Cricket 1898

“ Together joined in Cricket’ s manly toil.”— Byron. no. 491 . v o l. x v ii. THUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 1898. pb ice aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. ME . D . L. A. JEPHSON. In these modern days, when every first-class cricketer has to live in a glass house at which all and sundry may throw stones, Mr. Jephson has attracted- more than a fair share of the attention of the throwers. For some reason or other his many big scores for the Wanderers, after he left Cambridge, did not mark him out as a man who was likely to do well in county cricket. “ He is a splendid man for second-claes cricket ” was pretty generally said of him, “ but as for county cricket he wouldn’t do at all.” Hence, when he was first asked to play for Surrey there were forebodings, and it was stated that there were dozens of other men who were more deserving than he to represent the county. But, as time went on, all this was forgotten in the admiration which was caused by his ability to make runs against any bowling under almost any circum­ stances, and it was very soon recognised that a Surrey eleven without him was not the strongest possible. Then came another turn in For­ tune’s wheel, and Mr. Jephson was left out of the team in 1895, 1896, and in 1897 until the big match of the year. When he was again chosen to play, the committee were roundly rebuked by a corres­ pondent of a sporting news­ paper for their temerity and incompetence, and the corres­ pondent only represented what many other people thought. But a splendid innings at once quieted averse criticism, and at the present moment there cannot be a judge of the game in England who does not think Mr. Jephson one of the very best men in the team. Hehasthe great advantage of being an all-round man, a fine bat and field, and a most useful lob bowler, who is said by many to be the best lob bowler of the day. In the days of his boyhood, when he was a bowler without any pretensions to be considered a bat, he used to play cricket on Broadstairs sands with Mr. Weigall, the Kent amateur, and Mr. F. E. Street, the Old Westminster and Corinthian footballer and Essex cricketer, as companions. His school days were passed at the Manor House MRj D. L. A. JEPHSON. (From a Photo by Hawkins <h Co.y Brighton .) School, Clapham, which has turned out many players at cricket and football, who, in after years, became famous. Mr. Jephson has always taken a keen delight in bowling, and even at the present time, when he is recognised as one of the most dangerous bats in the Surrey team, an innings of 50 does not in his heart of hearts give him as much pleasure as the taking of two or three wickets. His highest score in any match was 301, not out, for the Wanderers v. Norwood. This was made in a little over three hours. In his early University days Mr. Jephson was a fast bowler with a big future as it seemed, and in minor matches he met with extraordinary success. In his first year at Cambridge he took 70 or 80 wickets for Peterhouse, and in those days he was considered b y every­ body to be a bowler pure and simple. For years he and Mr. G. E . Bicknell bowled almost unchanged for the Wanderers. ‘ ‘ Bicknell nearly always took the first five wickets,” said Mr. Jephson, “ and I finished off the tail. In two seasons we each took ahundredwickets. “ Irem em ­ ber a match at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne,” he added, “ when I used to bow l fast. I was playing for the Crystal Palace, and we had two hours in which to get them out. For a loDg time it seemed that they would make a draw with extreme ease. W ith the total at 65, only two wickets were down, and a consider­ able inroad had been made on the time, but a sudden collapse occurred and we got them all out for 70. Aided by a great deal of luck— for there was nothing the matter with the wicket—I managed to get six wickets for 36 in this innings. A curious inci­ dent once happened when I was bow ling fast on the Croydon Ground. A batsman hit me out of the ground with tremendous force. A baker’ s cart was in a direct line with the ball, which pitched full on the back of the horse, who naturally took such a sudden blow as a strong hint to move. So he bolted off, pursued by the driver, who fortunately contrived to stop him before an accident ensued.” “ What induced you to take to bowling lobs ? ” “ After I had been very successful with