Cricket 1899

1 >8-^- y&K . ■}el— e r ' )Mc....>— «- ')?' Mai Ilf! ill 1 © 1 n “ Together joined In Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. h o . 5 1 8 . v o l . x v i i i . THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1 8 9 9 . p r i c e aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD- ME. M. A. NOBLE. It was not until the winter of 1897, when Mr. Stoddart’s team went to Aus­ tralia, that English cricketers became familiar with the name of Noble. Not that Mr. Noble had suddenly leaped into fame, for, although his experi­ ence as a first-class cricketer was somewhat limited, he had done well enough in inter­ colonial matches to warrant Australians in thinking that they had found a man who was not unlikely to make a famous name for himself. He had already deserved well of his colony, New South Wales, by scoring 75 and 153 not out in one of the matches against Victoria in the season 1896-97, but as a bowler he was only known to men who had played against him in the Electorate club matches at Sydney. So successful had he been in these matches with the ball that it is somewhat surprising that his services were not called upon for his colony, but at that time New South Wales was so exceedingly strong in bowling that a man who was not on the regular list of bowlers was seldom likely to have a chance of distinguish­ ing himself, unless he was put on when some batsman had made a hundred and to whom the ball looked as big as a football. But Mr. Noble’s opportunity came when he was tried for New SouthWales against Mr. Stoddart’s team. He took five wickets in the first innings and the only two which fell in the second, and although New South Wales was badly beaten, he had attracted the attention of the selection committee, who, somewhat to the general surprise, chose him as an all-round man to represent Australia in the second big match. Everybody knows how thoroughly the choice of the com­ mittee was justified. Since that time Mr. Noble’s career has been one of almost un­ interrupted success, and it is very seldom indeed that he has failed in the same match both with bat and ball. The curl in the air what he was able to give to the ball made him very difficult to the English batsmen, and he is a better bowler now than he was then. Although he is known to Englishmen as a stonewaller of a most pronounced type, he is by nature a bats- MB. M. A . NOBLE. (ftrctfl a FJhtj by Kerry Jc Co., Sydney.) man like Mr. Jackson—that is to say he is a man who can hit and can make runs quickly. It is owing to the force of circumstances that he has nearly always played a slow game while he has been in England, and although his obstinate defence has frequently been condemned, he has without doubt saved his side on many occasions. An amusing thing happened just before the present team left Australia for England. In one of the test matches against the Best of Australia, Mr. Noble had made a hundred >it Sydney against the Best, and was still in when a man in the crowd shouted out, ■‘ Give up your innings, Noble. We’ve seen enough of you, and you are a certainty, so it don’t matter.” It was not that he had been playing slow cricket, but the Sydney crowd were as keen as possible for Trumper to play, and wanted to see him bat. It must be owned that in their anxiety that the colt should go toEngland they showed them­ selves to be good judges. While he was at school at Sydney Mr. Noble was fortu­ nate in having a headmaster who took a great deal of interest in cricket, and was always trying to improve the boys. “ I believe the head­ master came out as a visitor to Australia with the first English team,” said Mr. Noble, “ and stayed on as a resident. As far as I can re­ member, I always had some sort of break, and I was cer­ tainly always trying experi­ ments. I practised hard to get the off-break under my control until I could do it pretty accurately, but as soon as ever I was put on in a match, I began to be afraid to try it, and went back to the old straight ball again. We used to play all the other colleges in the Sydney dis­ trict, and I believe I am right in saying that we were the champion school at that time.” “ Had you a curl in the air at that time ? ” “ Well, it is possible that I had, for when a gentleman first told me, years afterwards, that I made the ball curl, it was an absolute surprise to me. I had never tried to get a curl, nor had I the slightest idea that I had one. But, naturally, as soon as I was told about it, I began to wonder how it was done, and whether any use could be made of it. In