Cricket 1899

106 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ay 4, 1899. Surrey Club and Ground at the Oval. In 1897 he scored very heavily for Sur­ biton and other clubs, but last season did not do so well owing to an attack of dysentery, which did not leave him throughout the summer. Still, he did good service for Surrey’s second team, which he captained in most of their matches. An excellent innings of 72 against the Surrey Eleven at the Oval last Friday fully justified his trial against Leicestershire. I f Surrey wanted bats­ men he would in all probability be a great acquisition, as he watches the ball well and has no lack of hitting power. I t will be good news to Harrovians, old as well as young, to hear that A. C. MacLaren will be able to give practically his fu 'l attention to the development of Harrow School cricket this summer. As only three or four of last year’s eleven remain, there is the greater need of some one o f real capacity to look after the rising players and to make the most of what material there is at Harrow. In this particular line A. C. MacLaren has no superior, so that the School is fortunate in being able to enlist his assistance. MAJOR W a r d i l l , I understand, has been authorised by the committee of the Melbourne Club to solicit the good offices o f the Marylebone Club in the matter of the English team it is intended shall visit Australia at the end of 1900 under the auspices of the Melbourne C.C. The Marylebone authorities, as far as I cm hear, are to be asked to select and collect the team. If this rumour is correct, which I have every reason to believe it is, it answers to some extent the question asked in last week’s “ Gossip.” I f the man in the street is to b 3believed, George Ayres, the Surrey professional, who has been qualifying for Essex, will represent the latter a gainst the Australians at Leyton on Thursday next. With H. B. Chinnery playing for Middlesex, as well as the two brothers Douglas and C. M. Wells, Braund presumably in time for Somersetshire, H . W . Bainbridge and Diver for Warwickshire, Surrey should presently be as well represented outside as was Notts some few years ago. T h e Attorney-General, as President of the Club, is to preside at the dinner the Surrey County Club is giving to the Australian cricketers this evening. Am ong the other guests will be the Earl of Salborne, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Colonial Office, and the Hon. W . St. John Brodrick, Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Office. In view of the Austra­ lian matches, the Committee of the Surrey C.C.C., who have, by the way, arranged to store cycles on the skating rink, are erecting a temporary covered stand between the Yauxhall entrance and the football pavilion. A n energetic effort is being made to reorganise the Dorset County C.C. A meeting of the executive committee was recently held at Dorchester. It was pro­ posed that the club should compete in the second-class counties competition. It is intended that the county ground shall be at Dorchester, that two or three professionals shall be engaged to form a ground staff, that the home matches shall be played in various parts of the county, and that local cricket shall be encouraged as much as possible. The proprietors of the Bridport Neivs have offered to publish a subscription list in the columns of their j ournal. A GLANCE at the match accounts of the Marylebone Club for last year will show where the bulk of the receipts from the actual cricket comes from . The follow ing tables are taken from the published accounts:— GATE MONEY— £ S. d. M.C.C. and Ground v. S ussex........... 39 2 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Lancashire ... 66 12 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire ... 90 17 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Notts ........... 1 3 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Kent ........... 82 9 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Leicestershire 28 7 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Derbyshire ... ?6 11 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Cambridge ... 58 5 6 M.C.C and Ground v. O x ford ........... 46 3 6 Oxford v. C am bridge.......................... 1,159 16 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Northants ... 19 12 6 Eton v. Harrow ..................................1,584 2 6 Gentlemen v. P layers.......................... 1,035 10 0 Rugby v. Marlborough .................. 67 13 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Herts ........... 4 0 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Wiltshire ... 4 19 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Cambridgeshire 5 1 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Worcestershire 8 5 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Oxfordshire... 13 5 0 Eight matches during season ........... 149 10 0 £4,496 7 0 MATCH EXPENSES— £ s. d. M.C.C. and Ground v. S ussex........... 83 15 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Lancashire ... 96 12 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire ... 102 12 6 M.C.C. and Ground v. Notts ........... 96 0 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Kent .......... 66 10 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Leicestershire 91 10 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Derbyshire ... 86 18 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Cambridge ... 38 6 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. O x fo rd ........... 33 10 0 Oxford v. C am bridge.......................... 183 18 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Northants ... 51 10 0 Eton v. Harrow .................................. 142 17 0 Gentlemen v. P layers.......................... 222 13 0 Rugby v. Marlborough ................... 21 8 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Herts ........... 39 9 0 M.C.C. and Ground v. Wiltshire ... 39 16 8 M.C.C. and Ground v. Cambridgeshire 45 8 8 M.C.C. and Ground v. Worcestershire 47 6 8 M.C.C. and Ground v. Oxfordshire... 38 10 0 182 Matches during season.................. 2,466 11 8 Luncheons for matches ................... 291 10 8 £4,286 13 4 The takings at the Middlesex matches, it may be remarked, are not included in the Marylebone accounts; they go to the Middlesex County Cricket Club. E f f o r t s are being made to revive the old Brighton Club, says Mr. Gaston in the Brighton Argus. For this purpose a general meeting will be held at the Hove Club (Fourth Avenue) this week. It has been suggested that the club in future be designated the Sussex Nondescripts. Mr. A. J. N. Booker is acting as hon. secre­ tary (pro tem .), and members are being enrolled rapidly. Amongst others I note Mr. Charles Hoadley Ashe Boss, of Middlesex fame. Mr. C. H . A. Ross first played for Middlesex in 1875. His brother, Mr. Ham ilton Eoss, has also played for the metropolitan county, while thirty years ago he played for the Gentle­ men of Sussex against the Players of Sussex at Brighton, contributing five and 101. Mr. W . B. Green, of Hertfordshire, w ill also play, also Mr. R. W . Fox, the Oxford University wicketkeeper of last season. The old Brighton Club was established as far back as 1839, a copy of the rules of the club for that year being in m y possession. The late Mr. G. W . K ing was for many years president of the club. T h e follow ing parody appears in the Adelaide Observer :— THE CHAMPION CRACK. We once had a champion crack, dears— The champion crack of the world ; His bat was so straight and so true, dears, And his howling so charmingly curled. But we lost our champion crack, dears; He sulked for a season away, And we coaxed all we knew for some months dears, But we never could coax him to play. We have found our champion crack, dears, He has come once more to the play, Folks say that his luck is quite changed, dears; That his prestige has melted away. He is not going home with the team, dears ; They’ve rejected the bowler that curled. Yet for old sake’s sake our Georgy is still The champion crack of the world. (And I think that they’ll sigh when they miss him— The champion crack of the world.) Q u e s t io n and Answer. From an interview with Ranjitsinbji in the Golden Penny. Q. How do you manage to keep yourself in form here during the winter, when there is no cricket?” A. “ Of course, I don’t play at all in the winter, but then as nobody does everyone starts the season on equal terms.” A m o n g well-known cricketers who have scored well in minor matches during the past week a re: C. B, Fry, 120, 40, and 40 not o u t; Colonel Spens, 66 not o u t ; W . Troup, 50 ; W . Trask, 71 not o u t; M oor- house, 45 ; Barton, 42 not out, and 21. T h e Board of Control which was appointed during the winter to govern the future matches in England against Australia has chosen the follow ing to act as a selection sub-committee for the test matches: Lord Hawke, W . G. Grace, and H. W . Bainbridge, with power to co-opt, out of the first six chosen, two amateurs to assist in selecting the remaining players. Auditors were appointed to deal with the question of finance. The members of the board present were: Hon. A. Lyttelton, M .P ., Lord Harris, Earl of Lichfield, A. J. Webbe, W . H. Patterson, W. G. Grace, A. N . Hornby, C. E. Green, Lord Hawke, and H. D. G. Leveson- Gower. The new President of the Marylebone C.C. is Lord Justice Sir A. L , Smith. Of the seven gentlemen who were nominated for the committee, the follow ing were elected :— The Hon. A. Lyttelton, Mr. A. N. Hornby, Mr. F . S. Jackson, and Mr. J. Shuter. O riN lO N S may possiby differ as to the wisdom of this choice, although all three members of the sub-oommittee