it must be added mainly to the Australian matches. On the other hand, a very hopeful sign was the enrolment of 350 new members which means a valuable addition to the permanent income. A snm of £1,662 for subscriptions testifies to the active support given to the club. Lord Willoughby de Broke was re-elected president, Mr. W. Ansell, hon. sec., and Mr. Messiter, hon. treasurer.