Cricket 1898

M arch 31 , 1898. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 43 ■V ic t o r ia has won the Sheffield Shield this season in the intercolonial com­ petition. The following is a table of results. Colony. V ic. S.A. N.SAV. "Won. Lst. Victoria................. — 0 1 1 1 3 1 South Australia... 1 0 — 0 1 2 2 New South Wales. 0 0 1 0 —1 3 It was a near thing between Victoria and South Australia, and a matter of 26 runs in the return match decided the result. A f t e r the third day’s play in the last match against Australia the home team met to discuss the question of the recent visit to England. Major Wardill was asked to accompany the future team as manager but was unable to give a definite answer. It was suggested that the team should return home by way of South Africa. A t the annual general meeting of the Yorkshire C.C. the chief subject of dis­ cussion was the desirability of increasing the percentage allowed to the various grounds in Yorkshire on which county matches are played. It was proposed by Mr. Barber to increase the percentage from 15 to 20, and, by Lord Hawke (as an amendment) from 15 to 25. It was pointed out on the one hand that the profits last year were not enormous, partly owing to the amount paid to professionals during the winter, and that the takings in the Surrey home match were some £800 above the average, owing, as was suggested, to the Jubilee. On the other hand, Lord Hawke said that in his opinion a large reserve was unnecessary, and that the grounds were, under present arrangements, only kept up with extreme difficulty. As there was not a three- fourths majority in favour of the amend­ ment it was lost, but the proposal to increase the percentage to 20 was carried. T h e bowlers engaged for the coming season at Cambridge are as follows:— Lockwood, Smith, Keene, H. Richard­ son and Clarke, Surrey ; Woodcock, Lei­ cestershire; Carpenter and Burns, Essex; Hansell and Tolman, Norfolk; Coville, O’ Connor and G. Watts, Cambridgeshire. B y scoring 170 in the return match between New South Wales and South Australia, Hill brought his season’s total in first-class cricket to over a thousand, a feat which is extraordinary in Australia, where matches are so few in number as compared with those in England. A list of his scores will be found below :— 200, South Australia v. Mr. Stoddart’s Team. 45, South Australia v. Mr. Stoddart’s Team. 11, South Australia v. Victoria. 19, Australia v. Mr. Stoddart’s Team, at Sydney. 5)6, Australia v. Mr. Stoddart’s Team, at Sydney. 58, Australia v. Mr. S^oddart’s Team, at Melbourne 20, South Australia v. New South Wales, at Adelaide. 2, South Australia v. New South Wales, at Adelaide. 81, Australia v. Mr. Stoddart’s Team, at Adelaide. 188, Australia v. Mr. btoddart’sTeam,at Melbourne 0, Australia v. Mr. Stoddart’s Team, at Melbourne 135, South Australia v. Victoria, at Melbourne. ^9, South Australia v. Victoria, at Melbourne. 0, South Australia v. New South Wales,at Sydney. 170, South Australia v. New South Wales, at Sydney. it is now seriously proposed to raise a shilling testimonial to Hill. T h e erection of the new pavilion at the Oval is responsible for a change in the arrangements for the annual general meeting of the Surrey County C.C. this year. For some time past it has been the custom to hold it on the day following the annual meeting of the M.C.C., that is, on the first Thursday in May. The position of affairs just now at the Oval has rendered it advisable to defer it a little this season. Hence it has been fixed for Wednesday, May 11th. It is to be held in the club room in the new pavilion. The rules require that the ground is to be opened for practice on April loth. The best that can be done under the circumstances will no doubt be done for those who come early. T h e huge score of 1,697 recently made by Melbourne University v. Essendon, writes Mr. F. S. Ashley Cooper, beats two world’s records, a fact which does not seem to have been mentioned in any paper. It not only outdoes the previous best for the total of an innings, but also the highest aggregate hitherto for any match other than first-class. Curiously enough, Melbourne University had also a hand in the previous record, which was 1,665, in their match with North Mel­ bourne, at Melbourne, on December 15th, 1894. The game, it is as well to remark, occupied four Saturday afternoons. T h e following original suggestion comes from the Wyndham (N.Z.) Herald. Wyndham, it may be stated, is a place of a few hundred inhabitants mostly engaged in dairy work. There may be some fifteen or sixteen active cricketers in Wyndham, certainly not two elevens. After a suggestion from such a quarter the M.C.C. must act, and quickly ! “ We are indebted to an experienced player for an idea which we believe is worthy of serious consideration, and we cannot do better than present the case in his own words:— ‘ In view of the difficulty in connection with the stability of the wicket in a first-class cricket match and the numerous draws result­ ing from want of time in finishing such matches in three days, would it not be practicable (where sufficient space of ground exists) to arrange for both opposing teams to carry on their innings simultaneously by playing teams of 13 men instead of 11, the four extra men enabling the two elevens to be in the field at once with four men to bat ? The four extra men could be included in the batting team or might simply be hired to field. A dismissed batsman would require to proceed to field for his own team, relieving the fieldsman whose turn it would he to bat next. It seems the adoption of such a plan would (provided both wickets were equal) put both teams on equal terms as to state of pitch, weather and light. Should there be any difference in the wickets available, the teams could exchange pitches for second innings.’ We present the idea for criticism.” A wag suggests that the writer might have added : “ Should, however, the size of the ground only allow of one pair of wickets being pitched at a time, bowling at both ends may be carried on simul­ taneously.” C r ic k e t e r s everywhere will hear with the deepest regret of the sad blow that has fallen on Robert Thoms by the loss of his wife. “ R. T .,” who, if only by his contributions to the paper, would be sure of the sympathy of Cricket readers, has a life long record of loyal service to the game. The veteran will have the hearty condolence of cricketers in Greater as well as Great Britain in his sad bereavement. C ir c u m sta n c e s over which they have certainly no control have compelled the executive to alter the arrangements made at Lord’s in December for the Hastings Festival. According to recent custom it was settled that it should begin on Thursday (Sept. 1) and end the following Wednesday. But subsequently it became necessary for the Surrey authorities to change the date of their match with Warwickshire at the Oval from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. With the Surrey men away, it would have been impossible to have played Mr. Stoddart’s X I. against the Rest of England as originally fixed. The Hastings executive therefore had no alternative but to defer the commence­ ment of operations till the following Monday. The Hastings Week of 1898 will therefore be made up as follows :— Monday, Sept. 5, 6, 7, Mr. Stoddart’s Australian XI. v. Best of England. Thursday, Sept. 8, 9, 10, Surrey and Sussex v. Rest of England. All the members of Mr. Stoddart’s Eleven will be playing during the week. T h e Granville (Lee) C. C. shows its enterprise in many ways, but in none, perhaps, more forcibly than in the record it publishes of its doings every year. Last summer was the Granville’s thirtieth season, and the Annual, which contains the full scores of all the matches played by the Club in 1897, is the sixth publica­ tion of the kind. The captain, Mr. C. J. M. Godfrey, is, as usual, responsible for the work. T h e Rev. Thomas Parry Garnier, who died at Switzerland some ten days ago, was a cricketer by descent. He was the second son of the late Dean of Lincoln, who was himself a double blue, having represented Oxford at cricket, as well as taken part in the first race between the two Universities. T. P. was in the Oxford Elevens of 1861, 1862, and 1863, and was chosen for the Gentlemen against the Players in both matches in 1861 when he was only twenty years of age. A younger brother, E. S., another double blue, by the way, was in the Oxford Elevens of 1872 and 1873. “ C r ic k e t ” readers who remember C . J. Eady, the Tasmanian giant, a mem­ ber of the Australian team of 1896, will be glad to hear that he is in rare all-round form just now. On Feb­ ruary 5th he scored 205 out of a total of 338 for Break of Day v. Wellington at Hobart. He only gave one chance, and that was a difficult one, to long-leg when he had got 190. S ir H u m p h r e y d e T r a f f o r d , who has gone to reside in the county, was elected president of the Leicestershire