Cricket 1899

lto CttTCKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J une 1, 1899. in which event the two minutes law would come in .’ ” This decision is, of course, valuable aa expressing the opinion of Mr. Lacey’s famous predecessor, but cricket is played under the laws of the game as amended b y the Marylebone Club 1884, 1889, 1894 and 1899. Nothing appears in these laws to the effect that if an over is commenced before time it must be completed, unless etc., etc. M r. A. B. S t . H i l l , o f Barbados, took a cricket team to Trinidad on April 16th from Barbados, Grenada, and St. Vincent. The tour was in every way a success. The visitors won two matches out of the three. Mr. Packer came out at the tcp of the batting averages, and Mr. C E . R. Oliverre did w e ll; also Mr. G. B. Y . Cox, who always made a few runs. Mr. M ignon and C. Oliverre bowled nearly all through the three matches. Q u e s t io n s for examination :— Give the correct pronunciation of the names of the following cricketers: Haigh, Bosan- quet, Delacombe, Gaukrodger, Rajagopaul- charri, Wrathall, Hulme, Sprot, and Tyldes­ ley. Find a word to rhyme with ‘ ‘ Tyldesley ’ ’ Note to examinees: Do not he too cocksure is your answers. Mention the animals and birds » hieh are represented in first-class cricket hy the names of players. Who is the first-class cricketer whose name contains the greatest number of letters ? N.B.—It is not Ranjitsinhji. In a long and amusing account of “ Cricket at Peniston,” which appears in the American Cricketer, the follow ing anecdote appears. It m ight almost have been told by Mr. Benjamin T rovato:— “ After the ten minutes’ interval play was called, there was but one batsman at tie wickets, but, fortunately for the Trundlers, that man was 1‘adder. He took his block and prepared to receive the ball. ‘ You have only one man,’ cried a Trundler; ‘ umpire, call game; they lose the match. ’ Padder smiled. ‘ My man may stand as far behind the wickets as he chooses,’ he said; ‘ go on when you are ready.’ The bowler, thinking that he might get a wicket, and that with but one batsman no runs could be made, attempted to take advantage of the opportunity, and bowled so suddenly that the wicket keeper, taken unawares, was struck on the head by the ball, and so violently that he had to be helped from the field. While this was being done the other batsman came in, and in the confusion, he and Padder changed ends thirteen times. These runs, claimed by Padder, were, of course, objected to, but, as the facts were beyond dispute, a compromise was effected; Padder, sure of victory, said he would give up 7 if 6 were granted him, and accordingly 6 byes went down on the score book.” S o m e reminiscences by “ Short Slip ” in the Sydney Mail are very amusing. W e extract the fo llow in g :— In the olden days it was a matter of search­ ing out—well, not the most level, but the least uneven ground for a wicket and there playing our match. Subsequently we were empowered by the corporation to make terms with Stacey, the park-ranger, who, for .£1 a season, I think it was or was it a month ? had a scythe passed over our block, and thus for a couple of matches we would have short grass, which in those days was a great luxury. We always had to carry our order to play on the park about with us, for we never knew when Stacey on his “ neddy” would pounce upon us, and woe betide the club that could not produce its order. The exit of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden was nothing to our skoot out of the destroying agent’ s road. Sometimes the park used to he taken for a military review. We cared little about the training of our soldiers. Had our opinion been requested, we might have replied that it was a jolly sight better to play cricket than to play Boldiers. Anyhow, we frequently had to make a bold rush for our stumps, flags, bags and clothes, in order to avoid the sub­ sequent difficulty of identifying our material and wearing apparel after an artillery charge. C r i c k e t e r s in Perth (West Australia), have made a great effort to put their ground in good order. According to the South Australian Register, it is most picturesquely situated on the Swan River, rather far, perhaps, from the centre of the city, but when the cable cars are running the distance will not be noticed. The ground was originally a swamp, and every inch had to be reclaimed. Stuff dredged from the river was used for this purpose. The great drawback is the soil required for top dressing, and this is at present imported from Victoria. Two stands have been erected, and a bicycle track composed of oyster shells and silt has been put down. Two asphalt tennis courts are available for members, and are well patronised. An artesian bore supplies all the water required. From a batsman’s point of view the light is of the best possible kind. In the North there’s a bowler named Rhodes, Who is quite as left-handed as Clodes ; The Essex men know him, And are anxious to show him That of runs they can sometimes make loads. As a wicket-keeper, Mr. Martyn is considered by the best judges at Oxford as likely to prove an excellent successor to Mr. Lewis. Many of his catches at the wicket this season have been very clever indeed. He greatly distinguished him­ self in the Australian match. U n d e r the heading of “ Those in Authority,” the Oranta thus refers to Mr. T. L. Taylor, the Secretary of the Cambridge University C.C. “ He is truly excellent in all departments of the game, bowling being decidedly his strong point. He has a nice swinging action, keeps a good length and breaks both ways; it is to him that we look to bowl the Australians out in May week. He is, more­ over, no mean hat, and played quite a good innings against Oxford last year, and fully intends to go one better next July. He is by no means a batsman with only one stroke, but hits all round the wicket with great freedom, taking full advantage of bis height. He has not yet hit a ball out of Fenner’s, but intends doing so after G. L. Jessop has gone down. He may frequently be seen sniffing the air, and measuring in his mind’s eye, like a true engineer, the distance from the wicket to the wall, and calculating the energy;necessary for such a feat. He also keeps wicket, and has a playful little habit of counting his fingers after every ball to see that they are all there, especially when the captain is bowling. As a long-field he has few equals, no superiors. F r o m the Sydney M ail :— “ At a meeting of the New South Wales Cricket Association on Monday, one of the delegates raised a point that, in my opinion, is well worth consideration by the home authorities. The side that goes in to the wickets first does not dtclare its eleven, but the fielding side does. One team turning up with nine men, in the event of all not losing their wicket, can wait for a week and see what the best men available might be by the time the following Saturday comes round, but the side having to go into the field must name those who are playing as substitutes should they 1)3deficient in selected men. Surely the simple question of the result of the toss should not influence a matter of so much importance as this. Of course, we know that from time immemorial the toss has more or less had something to do with the result of the match itself, hut that is a fur different thing, and further, that is the luck of the game, but the other matter is to my idea a weakness in the rules, and should he amended.” T h e results of Australians v. Lanca­ shire matches are given b e low :— 1878 Drawn. 1882 Australians won by 4 wickets. 1884 Drawn. 1886 Australians won by an innings and 12 runs. 1888 Lancashire won by 23 runs. 18H) Australians won by an innings and 155 runs. 1893 Australians won by an innings and 14 run®. 1896 I Australians won by 154 runs. |Australians won by 217 runs. 1899 Austtalians won by an innings and 84 runs. Ten matches in all. The Australians have won seven times, Lancashire but once, and two games were left undecided. T h e follow ing are the results of the matches between the Australians and Oxford University :— 1882 Australians won by 9 wickets. 1884 Oxford University won by 7 tickets. 1886 Australians won by 25 runs. 1888 Australians won by an innings and 19 runs. 1890 Australians won by an innings and bl runs. 1893 Australians won by 19 runs. 1896 Australians von by 7 wickets. 1899 Drawn. Eight matches have been played against Oxford University b y the Australians, of which number the visitors have won six and the University but one, while one was drawn. I n the match between Appleby School and Appleby, played on the School ground, the School were all disposed of in the first innings without scoring. Appleby made 72, and the School in the second innings 53. Six of the School team made a couple o f duck’s eggs. The score of the first innings was as fo llow s:— R. E. Leach, oT. W al­ ton, b F. Potts J. Jacbeon, lun out .. W . Harris, b F. Potts H. A . Countell, c and b F. Fotts .. ... J. Sowerby, b F . Patfts. W. Ravage, b F. Potts C. Hallam. c J. W al­ ton, b F. Potts C. Smith, c Brown, b Dryden ............... F. Forrest, b F. Potts £ . Salkeld, b Dryden H. D. Pattinson, not out ........................... Extras Total ... Mb. S. S. P a w l in g , the Hampstead cricketer, sent a bail 38 yards 5 inches, when playing last week for Dr. Clure’s