Cricket 1899

M ay 4, 1899. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 107 may be relied on to act without favour and w ithout fear. It does not seem to have occurred to the Board that at some time or other there may not be two amateurs among the first six men chosen. T h e death is announced of Mr. R. P. Smith, who for many years was captain of the Derbyshire eleven. He played in the first match in which the Derbyshire County Cricket Club made its debut. This was in 1871. His best seasons were 1875 and 1876. He was not perhaps an ideal captain, since he had not the energy and keenness which are necessary for success, but his services to Derbyshire were of the greatest value. At about the time that his powers as a batsman began to decline he came into a large fortune and took the name of Stevens. H e died on Mon­ day at his home, Staunton Grange, Newark. A t f i e l d , who has been coaching at Maritzburg, has had an extremely long run of bad luck as a batsman during the season, but in his last match he came out of his shell and scored 140. His scores are as follow s: —0, 1, 16, 17, 0, 0, 0, 0, 41, 4, 2, 9, 19, 140. THE CRICKET SEASON HAS BEGUN. No more we notice Kruger’s craft, Nor Esterhazy’s tricks, Nor crises ; nor the artists who Their architecture mix, And from to-day is done to death The zest of politics. The country parson as he reads Beside his breakfast table Turns past the leaders, letters, notes, And past “ our foreign cable,” To see who wielded best the cane, And whether he was Abel. —The Globe. S y d n e y H . B e c k l e y , who has just been appointed British Postmaster at Constantinople, was only a few years ago a prominent personality in Metropolitan club cricket. He was an active member of the Chiswick Park C.C. for several years and subsequently played lor the Incogniti C.C. W . H . M i l t o n , the Acting Adminis­ trator of Rhodesia, who took a leading part in the formal opening of the Beira- Salisbury Railway yesterday, w ill still be remembered by maturer Cricket readers as a good footballer as well as a cricketer in his Marlborough days. For many years subsequently he played a prominent part in cricket at the Cape. That he kept up his form well was proved by the good show he made as captain of the South African team which visited England a few year years ago. T h e Australasian Cricket Council is apparently even now anything but a happy family. At a recent meeting of of the New South Wales Cricket Associa­ tion, Mr. E. J. Briscoe reported that at the last meeting of the Australian Cricket Council in Melbourne, which he attended on behalf of the association, a proposal was submitted that half the delegates to the council should be active players taking part in intercolonial cricket. That was opposed by the New South Wales delegates, but finally the motion was carried b y seven to four votes. In view of that fact he intended to move at the right time that the association withdraw from the council. T h e Earl of Selborne, the Under Secre­ tary of State for the Colonies, and the Hon. W . St. John Brodrick, Parliamen­ tary Secretary to the Foreign Office, have accepted invitations to the dinner to be given by the Surrey County C.C. to the Australian cricketers at the Oval to-night. Kendal after all will not be visited by the Australians, as Major Wardill has arranged a second fixture at the Crystal Palace for the only vacant date in the programme, July 20. The team are to be the guests of the London County C.C. at a dinner at the Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. H u n d r ed s are not yet as plentiful as blackberries, and the only first-class cricketers who have up to the present time done anything very remarkable in the way of batting are Mr. Fry and Albert Trott. Mr. Fry opened the season by scoring 120 for Captaia Hoare’s X I. against a Hampshire team, his first 36 runs being made out of a total of 41, and his first 60 out of a total of 82. He only missed his hundred by two runs in the Sussex match against M .C.C. Mr. D. R . Taylor was the first cricketer of the year to score a hundred at Cambridge. I n the above match against Hampshire Alfred Shaw proved once more that bats­ men of the present day are obliged to treat him as carefully as men did in the stventies and eighties. There is still the same old difficulty in finding the ball when he is bow ling as there used to be, and there are many county teams which would be glad to welcome him as a recruit, despite his age and his inability to move about with quickness. To take six wickets for 24 runs against what was practically the Hampshire team, is a performance of which any man may be proud. YeSTBBDAY, at a meeting of the M id­ dlesex C.C., Mr. Gregor Macgregor was appointed captain and Mr. F. G. J. Ford vice-captain. L o b d H a w k e was elected as president of the Yorkshire County C.C. at the annual meeting yesterday. The new rules were adopted, by which clubs on whose grounds county matches are played will receive not lees than 20 per cent, of the gross receipts. The follow ing are some of the latest hundreds:— MARCH. 11. H. Stuckey, East Melbourne v. Melbourne... 106 U R. Kelly,Riobm ondv. St. Kilda (Melbourne) 112 18. E. Kerwan, St. Kilda v. Richmond ...........180* A P R I L . *6 D. Tt. Taylor, CLiist College (Cambs.) Trial Match ..................................................................142 it C. is. Fry, Captain Hoart’s X I. v. Hampshire 120 THE ARRIVAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM. BEING THE IMPRESSIONS FORMED BY A BE W ILD ­ ERED IN D IV ID U A L AFTER READING THE ACCOUNTS IN THE MORNING AND EVENING PAPERS. So they left the “ Garden,” near to the cabbage leaves, though its order was apple pie. And in course of time a great many inter­ viewers coming down the street pop their heads into the Inns of Court. What! No information ! So they cried ; And they very prudently went home to dinner. And there were present the Piccaninni, and the Jonahillie, and the Kellyhughi a, And the Great Manager himself, who is always kept on the hop. And they all fell to practising the game of get-each-other-out-if-you-can, Till the blisters came out on the heels of their feet. W.A.B. THE M.C.C. ANNUAL REPORT. The annual general meeting was held at L ord’s, on Wednesday, May 3rd. The follow ing was tie report of the comm ittee:— Your committee report that:— In 1898 the club consisted of 4,395 mem­ bers, an increase of 107 over the previous year, of whom 3,923 paid; 205 were life members, and 267 were abroad. During the past season 193 matches were played by the club, of which 109 were won, 33 lost, and 51 drawn. The Earl of Jersey, Lord Hawke, Mr. E. L. Bateman, and Right Hon. W . H. Long retire by rotation from the committee ; to fill the four vacancies, there are seven candidates:—Hon. Alfred Lyttleton, M.P. (the retiring President) proposed by Lord Harris, seconded by Hon. Sir S. Ponsonby- Fane, G .C.B.; Mr. S. Bircham, proposed by Hon. Sir S. Ponsonby-Fane, G.C.B., seconded by Mr. E. L. Bateman, C .B .; Sir. H. T. Hewett, proposed by Mr. A. J. Webbe, seconded by Mr. V. E. Walker; Mr. A. N. Hornby, proposed by Lord Harris, seconded by Mr. M. Turner; Mr. F. S. Jackson, pro­ posed by Mr. W . H. Patterson, seconded by Mr. M . Turner; Dr. Kiallmark, proposed by Mr. H. D. Browne, seconded by Mr. H. W. Price; Mr. J. Shuter, proposed by Mr. M. Turner, seconded by Mr. W. H. Patterson. The election will be by ballot in favour of the four candidates who obtain the greatest numb#r of votes. In accordance with statements made in the last annual report, the new tennis and racquet courts have been in the course of erection, and had it not been for an action brought by the tenant of No. 2, Grove End Road, for inter­ ference with ancient lights in respect of a greenhouse, would by now be ready for play. The plans for this building were accepted, after a careful comparison of the plans and designs of other well-known courts, with a view to obtaining the best courts in the world. To meet the wishes of a large number of members, a squash racquet court has heen added to the new tennis and racquet courts, at the back of the Pavilion. A large stand has also been built on the south side of the ground, which, it is hoped, will accommodaie about 10,000 spectators. On the site of the luncheon tents, adjoining the members’ luncheon room, a building has been erected which will provide, on the ground floor, a refreshment room, on the first floor seven boxes, and on the roof seating for