Cricket 1898

282 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J uly 21, 1898. the poet of captain, but it is beyond ques­ tion that he is able to inspire a team with enthusiasm, and lead it on to victory when victory seems quite out of the question. There is never any want of esprit de corps in the Gloucester team ; its members all work together, and woik their hardest, knowing well thvt if they do their best they will receive a word of praise from their captain, and also knowing well enough that if they do not do their best (which hardly ever happens) they will hear of it from him. Of the Doctor’s kindness to young players a very great deal might be said, and a timely word of advice or praise has gladdened the heart of many a nervous debutant. It is quite immaterial whether the beginner is playing for or against W.G., who has often given advice to the detriment of his own side. No man has ever been more popular with crowds. They love to watch his little peculiarities—for he has his little peculiarities. As a rule, when a man is batting, it is impossible to tell from beyond the boundary line what his feelings are when he has been missed at the wicket, cr has made a good hit. unless, indeed, he speaks, as it were, with his arms. But a smile upon W.G.’s face is patent to all the crowd ; a frown pro­ duces remarks all round (he ground, “ Ah, the old man didn’t like that, did h e ? ” He so obviously lives every moment of the game, that he c trries the crowd with him. Doubtless, he would have been able to compete with greater success for a cricket “ Dunmow Flitch ” if he had never shown his dissatisfaction with a decision of an umpire; if he had never sat down on the turf in a meditative manner when, as a bowler, he felt con­ vinced that he had a “ clear caBe ; ” if he had never carefully inspected the pitch somewhere near the bowler’s end when he was out from a very fast or rapidly rising ball. But although he would probably make a very excellent martyr, if circumstances demanded it, he was, luckily for his county, never intended by Nature to bsar persecution without at least expressing his opinion upon it. To connoisseurs, one of the greatest pleasures which cricket can pro­ vide is to see W.G. “ bustling for specs.” When he goes in for the second time he looks as innocent of any deep-laid scheme as a schoolboy playing in his first match, but nobody is deceived by this. The little comedy which follows is always keenly appreciated. There are two or three false starts, two or three fi antic rushes by about half of the fieldirg side to pick up a ball a few yards from the wicket, and then the ball is modestly placed in some neglected spot, and the spell is broken. When he first began to take up bowling as a fine art, no one dreamed that he would be much of a suetess. But there was something uncanny in the way in which the ball came upon the batsman, something peculiar in the action, and it was soon found that the newcomer had to be seriously reckoned with. His county needed bowling about as badly as could be, so that his success with the ball came just at the right time. When men had once become accustomed to his bowling he was often pretty severely treated, but he was always likely to break up a partnership. To a man who has never been opposed to him he is almost invariably fatal, however good he may b8, and old cricketers were not at all surprised when the Essex team could make nfither head nor tail of him. The number of times that men have fallen into his famous trap—a nice easy ball to hit to square-leg—is almost absurdly large. His victims are always ctrefully warmd of the consequences of making the hit, but theattraction seems to be irresistible. It used to be some'imes whispered that, in the old days of Gloucestershire cricket, when members of the team would occasionally suggest to W.G. that a change of bowling might not be a very bad thing, he would at once fall in with their views, and put himself on at the other end. But every bowler, who is also the captain of his side, lays himself open to whispers such as these, unless he does not put himself on enough, when he is sure to be soundly rated for his foolishness. To refer, even in the most cursory manner, to W.G’s performances, would almost fill an issue of Cricket. It must suffice to say that he has thrown the doings of all other cricketers completely into the shade. His style in batting is marked by an extreme simplicity; it is not to be compared with that of Mr. Palairet for beauty, but it is natural, and above all, effective. He has always been a master in the art of placing the ball, and this has been one of the reasons why he has been so successful on even the very worst of wickets. From the begin­ ning of a match until the last ball is bowled, he plays as if victory depended on what was done in the next moment. No one has ever seen him slack in the field, or “ sick of the whole thing.” As a man he is as popular as he is a cricketer. No one knows better than he the precise line which is best to be taken with the rising generation, and the result of this is that young cricketers almost worship him. In the immortal words of Albert Chevalier “ ’E’s a chemj ion ! ” W. A. B e t t e s w o r t h . BLACKHEATH v. BICKLEY PARK.-Played at Rectory Field on July 15. B la c k h e a th . Capt. Spurway, notout D. H. Adams, cHilder, b Bonltbee ........ 82 Sir S. Maryon-Wilson, b Boultbee .......... 0 B 2, lb 1, w 2, nb 1 S. Castle, c and b Booaey ................ 79 J. E. Mason, c Bouch, b F oxley................. 17 F. 8. Guggesberg, c and b Cooper......... 19 R. J. Harbuthnot, b Cooper ................. 7 C. J. T. Robertson, M. Chribtopherson, R. A. Fegan and Osman did not bat. * Innings declared closed. B icklky P a r k . Total (6 wkts)*256 E. R. Bouch, lbw, b Adams ................ 4 H. B. Jeffry, b Adams 7 W. W . Cooper, not out 104 G. C.Boosey, c Christo- pherson, b Gugges­ berg ........................26 C. T. Boosey, T. P. Helder, A. Boosey, W. Kent and Foxly did not bat. A. W. Boultbee, Spurway, b Fegan 86 W. J. Livingstone, not out .................14 B 16, lb 4, nb 3... 23 Total (4 wkts) 214 BARNE5 v. MR. J. C. LOVELL’S X I.—Played at Tulse Hill on July 16. B arn es . C.E. Ratcliff, htwkt,b J. S. Lovell ..........62 J. J. Franco, b J. S. Lovell........................ 8 F. Bensted, b Mellor... 30 J. G. M. Robertson, run out ................. 9 W. F. L. Frith, c Roberts, b J.S.Lovell 0 P.R.Earn8haw,b Golds 2 S. Mossop, c Moun­ tain, b J. S. Lovell 14 J. Purkiss, run out ... 14 M. H. Erskine, b J. S. Lovell ................. 2 A. G. H. Stevens, not out ...................... 4 F. M. Robertson, c and b Golds ................. 0 B 13 .................13 Total ..........158 Mr. J. C. L o v e ll ’ s XI. First innings. C. H. Mountain, b F. Robertson........................20 D. V. H. Short, run out ... 10 J. P. Candler, b Bensted ... 0 W . H. Golds, c Earnshaw, b F Robertson.................11 A. Mellor, b F. Robertson 0 L. W. Roberts, c Earn­ shaw, b F. Robertson ... 0 J. S Lovell, lbw, b Benstead 0 W. M. Yetts, c Erskine, b F. Robertson ................. 2 8. H. FJindt, b Frith..........25 H. "West, b Earnshaw ... 8 J. C. Lovell, not out .......... 0 Extras ........................17 Total. Second innings. cJ.,bF.Robertson 29 notout.................86 c Mossop, b Frith 19 b Mossop ..........17 c Frith, b Mossop 7 b Mossop .......... 4 Extras............19 ..........93 Total (5wkts) 13L BRIXTON WANDERERS v. PRIVATE BANKS.— Played at Catford on July 16. B rixto n W anderers . F. P. Rider, b Abell ... 21 C. G. Smith, b Abell .. 33 A. N. Storey, c Rich­ ardson, b Byrne ... 33 F. Odell, b Harpur ... 8 L. Simmons, b Inglis 42 E. H. Cross, c and b Taylor ................. 0 W. J. Benge did not bat. H. E. Smith, not out 23 A.P.Whiteley, b Abell 0 A. Green, not out .. 7 G. Harding, c Inglis, b Abell ................. 1 B 3, lb 2, w l,nb2 8 Total (8 wkts)*176 ‘ Innings d;clared closed. P r iv a t e B an k s . J. L. M. Davidson, b J. H. Mason, not out 39 Simmons ... ... 24 E. M. Bichardton, b G. B. Abell, c Hard- Harding................... 2 ing. b Simmons ... 12 B 6, lb 4, w 1 ... ll A.M.Inglis,b Simmons 0 — H. R. Swatman, c Total (5 wkts)146 Benge, b Simmons... 58 W. H. Wilson, C. E. Byrne, A. S. Taylor, A. W. Harpur and C. A. Becker did not bat. SOUTHGATE v. M.C.C.—Played at Southgate on July 16. S o u th g a te . E. P. Sugden, b Hand­ ford .............. ... 0 L. D. Smith, b Dunn 84 J. C. Bevington, b Geeson . . .......... S. W. Scott, b Lee ..104 F. Bryan, c and b Geeson ................ 4 W . T. Ricketts, F. 8. Lewis, R. T. Barker and J. Armstrong did not bat. * Innings declared closed. M.C.C. A. Ricketts, b Burton 51 E. T. Vint, b Geeson 17 E. S. Hariis, not out 1 B 5, lb 4 .......... 9 Total (7 wkts.)*273 Capt. Pilcher, c Bev­ ington, b Lewis ... 1 Pike, c Armstrong, b A. Ricketts ..........42 E. G. Raphael, c Eev- ington. b Lewis n G. O. Smith, not out 95 A. T. B. Dunn, not out ....................... 26 Byes .................12 Total ...185 Capt. A. H. Sillen, H. P. Hansell, E. B. T. Tee, Burton, Guesan, Handford and W . S. Sidney did not bat. CRYSTAL PALACE v. GRANVILLE (Lee).— Played at Crystal Palace on July 14. G r a n v ille . P.P.Lincoln,cGordcn- F. W . Wood, b Moran 1 Smith, b Moran ...20 E. J. Browne,cAnder- L. Roberts,b Barchard 28 son, b M oran............... 3 J. P. Clarkson,bMoran 9 A. R. Layman, not W . Austin, not out ...ItO out ............... 1 F. E. Lander, b Moran 3 Extras................11 C. J. M. Godfrey, b — Howes ................. 9 Total (8 wkts.) 305 J. D. Gillespie, c Cole­ man, b D illon........ 70 C r ysta l P ala c e . S. Coleman, not out... 70 F. A. B. Anderson,lbw, b Browne................ 51 W . E. Moran, bAustin 43 E Grey Turner, c Lin­ coln, b Godfrey 5 P. C. Baker, lbw, b Godfrey ................. F. Hill, not out.......... Extras................. Total (4 wkts.) 1§7