Cricket 1898

314 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A ug . 4, 1898. if the team were defeated nearly always, no possible harm could be done to first- class cricket.” “ There are two particularly good black bowlers ? ” “ Yes, Cumberbatch and Woods. The latter has enormous strength. Unlike most fast bowlers he takes no run— merely a couple of steps —and it is a long time before one gets used to finding the ball come in, after no run at all, at least as fast as it does from Richardson or Mold. Woods has a low action, and occa­ sionally comes back a little. He hits very hard when batting, especially to leg. In one of the matches he made a splendid leg hit for four off Bromley-Davenport. I called out ‘ Well hit,’ and he turned to me with a laugh, and said : ‘ If they bow l me to leg, sir, I hit him every ball for fo u r! ’ And he did, too. Cumber­ batch is the better b ow ler; he is medium right, and breaks both ways. He has any amount of pluck. A ball from Gerald Bardswell once got straight up and cut his eye open. After he had gone to get the wound repaired he returned, and had to face Heseltine, who is exceed­ ingly fast. He was promptly bowled, but he stood up to the ball w i'h the greatest coolness. Then he tucked bis trousers into his socks, and proceedfd to bow l us out neck and crop.” “ D o you intend to go out again ? ” “ Yes, I am going with Lord Hawke in the winter. Lord Hawke hopes to take out a stronger team than before, and to play three matches against the full strength of the West Indies. I should like to say that, although nothing could exceed the hospitality with which we were received during our last tour, this was never allowed to interfere with the cricket, which was played in just as keen a manner as if were playing f< r England against Australia. W e had to play a keen game, or we should had b f en beaten over and over again. But Lord Hawke is a splendid and unselfish captain, and he looks after the team with the utmost care. A ll dances, dinners, and entertain­ ments generally, are so arranged that they take place two or three days before a match, or after it is finished—never while it is in progress. I am certain that no team was ever more steady than ours last year. If Gerald Bardswell had never made a run or taken a wicket, he would have been invaluable to the team because of his cheerfulness and good humour. In one of our matches on a matt­ ing wicket he felt in particularly good form . Just before he went in, he said to Kirk, the attendant who accom­ panied the team, ‘ Give me my best driving bat, and biing me out a whiskey and socla in about a couple of hours.’ He made a duck, and when he came back to the pavilion, he said very solemnly, ‘ Well, cricket is a most curious game.’ H e is one of the safest catches at slip that I have ever seen. When Oxford were playing Yorkshire, in 1895, he made no lets than five catches in the slips —one of them which disposed of Peel was quite extraordinary. Thatnightsome of us were at Vincent’s Club, Bardswell amorgtheiu. During a slight pause in the conversation, he remarked : ‘ Well, they do say that the three finest slips in the world are Tunni­ cliffe, Trumble, and— (a pause)—Bards­ well.’ It was perfect comedy, and the fact that the remark was literally true, rather added to the effect than otherwise. I am delighted to say that he is going with us to America.” “ What description of crowds did you have at the matches in the West Indies ? ” “ They were very impartial, and they followed the course of the game with intense interest. Some o f the black ladies wore gorgeous colours, which gave a picturesque effect to the scene. The blacks were particurlarly pleased with Lord Hawke. They had never ssen a lord before, and probably thought that he rode in a golden car when he was at home. Once he got a duck in the first innings. When he was walking to the wickets a second time, the crowd called out with the greatest good humour ‘ Give the lord another duck.’ He, however, made 50, which pleased them j ust as much. TJje blacks cannot pronounce the letters ‘ th,’ and it was very funny to hear them invariably refer to Bromley-Davenport, who was a great favourite with them, as ‘ Bromley-Davenport de bowler.’ While we were at Barbados, a black, known as Britannia Bill, was always to be found on the cricket ground carrying a IJnion Jack, which he waved at intervals, at the same time shouting ‘ England for ever.’ When we were just about to sail for British Guiana he appeared on the landing stage, without his Union Jack, and gave us his parting benediction. ‘ That you may never get out in Demerara is the wish of Britannia Bill,’ he said.” “ Y ou get very bad wickets sometimes in the West Indies ? ” ‘ ‘ Very seldom. When the Barbados wicket is bad, it is very bad, and the ball gets up perfectly straight. This cannot be helped, because the island is very subject to heavy rains, while the turf is of a different kind from that which we see in England. Barbados is a coral island and absolutely fla t; it is like a little garden. When the wicket there is good it is particularly good. At Antigua the ball never rises more than half-stump high, and one could not wish for a better wicket. It is quite a mistake to suppose that the wickets in the West Indies are generally bad ; on the contrary they are generally good .” “ Y ou have also played in America ? ” “ We had a peifectly delightful tour there last year. English people have, I am afraid, an idea that the umpiring is very bad in America, and that there is a tendency to unfairness. This is not the case. Mistakes happen as they will happen iu any match, good or bad, but that is all. The Philadelphians played the game in the most sportsmanlike manner. We were very much amused by the headlines which appeared in the papers during our tour. One of them, in a Baltimore newspaper, was particularly funny. ‘ British lions are here. Their cravats are dreams of brilliancy. Balti­ more girls’ hearts are going p it-a -p a t! ’ Another one ran, ‘ Lion hath us where the hair is short.’ I am taking a team to America again this autumn. We are going to Cansda first. Last year we could not arrange to go there at all.” As a bowler, Mr. Warner can hardly be said to be known to fame, but he has be9n put on in first-class cricket, and once took two wickets. With reference to this feat he said : “ It took place last year for M.C.C. v. Sussex. A t the end of the innings Lord Hawke gave me the ball, and I was proud to be able to get Parris caught at the wicket, and someone else lbw. Then came the reverse of the medal. Bland was missed off me, and then proceeded to hit me to the top of each stand at Lord’s in succession ! I remember bow ling on the Winchester College ground against Stephens. He made a hit to leg which was going straight to the pavilion, when the ball was turned by a stone and hurried away into the distance. No one had attempted to go after it, so that it got a fine start. The batsmen ran ten for the hit, and it took about five men to throw the ball up. In the same over Stephens again hit me to leg, but this time he only made a sevener! ” W . A. B ette s w o r t h . CKYSTAL PALACE -p. ELTHAM.—Played at Crystal Palace on July 30. E l t h a m . F. H. Pitt, b Moran ... 71 Haywood, c Dillon, b Cosens .................36 N. Spicer, c Mallam, b W ells....................... 33 R. C. Pitt, c Todd, b W ells....................... 29 J. C. Wood, b Moran 30 T. Johnston and R. Sttimpe did not bat. declared closed. C r y s t a l P a l a c e . J. L. Spicer, b Moran 8 C. A. O. Pitt, b Moran 68 K. Johnston, not out 10 W. Young, not out ... 10 Extras.................20 Total (7 wkts)*304 In n iD g s F. A. B. Anderson, c C. Pitt, b Wood ... 24 W . C. Collins, e J. Spicer, b Haywood 24 L. 8. Wells, bHaywojd 35 J. H. Todd,b Haywood 12 W. E. Moran, b Hay­ wood ........................ 0 R.H.Dillon.b Haywood 21 F. C. Barchard, c F. Pitt, b Haywood ...24 E. B. Howell, b Hay­ wood ........................ 2 A. Cojsens, not out ... 11 F. M. Mallam, c and b Haywood .......... 3 W. Brander, jun , not out ........................ 0 Extras.................23 Total (9wkts)179 CRYSTAL PALACE v. 8URREY CLUB AND GROUND.—Played at Crystal Palace on July 21. S u r r e y C lu b Capt. Lowis, c Wells, b Umney.................107 Street, c Moran, b Smith........................10 Montgomery, b Moran 0 A. M. Latham, lbw, b Wells........................ 9 W. T. Graybum, run out .......... 8 C. E Wilson, c Bar­ chard, b Moran ... 24 C r y s t a l P a l a c e . F. A. B. Anderson, and b Crawford 77 W. C. Collins,bHu6Sry 34 L S. Wells, not out 61 W. E. Moran, b Craw­ ford ........................ 0 a n d G r o u n d , J. W. Crawford, c Smith, b Wells ... 29 Baker (W. J.), lbw, b Wells .................30 Thompson, c Wells, b Smith .................13 Hussey, c and b Wells 0 Stedman, not out ... 9 Extras................. 9 Total .. 248 Rev.K. Clarke, c Capt. Lowis, b Crawford 4 G. Gordon Smith, not out ........................21 Extras ..........24 Total (4 wk<s) 221 F. Bill, E. Guy Turner, Dr. W. F. Umney, F. C. Barchard and Smith did not bat. Owing to pressure on our space, we are compelled to hold OYer several club cores.