Cricket 1898

“ Toge the r joined In C ricke t ’s m a n ly toll.”— Byron no. 497 vol. zvii. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 27, 1898 prices* C H A T S ON T H E C R IC K E T F IE L D . H. STURRERFIELD. To mention the name of Stubberfiehl to any Sussex cricketer, whether of the past or present day, is to call up ploa°ant recollections of a genial old player whose characteristics are imperturbable good temper, a ready wit, and an unbounded optimism. Old cricketers delight in a con­ versation with him, while young ones feel encouraged l>y bis cheery advice and quaintly practical hints. In his day he was one of the great bowlers of the world, and if international matches had been played at the lime he wouldwithoutmuch doubt havehad thehonour of repre­ senting England. He was asked by George Parr to become a member of his famous All-England team, but as he had plenty of work at home as well as plenty of cricket, he declined the invi­ tation. Again, when the first teamwhich went to Australia was in course of formation, Stubberfield was offered a place in it, but he could not be induced to make the long and tedious voyage which was necessary at that time. His abilities as a coach were so well known that at various periods of his career he has been coach to the schools at Winchester, Cheltenham, Harrow, Brighton, Lancing, and Hurstpierpoint. When he was still iu his prime Stubberfieldwasunfor­ tunate enough to strain the leaders of his arm when throwing in a ball in a match against Surrey, after he had previously been bowling for eight hours at practice, and eventually this accident caused him to give up county cricket, although for very many years he continued to play all over Sussex in local matches, bowling a remarkably good ball with a low and curious action until the very last. The performances of which he is he is some sixty-five years old, he walkj a distance of f >urmiles from his house in Brighton—bis own property—toRoedean every morning, and returns in theevening after working fjr ten hours at his trade us a skilled carpenter. In the summer, liosrever, he finds much to do as an umpire. In the days when SSubberfield began to represent his county the life of a professional cricketer was very different from what it is at the present time. As there were no nets at practice, the ball was hit to all parts of the field, and although there were generally plenty of boys to run after the ball, a bowler had frequent rests. “ I can remember the first attempt that was made at Brighton,” said Stubberfield, “ to put up anet at practice. Oneevening I had been asked to bowl, and I said to one of my friends, ‘ We’ll have the net up to see how it works.’ While we were putting it up, Tom Box, who owned the ground, came up and said, ‘ What in the name of good­ ness are you doing there ? ’ We t ild him that we were putting up a net for practice. • Oh you are, areyou ! Wel take it down at once. There isn’t going to be any nets on this ground.’ And down it had to come. But those were palmy days for professional cricketers. Some gentlemen used to give you a sovereign for bowling half an hour to them. The best day’swork I ever did, as far as the pay­ ment was conerned, was when I was playing for the officers of the Inniskilling Dragoons against PrioryPark, Chiches- They had a-k*d Tom Box howmuch he thought I slit uld want for a one-day match, and he r«| lied, ‘ Oh, I daresay you might persuade him to play for a couple of guineas.’ They did persuade mewith­ out much difficulty. In addition to the two guineas, they promised to give me a shilling for every run I made and half-a- crown for every wicket. I scored65 runs proudest are hh records against Surrey and Kent. He had the principal part iu dismissing the former team for 38 runs, and on a fiery wicket he disposed of most of the Kent men in a second innings when their total was only 24. He was introduced to a very interesting spot on the turf just before the ionings com­ menced, and pitched the ball np->n it with a persistent accuracy which was j ter. irresistible. Like many another pro­ fessional fifty years ago, he would go out into the field after bowling at practice for some hours and have the ball thrown to him by men who could easily throw ninety yards every time; it was ivery seldomthat he did not make nine catches out of ten. At the present time, although