Cricket 1898

50 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. Aran. 14. 1898. to go for the bowling hammer and tongs, and if he comes off he may completely change the fortunes of the game. I remember our second innings last year at the Oval, against Surrey, when the wicket was soft and peculiar. W.G. sent Jessop in the first thing in the morn­ ing, and there is no doubt in my mind that his 30 runs, or thereabouts, paved the way to what was in the end an easy victory for us.” “ Do you regret having to play a slower game ? ” “ Sometimes I do very greatly. But it is all a question of being able to get more practice. I remember Rex Howell, a rare good sportsman, who used to play for Surrey, asking me what I thought the chief qualification in a first- class batsman. I said that it was the ability to play first-class bowling, and that, in about nine cases out of ten, this depended on the amount of prac­ tice a man could get against it. Stick a young fellow down to play Mold, for instance, in his first match, and it is ten to one that he is out at once; he is not accustomed to seeing the ball tearing at him as it does when it comes from Mold. After a certain amount o f practice he gets used to any bowling, for he knows what he may expect, and this makes all the difference in the world.” “ Have you often been in for any length of time with Dr. Grace ? ” ‘ ‘ I have been fortunate enough to play two long innings in partnership with him. At Bristol, when he made his 301 against Sussex, he and Bice had put on 200 runs on a wicket which was loose at one end. W. G. put me in eighth and we added something like another 200 to the score. It was astonishing how fresh he was even at the end of his innings. Every now and then he would say ‘ Now we’ll steady down a little ’—I may say that as far as I was concerned I was 1steadying down ’ all the time—and then again 1Now we’ll get a few runs.’ He would then run short runs as briskly as if he were just beginning his innings. The crowd were delighted with his play, and kept clapping and cheering him with such enthusiasm that no one was sur­ prised at the end of the day when they made a rush for him. They did not attempt to carry him to the pavilion, for he is a little too heavy for that, but they patted him on the back to such an extent that his silk shirt* was absolutely black with finger marks. Sussex went in for a quarter of an hour, and by the lime that the last over began the crowd had got so far in the field of play that short slijJ was actually fielding among them. I’ve never seen such a thing either before or since.” “ What was the other innings ? ” “ It was at Gravesend in 1895, when W.G. made 257 and 73, not out. I shtiuld think that his 257 was one of the finest innings he has ever played; his ‘ second innings was also a great perform­ ance as it was played against time. In the first innings I was in for two or "three hours with him. It is delightful to be in with him, for one always feels that he will never make a mistake in running—in fact, if you like, you may leave the whole thing to him with the certainty that he will pull you through. If you call him for an absurd run he will jump on you, which is what you deserve. A curious thing happened in that innings. Sewell was stumped by Hunter, a Bick- ley Park player I think he was, off his pads, and the very next ball exactly the same thing happened to me, except that I was lucky enough to have the decision given in my favour. But I believe that I was really out.” It is well known that Dr. Grace expects every man in his team to do his very best in the field, and it is very seldom indeed that there is anything like slackness to be seen in the Gloucestershire eleven. But even in the best regulated teams such things will happen. “ Some years ago, when we were playing at Brighton,” said Mr. Kitcat, “ things were going pretty badly with us. We were in the field and were getting very slack indeed; in fact, there was no life in the team. Presently, W.G. turned to a young amateur, who had just begun to play for the county, and told him to go to long leg. The youngster, who had had enough of going to various places, calmly replied, ‘ I ’m not goiBg to long leg.’ This was said in such a comical way that W.G. was greatly tickled, and the team woke up as one man, and there was no more slackness. W.G. is a wonderful judge of placing the field. He keeps his eye on every movement, and over and over again he has shifted a man with the result that a catch has come to him almost immediately. Last year, in the Surrey match at the Oval he moved me, at cover slip, a yard nearer, and almost immediately afterwards, a ball came to me which could certainly not have been caught if I had been in my former place. As it was, it came off, very much to my surprise—it was one of those left-hand catches which bring down the house when the ball happens to stick in your hand, instead of merely hitting it.” Mr. Kitcat has fortunately not for­ gotten all the anecdotes of Dr. Grace which have come under his notice. “ A friend had taken her little boy, aged about five or six,” he said, “ to a big northemmatch, where W.G. was playing. Presently, a little voice at her elbow observed—‘ Muvver, if you was a little boy, would you go and speak to Dr. Grace ? ’ And she answered, abstractedly, that she rather thought she would. Ten minutes later she missed the boy, and, searching for him eagerly, espied him seated on Dr. Grace’s shoulder, afar off. Whereupon, she hastened to offer apologies and explanations, and her small son, looking down at her from his perch, said, ‘ He doesn’ t mind. First I speaked to him, but he didn’t hear, so then I stood beside him, and took his leg in my arms, and that made him look.’ ” Another “ W.G.” anecdote :— “ An acquaintance, who is a cricket enthusiast, ’ ’ said Mr. Kitcat “ collects every sort of cricket trophy and memorial. She was eager for a bat of the great W.G.’s, and I volunteered to ask for one. It was promised but (naturally) forgotten, and in the end Jessop gave one, which had been W.G.’s, and with which he (Jessop) had scored a century. But, as an old friend of the enthusiast’s said to my wife, ‘ The Lord forgive you if the bat is not genuine.’ However, we honestly believe it to be so, having great faith in Jessop’s veracity. And, if it’s not genuine ’tis not our fault—besides, ‘ there’s nothing is but thinking makes it so.’ ” Mr. Kitcat also tells an amusing anec­ dote against himself. “ I was playing,” he said, “ against Yorkshire at Bradford, and wore a sweater, on which a thought­ ful wife had embroidered, in huge red letters, my initials. The letters, which stretched all across the chest, were an inch high and could be seen a mile off. This delighted ‘ E.M .,’ and turning me round toward the pavilion he called out, to the immense amusement of the crowd, ‘ S.A.P.K. ! ’ This is evidently an ad­ vertisement for Sapolio; he gets well paid for it, and the ‘ K ’ stands for ‘ quite correct.’ ” W. A. B e t t e s w o r t h . * Although Mr. Kitcat did not mention the fact, the crowd, finding his weight of 12 stone somewhat lighter thah the 16 stone of Dr. Grace, shouldered him into the pavilion. It may be added that Mr. Kitcat gets no practice whatever, and has to face county howling without any preparation except what he can get from playing in Saturday afternoon matches. THE FRIARS. MAY. 12. Derby, v. 45th Regimental District 17. Repton, v. Repton School 19. Derby, v. Notts Amateurs C.C. 26. Lichfield, v. Lichfield C.C. JUNE. 2 . Derby, y.-Trent College ; 7. Derby, v. Gentlemen of Lincs.* 9. Derby (School Ground), v. Derby School 14. Shrewsbury, v. Shrewsbury School* - 16. Chelford, v. Gentlemen of Cheshire* 21. St. Albans, v. St. Albans C.C.* 28. Trent, v. Trent College (R) JULY. > '■>- 7. Derby, y.’Loiigford C.C. : I 19. Derby (County Ground), v. Derby School (R) i 21. Derby, v. 45th Regimental District (R) , ; ’ 21, Midland Hotel,.l)f rl>y,'7 .30p.m., Annual Dinner 27. Lincoln, v. Gentlemen of Lincs. (R)* AUGUST. 1. Repton, v. Old Reptonians* 9. Derby, v. I.ichfield C.C. (R) 11. Nottingham, y. Notts Amateurs C.C. (R) 15. Derby, y. Warwickshire Crusaders* * Two-day matches. (fTorresfpontiencc. THE RECORD SCORE (1697?). To the Editor of C ricket . Sir,—You intimate that in respect of the above Mr. Ashley-Cooper has pointed out a fact that had not occurred to anyone else. Let me also point out a fact that has not occurred even to Mr. Ashley-Cooper. My fact is that this score is an impossibility. It is stated that five centuries were scored; suppose each of these to have been a double century; then suppose that the other six men made ninety-nine each; Mr. Extras, too, would have to make a century to make up the number. Or suppose one man made 4Q0, another 300,: another 200, . two others 100 fcach, Mr. Extras 5 0; then the other six would haye .to make 90 each.! 'T ru ly , cricketers are a credtilous race.—Yours faithfully, - G . LACY. 'Sandgate, 1898. ;