Cricket 1898

388 ORICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE OAMK. S ept 1, 1898. T H E L IG H T S ID E OF C E IC K E T . Under the above somewhat inexpressive title, Mr. E . B. V . Christian has edi ed, and Mr. James Bowden, 10, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, published a book which certainly ought to be iu every cricketer’slibrary, of “ stori-s, sketchesand verses ” referring to the game of cricket. The publishers have wisely given the place of honour in the book, as far as pros«i writing is concerned, to Mr. Coch­ rane’s d e lig h t f u l little story, “ The Talis­ man.” Mr. Cochrane, who, as most cricketers know, is the old Oxford Blue, always contrives in the first place to make his stories interesting, which is an art not altogether to be despised, and in the second place he engages the reader’s attention to the end. Wnat could possibly be batter than his description of the superstitious batsman F “ Cresswell was one of thoseabsurd cricketers who are very superstitious, though I must say he made a power of runs. Whenever he got out he had always some thundering good reason to account for it. Either, it was that a baby had been brought on the ground in a perambulator, which was a most unlucky thing to happen, or the end of his trouser- leg had slipped out of the lower strap of his pad, or something like that. He had a batt­ ing cap, and a bowling cap, and a fielding cap, and nothing would induce him to do anything unless he had the right cap on. There were also a number of other things about his attire and his outfit which either brought him good or bad luck, and he always had to go in in a particular place or else he was a certain duck. One of his ideas was that he never could get a run if he was in with Biggs. When Biggs came in, Cress- well invariably got out. He did not tell Biggs so, but he told everyone else. Not that he much fancied Biggs anyhow, apart from the evil influence he believed him to have over his batting. They were neither of them bad chaps, but at opposite poles altogether. Cresswell was neat and slim and precise, a bit touchy, perhaps, but kind- hearted. Biggs was fat and massive ; thick- skinned and noisily good-humoured. He had a loud voice which usually said the wrong thing, and which put Cresswell’s back up, but Biggs never noticed it, for he was that kind of person who cannot believe himself unappreciated by anybody.” Another excellent story is “ Gavin’s L'.ve Letter,” b y Mrs. Murray Hickson, a lady who, as readers of Cricket will doubtless remember, is known to her friends as Mrs. S. A. P. Kitcat. The story displays an intimate knowledge of the game of cricket, and when her hero is batting he makes his runs as a cricketer would and should, without any posing. “ The receipt of telegrams is the hall­ mark of a first-class cricketer” is a delightful little touch of satire. Fiction in this interesting book is also represented by contributions from Mr. Eden Phillpots, Mr. W. Pett Ridge, who have not hitherto, as far as we are aware, tried their hands at cricket stories. Several other writers, more or less known to fame, also contribute short stories. The editor himself, besides writing a story entitled “ The Umpires Remorse,” and “ An Ode to W. G.,” has collected various and well-chosen notices “ in praise o f W . G .” from many sources. Among them appears the saying of J. C. Shaw, although cricketers who knew that famous professional will be amused to find that he spoke such good English as “ I put the ball where I please, and he puts it where he pleases.” Mr. F. S. Ashley Coope.* writes an article on “ Playeis, Past and Present,” and the Rev. H . A. Trite another on “ W. G. : Fifty U p.” The book is strong in poetry, and Mr. Cjchrane’s “ Theory and Practice ” is so good that we make no apology for quoting i t : — THEORY AND PRACTICE. B y A l f r e d C o c h r a n e {On reading Prince HanjilsinhjVs book). To buy it all the people press With a despairing eagerness That borders on the tragic; All men peruse with sighs and vows, And towels bound about their brows, This work of Eastern magic. Of hidden things—the vigorous drive, The lightning cut that hums for five, The secret here is told us ; Here we may learn, perhaps, to score With that deft glide to leg for four Off balls that would have bowled us. Look you—the mystery will be clear, For we may find the pivot here Whereon the business hinges ; Till, full of lore one summer day, We shall adventure forth to play, And all be Ranjitsinhjis. Dear Devotees of bat and ball, Do you in childhood’s hours recall The conjurer’s candid habit, Of showing to unskilful men How flower-pots might conceal a hen, Or silk hats hide a rabbit ? The trick was ours, if only books Could make us Maskelynes and Cookes, We saw completely through it. But then our task was but begun, For though we knew how it was done The nuisance was to do it. Mr. Norman Gale, who has gained some reputation as a poet, would probably n ote nsider “ The Forerunners” o r “ The B igots” his best efforts. It was possibly difficult to find a suitable rhyme to “ attended,” bufc with a little more thought Mr. Gale might surely have avoided such a line as : “ My dear old girl, how truly splendid ! ” The “ old girl ” to whom the poet refers is a cricket bag. SOUTHGATE v. J . H A LL’S X L -P la y e d a t South­ gate on A ugust 27. J . H a l l ’s X I. C. H olland, b W Bick»-tts ....................... 9 G. Petherbridge, b B ryan ....................... 0 E. V . M ann, c sub, b W . Ricketts ............ 20 H. Gradidge, c sub, b A. R icketts . ... 43 G. H are, b W . Ricketts 0 G. H . R ussell, run out ............................18 Sergt. W . H all, lbw , b B ryan .....................12 W . Haywood, c sub, b A. R icketts ............ 5 W . Steele, c Sugden, b W . Ricketts ............13 J . Arm strong, b B ryan 0 J . H all, not o u t............. 4 B 1, lb 2 ............ 3 Total ..127 E . P. S ogden, c Steele, b Haywood . ... J A. S. H arris, lbw, b W . H all ..................... 7 A . R icketts, Ibw, b W . H a ll .............................. 1 F . Rryan. c H are, b W . H all ..............................72 F . S. Lewis, lbw, b H a re ..............................14 S outhgate . W . T. Ricketts, lbw , b W . H all ..................... J . P. Irons, b H are ... J . H. Lewis, not out... 24 R .W .M aude,bW .H all 0 H. Chatterton, not out 3 E. W hite, did not bat 0 B 12, lb 1 ............13 HA8TINGS AND ST. LEONARDS’ CLUB AND GROUND v. INCOGNITI.—Played a t H astings on A ugust 22 and 23. I n c o g n it i . F irst innings. Second innings. Rev. W . F . Poland, b W allace .............................. 9 c N uttall, b A tte w e ll.......55 Rev. C. L . T indall, c Howell, b A rlington .....................28 c N uttall, b A ttew ell ... . 40 W . H . W hatley, b A rlington 8 c A rlington, b A tte w e ll......... 0 T .A . Higson, c N uttall, b A ttew ell ............................... 4 b A tte w e ll........ 0 M> jo r C. E. Orman, c B all, b A rlington ..................... 6 cH owell, b A tte­ w ell 12 H . G. P api’lon, h it w kt, b A ttew ell ............ ... 20 b A rlington .. 15 H. G. Rice, can d bA ttew ell 22 c A rlington, b A tte w e ll......... 3 C. E. W inter, c P hillips, b W allace ............................... 17c and b A rlington 0 F. H . Latham , c P hillips, b A tte w ell............ ...........81 b A ttfw e ll........ 1 L . E. G. Abney, b A rlington 22 b A tte w e ll........ 0 W . P. Carpm ael, not out ... 33 not o ut............. 0 B 12 , lb 5 ....................17 Byes ............. 9 Total ...267 T otal... .105 H astings and S t . L eonards ’ C lub and G round . F irst innings. Second innings. R. G. D. Howell, c W inter, b Higson ............................... 13 b H igson ...... 3 H . H unnings, c Orman, b T indall.......................................I t b H igson ... 0 G. Arlington, b Abney ... 43 c Rice, b Higson 6 C. W allace, b A b n e y ............ 37 b Higson ..... 4 A ttew ell, b Abney ............ 0 b H igton ...... 5 H . S. Johnstone, b H igson 11 c A bney, b H ig­ son .............. 3 R . H . N uttall, c Papillon, b Abney .............................. 4 c and b H igson... 33 R . B aker, b A bney ............ 39 b A bney ....... 39 H . Phillips, c Abney, b T indall....................................... 35 b H igson ...... 3 W . B runnell, c W inter, b H igson....................................... 5 c Carpm ael, b A bney ...... 1 W . H . B all, not out ............ 0 n o to u t............. 19 B 15, lb 1, nb 3 ............19 B yes ............... 9 Total .. 220 T otal............125 STREATHAM v. VILLAG E .—Played a t Streatham on A ugust 27. H . Yeoman, c Hooper, b ►'Citt .....................11 W . Horn, c Freney, b Hooper ..................... 6 Sleat (J.), c and b Hooper .....................35 T. Caffarey, c G. Free­ m an, b Hooper .. 19 F . Sturger, b G. Free­ m an .............................. 8 E. W i ks, b M ortim er 6 C. W atts, b M ortim er 26 Joe Caffarey, b M orti­ m er .............................. 3 W . Sm ith, b M ortim er 0 S. Corps, bM ortim er... 7 H . H azell, not out ... 3 L b l,w 2 ..................... 3 Total .. 127 S treatham . E. H. L eaf, not out, 100; H . S. B arkw orth, not out, 131; extras, 7.—Total (no w icket), 238. A . Freney, L . M ortim er, D. O. K err, J . H. Hooper, E. Pulbrook, G. Freem an, A . G. Freem an, H . H . Scott and N. M iller did not bat. GRANVILLE (Lee) v. N O RW O O D .-Played at Lee on A ugust 27. N orwood . H .A.C. Shf rriff, b B u ll 3 H . Blatchford, b T urner ...................... 5 J . D. Gillespie, c and b B u ll.............................. 0 S. H ollands, b T urner 12 A. P. Roe, b T urner... 6 L . B iggs, c and b B ull 1 H . T. Richardson, b T urner ..................... 3 L . F. E lliott, st L ay­ m an, b B ull ... H . Lewin, h Hull A . W . G illespie, Turner ............ W . L ast not out... Bye ............. T otal ... 17 4 1001 Total G ranville F . G. B ull, c E llio tt, b I L . R. H avers, not out 13 L ew in.............................. 11 __ W . M orris, not out ... 17 | T otal (2 wkts) 54 J . C. Stone,b L ew in... 13 j P. P. Lincoln, H . R . H ackney, W . S. Pate, L . J . Turner, O. G. F erry, J . W ilson, ju n ., and A. R . L aym an did not bat.