Cricket 1898

F e b . 24, 1898. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 25 ed to his real name appearing on the score sheet, instead of the one he had assumed for the occasion) he ran up against his General, who was blandly congratulatory on his per­ formance, hut oblivious of the fact that he was away without leave.” “ SEWELL was run out for 99, or, it being Xmas day, 100.” This extract from the Nilgiri News would seem to show that our brethren in India are remarkably fin de siecle ! T h e scoring in the match between South Australia and New South Wales at Adelaide was so slow that although play lasted for four days only 872 runs weie made. The duration of the innings of a few of the batsmen is worthy to be recorded:— Noble made 40 in 1 hour 55 minutes. Mackenzie made 50 in 1hour 40 minutes. Iredale „ 51 „ 1 ,, 58 „ Donnan „ 81 „ a little less than 4 hours. Darling „ 8 „ 40 minutes. „ „ 74 „ 3 hours and 40 minutes. Hill „ 20 „ 57 minutes. G. Giffen ,, 49 „ about 2 hours. As a bowler in the above match, George Giffen was not altogether a suc­ cess, for in the two innings he only took three wickets for 209 runs. In the second innings he had 79 runs hit off him before he took himself off, but tried again until his record was 116 for no wicket. It must be said that he had bad luck in the way of dropped catches. I t turns out that the much-abused wicket in the second Australia match was made on a piece of new turf, and that the heat and the want of preparation owing to an intercolonial match, had, on the second morning, caused fissures to appear in it—some of them of consider­ able size. On the fourth morning the cracks and bare spots had become so bad that MacLaren declined to have the wicket rolled. A f e w opinions of critics as to the state of the wicket may be interesting : “ The large rents in the turf had a slightly damaging effect upon them. Not that there was adequate cause to fear those rents. . . . . . In the follow on the rents were wider if anything, and more numerous, with a tiny bare spot here and there at the length hall distance.”— “ Felix,” in the Australasian. “ I don’t regard it as fair or proper for these people who are accepted as authorities to express opinions about a wicket they have not played upon, and know very little about, and who only saw the cricket through opera- glasses.....................How could a wicket that was cracked within an area of 12 feet from the pavilion end play true ? Why the thing is absolutely impossible.” —Kanjitsinhji. “ There were two or three small spots at the pavilion end which Trumble managed to find pretty often, but the pitch gave ISoble very little help.” —-“ Point,” ill the Adelaide Observer. “ Prior to the resumption of play this morning the pitch, with all its fissures, did not appear to the eye to be likely to play badly; but it was not sound. . . . The batsmen were greatly handicapped by the state of the wicket.” —-Correspondent of the Tasmanian Mail. “ I did not think on Wednesday morning that we should get 200, and we did not. . . . . . It has been a bad wicket all through, and has been cracking and getting worse since Monday.” —MacLaren. “ The wicket did not play as well as was anticipated, for one or two balls rose uncom­ fortably high, and the appearance of the grass on the pitch when stumps were drawn was as though fine wool had been scattered along the rolled patch.” —“ Short Slip,” in the Sydney Mail. T h e best commentary of all on the state of the turf is the record that as soon as the match was over the crowd rushed to the pitch and took away large pieces of it as souvenirs ! F is h e r , the New Zealand bowler, who went to Australia with the idea of possibly being chosen to play against Stoddart’s team, has returned home, as the selection committee told him they could not make use of his services in any of the matches. He seems to have had very little opportunity in Australia of shewing what he could do. R e f e r r in g to the want of success of Mr. Stoddart’s team, the Daily Telegraph, after the third defeat by Australia, said that “ Mr. Stoddart’s eleven might, without any nnkindness, be described as the team, of all the failures.” This is not very far wrong, and it is at least certain that MacLaren is the only member of the team who has increased his reputation. W h e n Mr. Stoddart’s team was prac­ tically complete last August, the following remarks appeared in Gossip: “ The bowling is still very weak, and although bowling averages may not be a wholly satisfactory test of ability, a glance at the Sportsman list of last Monday is calculated to make Englishmen thought­ ful. Richardson is fourth, with an average of 16'10, Hearne tenth, with 18'42, Hayward fifteenth, with 19 30; the next on the list is Hirst, who is no nearer to the top than twenty-sixth, Wainwright is thirty-second, and Mr. Mason thirty-fifth. In other words, only one of the bowlers is in the first nine, and only two others are in the first twenty-five. To use a colloquial ex­ pression, ‘ What price this ? ’ ” Two important annuals which have reached us are the Australian Cricket Annual, and the New Zealand Cricketer's Annual. Both are as complete as could possibly be wished for. The former, which is published by George Robertson and Co., in Australia, and also at 17, Warwick Square, Paternoster Row, is edited by J. C. Davis, who writes an interesting article on New South Wales cricket. The visit of the Australians to England is treated by F. Iredale, while other well-known contributors are J. Worrall, C. J. Eady, and Clarence Moody. The New Zealand annual is published by Abel, Dykes and Co., Auckland, and is edited by “ Trundler ” Thames. Among the articles is one on Fisher, the leading New Zealand b >wler, and another on A. B. Williams, the lead­ ing batsman. The annual includes all sorts of useful statistics. T h e following circular has been sent by the M.C.C. to the principal county clubs:— Representations having been made to the M.C.C. that dissatisfaction exists with regard to the rules of county cricket, I am directed to say that, if the majority of the cricketing counties are willing, the M.C.C. are prepared to appoint a committee to draft another code of rules, which, on approval by the M.C.C., shall be substituted for the present code. Kindly lay this before your committee, and let me have an answer at your earliest con­ venience.— (Signed) H. Perkins, Secretary M.C.C. I n the match between North and South of Tasmania, a batsman, under the impression that he was out, left his wicket and walked towards the pavilion. His partner appealed, and the umpire said “ not out.” The retiring batsman, hearing a call that he was not out, rushed back to the wicket, and amid some excitement, reached it in time. I n a letter which bears the Earlswood postmark, a correspondent assures me that he overheard the following conver­ sation a day or two before the news of the defeat of Mr. Stoddart’s team by New South Wales was known in England, after a delay on account of the telegraph wires breaking down:— A .: “ Have you heard how the New South Wales match is getting on ? ” B. : “ No. I have been for a week or two in Paris, and haven’t seen an English paper. When I left England the match had only lasted two or three days. 1 suppose it will be finished soon.” A r e m a r k a b l e coincidence. The fol­ lowing paragraph from Cricket Club Life (substituting “ Beckenham” for “ Man- heim” and “ Kent v. Sussex” for the “ colts’ match ” ) appeared in the Cricket Field, three or four years ago, word for word:— Scene: Manheim during the colts* match. Batsman makes a fine drive under the trees. Fashionable Lady (who has in duty bound come to see other fashion­ able ladies and a little cricket): “ Oh, how n ice! he’s got another duck! ” Second Fashionable Lady (who, etc., as before): “ Why is it called a duck, dear ? ” F. L .: “ Oh, it’s always called a duck when the ball goes under the trees, of course. Look! he’s got another! Isn’t it a beautiful game ? ” E. H. D. S e w e l l , some of whose per­ formances in Madras have been referred to in “ Gossip,” has very nearly succeeded in placing his name in the list of scorers of a hundred in each innings of a match. For Ootacamund v. Madras Presidency he made 84 and 125 not out. Mr. Sewell has just left the staff of the Nilyiri News with the intention of living in Bombay. N E X T ISSUE , T H U R S D A Y , M A R C H 31.