Cricket 1898

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. eo. 493 voi. x v i i . THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1898. p r i c e ad. A CHAT ABOUT H A R R Y WOOD. Like many other men who have become famous in some particular point of the game, W ood made his appearance in first-class cricket ia a capacity which seems strangely out of place, when seen in the light of later years. His first match was for Kent v. Hampshire, and in this he was tried chiefly for his bow ling and partly as a bat. It was only by accident that it was discovered that he could keep wicket. In the o u rse of the match the wicket-keeper was obliged to hand over the gloves to some­ body else, and as one of the team happened to have heard that Wood knew something of wicket-keeping, he was given a trial, more because there was no other man in the team who cared to try his hand than because it was expected that the newcomer would be of any use. But he did so well that he was given many further trials, always as a wicket-keeper, and it may safely be said that if county cricket in those days had been taken as seriously as it is now, he would still be playing for Kent instead of Surrey. The finger of scorn is often pointed at the Kent com ­ mittee of some years ago for allowing Wood, a Kent man, to slip out of their fingers. But there is good reason to suppose that the committee knew well enough that they had got a good man whom they had no intention what­ ever of forgetting. But it so happened that after Wood had played for the county for a year or two with varying success he accepted an engage­ ment in Ireland, and it did not occur to him that he was a sufficiently important person to write to the secretary to inform him of his new address. In consequence of this, a letter from Lord Harris asking him to play again never reached its destination, and as far as the committee could tell their promising wicket-keeper had vanished into the air. Bat after a season in Ireland he was engaged for two years at Dover, and his whereabouts were again known to the committee who occasionally asked him to play. But during Wood’s absence in Ireland other wicket-keepers had been tried, and it is possible that the policy of laissez faire was carried a little too far, for Wood eventu- ally was allowed to accept an engage­ ment at Streatham, thus com ing into a county which was beginning to learn to keep its eyes very wide open for promising players. It was not long before the undoubted merits of the new arrival came under the notice of the Surrey Committee, who, happening at the time to be wanting a first-class wicket-keeper, promptly made offers which could not possibly be refused b y a man who had to make his living by cricket. When the engagement had been made and ratified W ood was, too late, offered a regular place in the Kent team. It must be remembered that at that tioce there was not the emulation among tov siies which exists nowadays, and committees had no need to be as watchful as present-day committees. When W ood first appeared for the Surrey Eleven it was hardly anticipated that he would develop into a really great wicket-keeper. He had to succeed such men as Pooley aud Lockyer, two of the Jnest—if not the very finest—- wicket-keepers of their time, snd nobody except a “ flyer ” could have satisfied the critics, who had been accustomed to see wicket-keeping as nearly o perfection as it could w be. But it was not long before W ood became as much a part of the Surrey team as Mr. Shuter or Mr. Bead. It was found that he improved steadily, and that he was able to adapt himself with ease to the many styles of the Surrey bowlers in a manner which clearly marked him out as one of the men of his time. No Dne but a great wicket­ keeper could have been in­ variably successful in taking bowlers like Lohmann, Lock­ wood, and Itichardson, not to a ention many others. In cour.se o f time it was also discovered that W ood was a batsman who had no nerves At times when runs were not required he was extremely likely to get a duck’s e g g ; on the other haud when his side was in a very tight place he developed a habit of making the most unorthodox hits with a frequency which added largely to the score ; or, if circumstances required, of sticking his bat in the way of the ball with a persistency which wore out the patience of the bowlers. And so for many years he has steadily kept his]place in the HARBY w o o d . ( From a Photo by R. W. Thomas, Cheapside, London , E*C*)