Cricket 1897

66 CEICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r il 15, 1897. It has been urged occasionally—very occasionally—against Abel that be takes a long time iu making bis runs, but he is by no means a barn door batsman, and few would wish him to alter his style. He considers that the slowest long innings that he has played was against the Australians in 1886 for Surrey. “ I went in on a Thursday night,” be said, was batting all day Friday, and was out on Saturday. When I had made 63 I had been batting two or three hours. Then Maurice Read came in. I have never seen a more wonderful innings than his. He made his hundred before I did, and altogether scored 186. I remem­ ber that at about 6 o’clock on the Friday evening Mr. Spofforth said to the captain ‘ Give me the ball, I feel as fresh as ever.’ I played about the first ball to square-leg for four, and be said in apparent astonishment, ‘ Well I ’m blowed. It broke the wrong way.’ You see he was not too tired to try to ‘ have ’ me, and make me think that he had invented a new kind of ball. But it didn’t work.” “ Do you ever wish that you were a big hitter ? ” ‘ 11 must own that occasionally I do. For instance, at Catford last year, I felt that I would give anything to be able to hit. I was in with Baldwin, and we put on six runs in about an hour. I didn’t know what to do, for although the thing was getting almost unbearable, I felt sure that if I began to hit I should get out, and I know that Baldwin felt the same thing about himself. I think that, if possible, every team should contain a good hitter or two. The only objection that I know of to a great hitter is that his example often encourages his parlner to hit, with fatal results. There is a great temptation to hit when your part­ ner begins to knock the bowling into a cocked hat, and last year I found myself giving way to the excitement. It was only in a small match—the last of the season. Hayes started me. He made about 30 in ten minutes, and almost before I knew what I was about, I found myself piling on runs at what was to me a great pace, and as everything happened to come off I made a hundred in an hour. The match took place in Southwark Park, where I had never made a hundred before, although I learned my cricket there.” “ As a member of the Southwark Park Cricket Club ? ” “ Oh no. Long before I was a member I had learned the rudiments of the game. The first county player who ever spoke .to me was Tom Humphrey. He happened to be in the park one day when I was practising with other small boys. After a time he said : ‘ Here, let me give you a ball, youngster ! ’ and then asked me to bowl to him for a few minutes. I can only remember one thing he said to me, but I have never forgotten this. He told me that when I wanted to hit I ought to get well to the pitch of the ball. I believe that that remark has had a great deal to do with the way in which I have generally managed to keep the ball down. As a boy my great rival was W. Marrilia—he is dead now. We were, I suppose, easily the two best boy cricketers in the park, but nobody knew which was the better.” “ When did you begin to play in regular matches.” “ The first match was for a scratch team against a club at Peckham Rye—I forget the name of the club for the moment. A gentleman who had often watched me at cricket asked me to play for him one day in this match. I felt a a little frightened at this at first, but he persuaded me to go. Just before I went in to bat he told me that if I made any runs he would give me some money, and this upset my nerves altogether. I went in and made a blob—first ball. The gentleman, however, told me not to be discouraged, and asked me to play for his team again. This time I just missed the train. I began to conclude that I was not cut out for cricket matches, and so I did not trouble to play again for some time. But the gentleman found me out, and not only got me elected as a member of the Southwark Park C.C., but paid my subscription.” “ How did you get on in the club ? ” “ Well, all the players were men, and I felt very much out of it at first. My first match for the club—the second match in which I played—was against Kingston, who had a strong batting team. I fielded out the whole of the day from eleven o'clock to seven. On the whole I think I had a pretty curious beginning as a cricketer. In course of time I won the average bat, which for 12 or 14 years had regularly gone to Mr. White, of Spa Roach We had some good men in the club at that time, including Daniel Mann, the brothers Child, Frank Burrell and George Clifford. “ When did you first come under the notice of the county authorities ? ” “ One day Mr. Freeland, a licensed victualler, had a match on at the Oval. He could’nt quite complete his team, and so he asked me to play for him. To pre­ vent disputes it was arranged that I should play as bis son: otherwise the opposing side might have raised the objection that I was not a licensed victualler. I remember that at lunch time I called him 1dad.’ It was my first match at the Oval and I made 54. En­ quiries were made ‘ Who is this young Freeland ? ’ and then it came out that his name was really Abel.” “ Of course you were not immediately engaged ? ” ‘ I was much too young, and besides I had only played an ordinary innings— there was nothing in it to attract any particular attention. But I went after this into the Borough hop trade at Mess's. Baker, White and Morgan’s. They were really good sportsmen and I not only played cricket all the summer for the club belonging to the firm, but in the winter in one of the warehouses. The foreman, Mr. Rigley, took a great interest in my cricket. Meanwhile I was frequently asked to go on the staff at the Oval, but Mr. Rigley said ‘ When I think you good enough for the Colts you shall go.’ At last there came a time when I decided that I would go, whatever happened, and I told Mr. Rigley that if he could not give me a recommendation I should get my club, the Southwark Park C.C., to give me one. The upshot of it was that I left the hop trade and went to the Oval. But al­ though Mr. Rigley professed to be greatly annoyed with me he used to take me back in the winter, which was a generous thing to do. He was a Yorkshireman, and if he had been alive now I am sure that be would be very greatly delighted to see that I have been in the county team for so long. I can very well re­ member that when we were practising in the warehouse he would come out to the pitch of the ball after I had bowled him and say “ Just look where you pitched that ba ll!” I used to reply that I did’nt see that it mattered very much, as it had taken his wicket.” In addition to a tour in South Africa, Abel has been twice to Australia with Lord Hawke and Lord Sheffield. “ E x­ cept that the climate is a little trying to an Englishman,” he said, “ I liked cricket in Australia very much, and I greatly enjoyed the tours. I used particularly to appreciate the short interval at half-past four for tea after a day’s fielding. While I was in Australia I once went out kan­ garoo-hunting, and I sometimes wonder that I am alive to tell the tale. It has never been told in full before. I had never ridden on horseback in my life, but when I was asked to go to the hunt I con­ sented, thinking that somehow or other I could hold on. Several of the team stayed away, but among those who went with us were Mr. Stoddart, Peel, Mr. Philipson, and Mr. Radcliffe. It was very enjoyable to me for a time, and I found that riding on the high road on the back of a nice little pony, which had been kindly lent to me by an Australian, was rather inter­ esting than otherwise. In course of time I found myself about half a mile ahead of the rest—a party of about sixty. Sud­ denly a gentleman came out of the bush and said to me, ‘ Beg pardon, I ’m sure. Are you the master of the hunt to-day ? ’ I didn’t know what to say, and I am not quite sure whether I felt proud at being taken for such an important personage, or sorry that I was so little fitted to carry out the office. However, I explained as best I could, that I was only a humble member of the hunt. I found out after­ wards that this was a little game of Mr. Stoddart’s, who, I daresay, would have liked to be on the spot at the time to see my surprise at the question. Well, 1 began to think that kangaroo-hunting was the finest sport in the world. My pony was easy to manage and everything was nice and comfortable. Presently a kangaroo was seen. All the horses sud­ denly pricked up their ears and bolted. I don’t know bow I managed to keep on my pony, but by getting firmly hold of him round the neck I managed to do it. We crashed under trees, and I only just saved myself from being pulled off by the branches; we went into all sorts of curi­ ous places at a gallop. Sometimes my pony would catch sight of a fallen tree in the high grass, and then up he’d go, and I had the greatest possible difficulty not