Cricket 1898

F e b . 24, 1SS8. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 19 BUSSEY’S Cr ? C ■« CR ICKET BATS ARE THE GRANDEST MADE. BUSSEY’S < c c & ^ CR ICKET BALLS RETAIN THEIR SHAPE, AND LAST LONBER THAN ANY OTHER, BUSSEY’S < G C B ^ LEG GUARDS ARE EXCEPTIONALLY GOD, AND THE LIGHTEST MADE. BUSSEY’S BATTINC CLOVES ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO THE USUAL CLASS, BUSSEY’S CR ICKET BAGS ARE OF THE HIGHEST GRADE. BUSSEY’S SCORE BOOKS ARE THE MOST APPROVED. BUSSEY’S < G C B « DIARY AND COMPANION IS A GEM FOR SIXPENCE. CATALOGUE O N APPLICATION TO 36 & 38, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON; OR DEALERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. MANUFACTORY— PECKHAM , LONDON. TIMBER MILLS— E L M S W E L L , SU FFO LK . BETWEEN THE INNINGS. The victory of Australia at Adelaide brings the scores of the test matches played in Australia to 14 wins for each side, with two draws, 30 matches in all having been played. Thirteen of these have been at Sydney, where England have won six and lost seven; a like num­ ber at Melbourne, where the scores are six for Australia, five for Eugland, two draws ; and four at Adelaide, where each side has won twice. In these 30 matches 2G centuries have been scored—12 by Australians, 14 by Eoglishmen. Here is a list of them:— FOR AUSTRALIA. 201 S. E Gregory, Sydney, December, 1894 178 J. Darling, Adelaide, January, 1898 165* C. Bannerman, Melbourne, March, 1897 161 G. Giffen, Sydney, December, 1894 147 P. S. McDonnell, Sydney, March, 1882 140 F. A. Iiedale, Adelaide, January, 1S95 131 J. J. Lyons, Sydney, February. 1892 128 G. J. Bonner, Sydney, March. 1885 124 P. S. McDonnell, Adelaide, December, 1834 112 C. McLeod, Melbourne, January, 18 >8 1(5 H. Graham, Sydney, Februtry, )895 101 J. Darling, Sydney, Decemver, 1897 FOR ENGLAND. 175 K. S. Ranjiteinhji, Sydney, December, 1897 173 A. E. Stoddart, Melbourne, December, 1891 149 G. Ulyett, Melbourne, March, 1882 140 J. T. Brown, Melbourne, March. 1895 13 »* A. G. Steel, Sydney, Februaiy, 188* 134 W. Barnes, Adelaide, December, 18S4 134 A. E. Stoddart, Adelaide, March, 1892 132* R. Abel, Sydney, January, 1892 124 A. C. MacLuren, Adelaide. January, 1898 121 J. Briggs, Melbourne, 1885 120 A. C. MacLaren, Melbourne, March, 1895 117 A. Ward, Sydney, December, 1894 1(9 A. C. MacLaren. Sydney, December, 1897. 105* A. Shrewsbury, Melbourne, March, 18?5. Disrfgarding the not-outs, the average of these innings is: for Australia, 14L; for Eugland, 133. It is somewhat sin- gular thtt English batsmen should have done so much better than their rivals at Melbourne. Over twenty years separates Charles Bannerman’s 165 from Charles McLeod’s 112, the only two centuries scored by colonial batsmen in the 13 games at Melbourne; but meanwhile Englishmen had six times passed three figures there. MacLaren is the only man who has made a century on each of the three grounds; Shrewsbury and Percy McDonnell are the only other batsmen who have three centuries to their credit in all the 49 test games, here and in Australia. George Giffen and Alec Bannerman for Australia, W.G. and Shrewsbury for England, are the only men who have scored a four-figure total in the test matches; but Gregory for the one side and A. E. Stoddart for the other are not unlikely to increase this small total. Tuner, Giffen, and Peel have taken over 100 wickets. dates back to the very first of the test matches, this is surely a fact worthy of note. Nor have I seen any note as to the prominent part which the number 13 played in the match between Stoddart’s team and Victoria, though as a rule a coincidence of this sort is very quickly seized upon and made the most of. If we had lost the match, perhaps it would have struck someone that 13 is an unluck v number. In the first innings of England MacLaren and Stoddart each scored 26 (13 by 2), Ranji, Druce and Wainwright each 13; the three fairly successful bats­ men (Storer, Mason and Hirst) male 143 among them (13 by 11); and the three who failed to reach double figures (Hay­ ward, Hearne and Richardson) 13 among them. For Victoria, Trumble and Mc- Michael each made 26 in the match (13 by 2). The total of Victoria’s second innings was 247 (13 by 19). Hearne and Richardson, who did most of the bowling for Eugland, took between them 13 wickets. Trumble, Roche and Trott, the three principal Victorian bowlers, took 13 among them. Finally, there were just 13 extras in the two innings of Victoria. I have a batch of correspondence to answer; some of it should have baen replied to some time ago, indeed. Firstly, I have to acknowledge with thanks the receipt from Mr. James Hutchison of the Otago Witness, N.Z., of his “ Revised Cricket Records,” a very interesting compilation, which does not, however, vary very greatly from the similar list given in Wisden year by year. (Mr. F. S. Ashley-Cooper’s compilation in the last issue of Lillyvihite would appear to be almost the last word in this respect, save as it should need alteration by the chronicling of new records ; so complete a list has never to my knowledge been published before, and its hard­ working compiler is to be heartily con­ gratulated on the result of his efforts). Mr. Hutchison tells me of a fine perfot- mance by Fisher in the last inter-proviu- cial match of the New Zealand season of 1896-7, when for Otago v. Canterbury, the left-handed bowler bowled 13 overs, 9 maidens, for 11 runs and 7 wickets. It is rather disappointing to hear that the Melbourne critics have no very high opinion of Fisher, who has been tried in the club matches there. Perhaps when a New Zealand team pays its long projected visit to the mainland, Fisher will be able to shew the critics that they were wrong by playing “ blue buugo ” with the wickets of the Australian cracks. Each side has now scored seven innings of over 400 runs. These are:— Australia—586, 573, 551, 520, 414, 412, 411. Ecgland—551, 499, 483, 475, 437, 431. 401. I have not seen it remarked anywhere that good old Tom Garrett’s 71 for his colony at Sydney is the highest score he has ever made against English bowling. Seeing that the New South Wales captain’s career as an international player Mr. A. F. Wiren, of Wellington, N. Z. writes me under date of Oct. 25, a most interesting letter in which he harks back to my comments on the best Australian team in the early numbers of Cricket for 1897. In his opinion, the substitution of Moses for Horan and Palmer for Ferris would strengthen it. “ The first-named has not, of course, he says, visited England as a member of an Australian combination, but nevertheless his per­ formances in Australia against English bowling have been marked by wonderful consistency. Take his figures againtt N E X T IS S U E T H U R S D A Y , M A R C H 31.