Cricket 1898

476 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. D ec . 22, 1898. failure. Perhaps, though, it is scarcely fair to say that. Crawford had a lot of hard luck, getting out several times in very unfortunate fashion; and when he did make runs he made them really well. Eighty-three v. the Dark Blues, and 73 v. Gloucestershire at the Oval, were his highest scores; but one would rank his 48 not out at Clifton, andhis 31 at Taun­ ton as better efforts, because they were made when really wanted. Take my word for it, he is going to do much better next season. He has any amount of cricket in him. At present his moBt besetting weakness is a tendency to put the ball softly back to the bowler early in an innings. It was delightful to see Jephson doing so well. He has been somewhat unfairly treated by some of the critics—chiefly amateur; but I am sure that none of them will refuse to give him credit for his finework in 1898. He is a cricketer fromthe crown of his head to the soles of his feet; and he can play both games—dour defence or slapdash hitting—as occasion needs. He takes county cricket very seriously—this on his own admission; and to this one must attribute the fact that he often scored but slowly in the championship matches; but his century at Hastings, when county cricket was over and done with, was a thing of sheer joy for those who love daring hitting. Little wonder if he gave vent to his exuberance then, for early in the innings he reached his four-figure total for the season—as he might probably have done in the last county match at the Oval, but for the fact that runs were of no use to his side then, and time was. This 143 at Hastings was not his highest score of the season, though. In the first big match at the Oval he run up 166 not out v. Gloucestershire. His total of 1,135 in­ cluded besides these two centuries the following scores : 60, 59, 54, 54, 51, 50, 46, 46, 41, 41, 40, 40, 38, 32, 31, and 28, and in the course of thirty-five innings he was only twice out for nothing, and only seven times in all under double figures. Like his captain, too, he had a knack—it is something more than knack that is needed, but the word may stand— of makii g his runs when they were wanted—witness his deeds intheMiddle­ sex match at Lora’s, the Sussex match at theOval, the Essex match at Leyton, and the two games of the western tour. As a lob bowler he has come on a lot, and is now quite good, as the Derbyshire bats­ men, whom he performed on with great effect (nine for 55 the figures) at Chester­ field, will probably be ready to assure you. Not often hasit happened that so really good a batsman, exceptionally stylish withal, as Holland has taken so long to play himself into a regular place in the county team which could claim his ser­ vices. But the young Battersea profes­ sional has been a good deal handicapped by ill-health—the which, however, he appears to have quite shaken off now. He played very good cricket in 1898, reaching a four-figure total for the first time in his career, and averaging 34 per innings. In six successive innings in June he scored 126 (v. Lancashire at Manchester), 25, 57, 45 and 55 not out, and 52; his best score in Julywas a 66 v. Hants at the Oval, and he was scarcely at the top^ of his form in that month; but he did exceptionally good work in at least two matches in August, scoring 120 v. Sussex at the Oval, and 42 and 88 v. Someset at Taunton. After his markedly improved form of the paBt two or three seasons, and especially of 1897, Charles Baldwin was very disappointing, and he was left out of a few of the later matches. He generally made some runs, but never made a really high score, his highest in n iD g s being 53, 51 not out, 47, 45, and 41, and it cannot be said that any one of these (save, perhaps, the 53 of a total of 136 v. Cambridge University) was made in time of need. Lees was another disappoint­ ment, though, to my thinking, his bowling was scarcely given a fair trial after his good performances of last year. His one notable feat was the taking of three wickets for one run in the second innings of Leicestershire at the Oval. Harry Wood was one of the veterans who did conspicuously good work in 1898. He often made a score or so of very useful runs; and his wicket-keeping was as good as ever—one is almost tempted to say better. He got through an immense amount of work, too, for the only Surrey matches in which he did not keep were those against the sister ’Varsities, when Marshall took his place. In 23 matches he caught 44batsmen, and stumped 11. Young Hayes played in just half of the Surrey matches, and, though he did not once reach 40, had seven innings varying from 20 to 38. He scarcely bats as well as he did two years ago, one is inclined to think, and suffers from deficiency of effective strokes; but he is young, and probably has Ecarcely formed his style yet. His peculiar slow bowling was two or three times very effective, in the second innings of Sussex at the Oval, when he had 5 wickets for 22, especially so. Prank Smith, the left-hander, who did such good work in 1894, bowled remarkably well at Cambridge, where he tO' k 11 for 75, but was not at all success­ ful in the other matches in which he was given a chance. Street, another of those who locked so full of promise three or four years ago, had but three iunings during the season, and did nothing of note. Braund made a long score after the Lancashire bowling hadfairly broken down at the Oval, and played useful cricket in the West; he is distinctly promising, and if it is true that he is qualifying for Somerset, the cider county may be congratulated upon a good catch, while Surrey can afford to lose him with a good grace. The two young amateurs who were played regularly in the early Iart of 1897 did not appear in a single county match in 1898; but Leveson- Gower captained the teamagainst Oxford (scoring 29), and H. B. Cninnery, who was said to be quite out of form at the beginning of the season, was seen to much advantage at Scarborough, where he scored 97 for theM.C.C. v. Yorkshire, and 49 and 28 (both not out), for Mr. Thornton’s Eogland Eleven against the same side. It seems certain that he will yet do big things for Surrey, for he is sure to have further chances. J. N. P. (To be continued .) (JFotresfponBcnce. TASMANIAN RECOKDS. To the Editor of C r ic k e t. S ir , —In Cricket of August 25th, 1898, on page 369, in ‘ ‘ Pavilion Gossip,” remarking on cricket in Tasmania, and giving certain records compiled for the Tasmania Mail by the Secretary of the South Tasmanian Council Association, you say: “ The only individual hundreds made by Tasmanians , that is to say in International, Inter-Colonial, or North and South matches from 1868 to 1897.” You give a.list of names, and, strange to say, all hailing from the South, while those from the North of the island are quite ignored. Would you kindly add the following, who. though they maj not equal the South, are still worthy of mention:— D ec., 1886, C. W . R ock (Cam bridgeUniversity), N orth v. South, i05. „ It. H . Sams, N orth v. South, 110. A pril, 1888, H . W ilson, N orth v. South, 106. „ „ C. W . Eock. North v. South, 156. M arch, 169\ W . L . bidebottom , N orth v. South, 100. Feb., 1891, J. H . Savigny, North v. South, 120. D ec., 1892, Geo. H . Bailey (A ust. X I .), N orth v. South, 139. „ „ C. W . R ock, North v. South, 113. D ec., 16:95, J. H . favigny, N orth v. South, 134. ., „ W . H . Savigny, N orth v. South, 113. Yours truly, H. DA CO (Hon. Scorer North Tasmania Cricket Association.) Launceston, Tasmania, October, 1898. A SUGGESTION. To the Editor o f C r ic k e t. S i r , —Now that the M.C.C. and other clubs have brought their grounds so well tip to date, it is a pity that the committee of the cricket headquarters have not seen their way to enhance the enjoyment of the game by having a band permanently employed during the matches. How many thousands of people are there in London who care little about the game that would gladly spend a 6d. to hear the music during a fine summer afternoon, and I am sure it would have the effect of increasing the attendance enormously, making the game even more popular than it is. With what enthusiasm would “ Kanji ” be received if he were accompanied by the strains of “ See the conquering hero comes?” And how many who have no particular occupation would find their hours pass pleasantly by enjoying the game and the music also. A very suitable place for the bandstand would be at the left of the pavilion, just at the curve, where the music can be heard and appreciated by all. An orchestra of twenty or twenty-five per­ formers would be quite sufficient for an ordinary match, while some of the first-class bands might be engaged for big ones, such as Gentlemen v. Players, etc. If the matter were taken up by the authorities at Lord’s I N E X T ISSUE, THURSDAY . J A N U A R Y 26.