Cricket 1898

J a n . 27, 1898. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 9 A t the present time a native named Jayaram is attracting the attention of cricketers in India by his remarkable batting. It is not claimed for him—as yet at any rate—that he is a rival to Ranjitsinhji, but without any doubt he has very few, if any, superiors in India. His best performance was his 132 for B mgalore against Madras; he was at the wickets only an hour and twenty minutes, and his innings included a 6 and twenty-two fours. I n the matches between the Presidencies natives are not allowed to play, but of late a strong effort has been made to alter the unwritten law which forbids them to do so. The main argument which is brought forward against the admission of natives into the teams seems to be that, if they played, an eleven could not be called a Presidency Eleven. C a n George Giffen, with all his expe­ rience, have been the victim of a moment’s forgetfulness at a time when a mere beginner would have been on his guard ? This question was much discussed in Aus­ tralia after a match between two Elec­ torate clubs. Giffen, who was batting for West Adelaide against East Torrens, had made 19 when he played a ball on to his pad, whence it rolled towards the wicket. The version of the umpire and some of the fieldsmen is that George han­ dled the ball to save his wicket, and accordingly he was given out, “ handled ball. On the other hand, Giffen states that the ball actually rolled into the wicket but did not knock off the bails. It was when it was returning that he reached down to pick up the ball, but suddenly remembering that the situation was critical, straightened himself again without touching it. A critic in one of the magazines has lately written an arti­ cle, affirming that slang ought to be en­ couraged, and therefore one feels bold enough to say with reference to Giffen’s explanation—“ Good old George ! ” D isc u ssin g a proposal that musical instruments should be provided for the boys in the cottage homes under the juris­ diction of the Burnley Board of Guar­ dians, Mr. Yeevers, in an amusing speech, suggested that if there was any money to spare it might as well be applied to engaging professional cric­ keters for the boys. T he Eossallian Club, under whose auspices an annual cricket tour has been so successfully carried out, has again arranged an attractive programme for 1898. Last year the tour was extended to a fortnight’s cricket—an experiment which was so successful as to encourage the secretary to again arrange a tour for the same duration of time. Unfortunately, one of the best cricketers in the club, A. Whiston, has had to go Australia for his health’s sake, and his services will be greatly missed. The following are the matches:— June 27, 28.—v. Preston, at Preston. ‘ 29,30.—v. Northern Nomads, at Grey Friars, Preston. July 1, 2.—v. Yorkshire Gentlemen, at York. July 4, 5.—v. Skipton. at Skipton. July 6, 7.—v. Sedbergh School, at Sedbergh. July 8, 9.—v. R-issall School, at Rossall. July 11,12.—v. North of Ireland, at Ormean, Belfast. I n Tasmania a batsman unwisely went to the wickets with a box of matches in his pocket. Iu the course of his innings a fast ball hit him, with the result that the matches were set alight, and bpfore he could dispose of them he was somewhat severely burnt. There is a record of a similar incident happening in England. D u r in g the match between Mr. Stod- darts’s team and Newcastle there was a plague of insects, which included wasps, flies, and ants with and without wings, and various kinds of creeping insects. Added to this, there was a very hot wind which brought with it a cloud of dust. Many of the fieldsmen wore a sort of curtain to keep off the flies. A l e c . W a tso n has been engaged to act as coach to Rugby and Marlborough, and also (for a month at the beginning of the season) to the Worcestershire amateurs and professionals. He has been asked to act as coach by several schools, but as he could not be every­ where at once, was obliged to decline. In his book, which is appearing in serial form in Australia by permission of Messrs. Ward, Lock and Co., Giffen tells an interesting tale of Albert Trott :— “ When he first came to Adelaide he did not take a wicket, and I made a fair score against the Victorians. Soon after his return to Melbourne he erected three stumps, with a stout box in front of them, where a bat would be if a match were being played. Then he started to bowl, and, with an occasional break-back beat the box and hit the wicket. His brother Harry came along and asked what the box was for. “ ‘ Oh, that’s George Giffen.’ “ ‘ Easier to get past that than George’s bat, isn’t it p’ Harry suggested. “ ‘ That’s just it, Harry. I found at Adelaide that straight stuff would never get him, so I ’m learning to bowl breaks.’ ” S cene : The Criterion Grill Boom. Third Australia match in progress.—First Sportsman: “ Who the dickens is this McLeod ? ” Second Sportsman: “ Came over with one of the teams—the last but one, I think ? ” First Sportsman: “ Did he, really. Somehow or other I don’t remember him. Couldn’t have done much.” . Second Sportsman: “ No, he didn’t, but I always said that Bob McLeod was a good deal better than most people thought.” First Sportsman: “ But this one is called Charlie.” Second Sportsman: That don’t make any difference. Martin, for instance, is called “ Nutty ” but his name is Fred.” First Sportsman : “ A h ! I see.” T h e boards which have been set up in certain parts of Sydney to enable stay-at- home people to follow the progress of a match have been condemned by several members of the City Council as an unmitigated nuisance. It is said that the tradesmen in the neighbourhood of the boards have suffered considerable loss through the congestion of the traffic caused by the crowds which surround them. It is understood that some action will be taken to remedy the nuisance. O n the far away coast of Malabar is situated St. Aloypius’ Roman Catholic College, Mangalore. For some years the boys have taken to cricket with enthu­ siasm, and I have received the school magazine, from which it appears that they have had a very successful season. “ After the unusually trying monsoon was over,” says the magazine, in quaint phraseology, “ the cricket field was crowded with boys of an evening, after the close of the classes, vying with one another at ball and bat with all the en­ thusiasm and spirit of youth. So great was the eagerness of the boys to play that, to satisfy all, six different teams were organized, the players being classed according to their strength and skill. A glance at the field after school shows some bowling, some batting, others fielding ; all animated with the one am­ bition to keep themselves in their very best form and to do their utmost to further the interests of their team. I canno t refrain from quoting the two following delightfully naive extracts from the St. Aloysius Magazine :— “ With only a ten minutes before them, the Eleven of the Youths’ Club followed up their second innings, making desperate efforts to save their side. They could not stand the telling bowling of their adversaries. A single over was bowled, two runs scored, and two of their players were out. Time was up. The Aloysians thus won the match by nineteen runs.” It may be said that the “ Youths ” had to make 50 to win, for they were beaten as far as the first innings was concerned. “ R. Miranda, the Aloysian left-handed bowler, exhibited his skill for the first time, knocking in two overs four wickets for two runs—a highly creditable beginning.” M r . A l f r e d J . G a s t o n , o f B rig h to n , w r ite s :— “ In reply to the enquiry of ‘ A Former Stygian ’ in ‘ Gossip ’ of October 28th, re ‘ W. Sapte’s 40 for Stygians v. Ealing in ten minutes,’ I would mention that I called atten­ tion to this fact in a contemporary on May 31st last. I obtained my information from ‘ Scores ard Biographies,’ vol. X IV ., p. 1060 which states:— 1In the match Stygians v. Ealing, June 18th, 1886, Stygians first inn­ ings H. S. Doming was in four hours for 46, and W . Sapte scored 40 in ten minutes. They were in together, and Doming made two while Sapte compile! two score.’ “ No one is more eager to get this fast scoring authenticatedmore thanmyself, and it is strange that when I was in communication with Mr. Sapte in .Tune last he did not deny what I had written. “ Anxious however to get the score verified, I have again communicated -with Mr. Sapte, jun., who now states that it is perfectlyaccurate N E X T IS SU E , ^ .THUR S D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 24.