Cricket 1897

74 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r il 15, 1897. Oval—(good old Oval) on March 5. But let the report in the West Australian tell the tale. “ In the first innings of the Weld Club A. W. Hoskings and F. D. North, the two brilliant Metropolitan players, were partnered, when the former was given out leg before wicket to Braun with the last ball of his over. Ends were changed, and North facing Wm. Bateman sent him for a single, thus bringing Hoskings’ successor (R. Hope Kobertson) opposite the bowler. The first ball caused his dismissal—leg before wicket. George Parker followed, played to Bateman, the ball struck him on the leg, the bowler appealed, and the batsman retired. Everard Darlot came next, and to the great astonish­ ment of all the onlookers met with exactly the same fate. Thus Bateman performed the “ hat trick,” disposing of the three batsmen by appeals for l.b.w. Moreover, taking lloskings’ dismissal into consideration, four batsmen were given out in this manner off five balls. The umpire who played so promi­ nent a part in this remarkable coincidence was Mr. Clayton Mason.” For a method of putting the closure on obstructionists this is to be commended. T h in g s , so writes a valued correspon­ dent in Philadelphia, are getting nicely into shape in regard to the completion of the Philadelphian team to visit England next June. About the only cricketers of great pretensions who areregarded asreally doubtful starters are E. W Clark, junr. andF .H . Bohlen. It is very probable that business will prevent the former from taking the trip. Bohlen, who played a lot of cricket over here with English teams in 1895, has had a very bad attack of influenza, everyone will regret to hear, during the winter, and may not be fit enough for the tour. The travelling arrangements for the team in England will be in the hands of Thomas Cook and Son. The Americans, who will be in town the whole of the Jubilee week, hoped to have their head­ quarters at the Hotel Cecil. But as the whole of that huge building has been engaged, mostly by the English Govern­ ment for the Jubilee for weeks past, arrangements have had to be made for them to go elsewhere. The authorities at Lord’s have very kindly offered them the use of the requisite wickets there for practice on June 3, 4, and 5. T h e I Surrey Cricket ground is to be opened to day for the practice of the members of the Surrey C.C. Hitherto the services of the ground bowlers at the Oval were not available until May 1. But of late years county cricket has had to commence so much earlier, in the case of Surrey in the first week of May, that it has been necessary to antedate the open­ ing of the Oval itself for the purposes of practice to the extent of a working fort­ night to correspond. The first fixture of importance on the Surrey ground for this season will be The Eleven against The Next Fourteen, on April 30 and May 1. T h e Cambridge University authorities, it is pleasant to find, have decided to give the proceeds of their match against Hampshire at Cambridge on June 10th and two following days to Robert Car­ penter. The veteran, who is a native of the town, in his day did a great deal for Cambridgeshire as well as for cricket. The recognition of the University reflects credit on both. In passing it may be mentioned that Cambridge will have seven old Blues in residence this year. Four of last year’s eleven have gone down and of these all are eligible but W. McG. Hemingway. Whether either of the remaining trio, F. Mitchell, P- W. Cob- bold and W. G. Grace will be able to play is uncertain. The last two are par­ ticularly doubtful. W il t s h ir e cricket has set a good example for this historic year. Messrs. G. Palmer and C. Awdry, who purchased and levelled the county ground at Trow­ bridge, besides building the pavilion, have expressed their readiness to hand the ground over to trustees for the benefit of theWiltshire C.C.C., in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee. There is a good field for liberal donors of this kind. Several counties, it goes without saying, could do well with one or more of them. T h e announcement that Col. E. A. Bruce had been promoted to a Brevet Colonelcy would hardly recall, even to some of those who remember him on the field, the cricketer in question. AsE. A. Brice he made his debut at Lord’s in 1867 as a member o f the Cheltenham College eleven, and, unless report is incorrect, captained Cheltenham both at cricket and football. His bowling, which was of great service to Gloucestershire for a time, secured him a place in the match between Gentlemen and Players in 1872. The next year he went with his regiment to India, so that his services were lost to the county. He subsequently changed his name to Bruce. T h e veteran, Charles Absolon, seems to have infused a good deal of his own remarkable vitality into the City of London C.C., of which he is the President. The official figures will show the successes of the Club, not only in 1896, bnt in the two preceding years. Here they are :— During the season 1896, the First XI played 28 matches, and were successful on 26 occasions. The Second X I played 36matches, of which number they won 24, lost 8, and 4 were drawn. The First XI during the season scored an aggregate of 3,446 runs. The Second X I scored 3,384 runs. The First X I during the season took 283 wickets. The Second X I took 344 wickets. Total of matches played, 64; won, 50; drawn, 4; lost, 10. Total runs scored by the C.L.C.C., 6,830. Total wickets taken by the C.L.C.C., 627. Their opponents scoring 5,040 runs and taking 555 wickets. It may be added that the First X I has lost only seven matches during the seasons, 1894- 95-96. C a p t . A. H. L u a r d , to whose appoint­ ment as Superintendent of Gymnasia reference was made last week, will be, if he should be able to play regularly, a very useful addition to the Hampshire Eleven. In any case, as he is fully quali­ fied for the county, he is eligible. T h e Hon. Sec. of the Emeriti C.C. has been good enough to send us a notice stating that the Annual Dinner of Past and Present Members of the Club will be held by kind permission of the Committee at the Snorts Club. There the informa­ tion Cricket is able to furnish to its faith­ ful followers ends. But it is the paper’s misfortune rather than its fault. The circular does not supply the date, so that for other particulars, application must be made to the Hon. Sec., J. G. O’Brien, 42, Wimpole Street, W. Y oung W. G.—good luck to him !—is now a master at Oundle School and so will not be able to assist the old W. G. in Gloucestershire cricket until August. But on the other hand the county will be considerably strengthened by the acces­ sion of W. Me. G. Hemingway as a regular member of the eleven. In the earlier matches in particular, when the present University men are at the best an uncertain quantity, he will be more than ever useful to the Grand Old Man and his side. The following are some of the latest hundreds :— Feb. 27 .— J . J . L y o n s , S o u th A u s t r a l i a v . V ic t o r ia .................................................. 113 Feb. 27.—C. Hammond, Esk v. Cornwall (Tasmania) .......................................... 145 Feb. 27.—A. J. Hanigan, Redfem v. Paddington (Sydney).................................................. 118 Feb. 27.—A. Coningham, Glebe v. University (Sydney)................................................... I ll ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. A. G oldberg . —Thanks. See “ Gossip .” OXFORDSHIRE. AUGUST. 2. Reading, v. Berkshire. 6. Banbury, v. Wiltshire. 9. Aylesbury, v. Buckinghamshire. 16. Hardwicke House, Pangbourne, v. Berkshire. 18. Trowbridge, v. Wiltshire. 25. Thame, v. Buckinghamshire. 30. Lord’s, v. M.C.C. All two-day matches. A REVOLUTION IN Cigarette Paper Books EACH LEAF READY TO HAND FOR USE. AT ALL TOBACCONISTS.