Cricket 1899

i s S M — K " j ) e K $© !— € = & f I I I * / 1 A. , L J mg ^ i ^ iy S r f W 1 pfr-_ mlfmmni '/ ? f C 0 s ? Z I J j j f j r C 4 A 4 F ^jjjj - ' J “ Together joined In Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. no. 5 2 1 . voi.. x v i i i . THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1899. p r i c e aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD- MR. W . J. FORD. Known to all the world as a big hitter, Mr. Ford was one of the men who, whether they were playing in first- class or second-class cricket, knew nothing about “ playing themselves in ” or “ stonewalling.” Their race seems practically to have died out, although here and there one hears of them, even if one seldom sees them nowa­ days in first-class cricket. Some of his feats were re­ markable. His biggest inn­ ings was 250, made in two hours and a half, for M.C.O. against Uxbridge. His score included seven hits out of the ground. When he had made 196 (there was no modern scoring board) one of his side came out to him and told him to be steady, as he only wanted four runs to make his second hundred. Accordingly he went three or four yards down the pitch to the next ball and hit it out of the ground, to the very great admiration of the wicket­ keeper, who said: “ Well, I ’m blessed; I never would have dared to do a thing like that! ” His third innings for Middlesex was played against Gloucestershire. He made 73 runs, and it was noticed by the field how very much the ball hummed as it went past them. Perhaps the greatest curiosity in the way of his big hitting occurred in a small match when he went in tenth and put up 103 not out, his innings in­ cluding a ten, an eight, and three sevens—the ten was made when hewanted several runs to cmplete his hun­ dred with the last man in. Owing partly to ill health he only once played for Cambridge against Oxford, but he then made 51 not out in about an hour, at a time whsn his side was in a hole, and 11. It was a standing joke with him, which was greatly enjoyed by the bowlers of the opposing side, to say, after he had reached his hundred, “ Now I am going to hit.” His last first-class match was for M.O.C. against Leicestershire. In this he treated Woodcock as a slow bowler, and it was amazing to watch the way in which the ball went crashing to the boundary. The last hit was the biggest of all, but Mr. Ford had then to retire, having seriously hurt his arm. As a bowler he never claimed to possess great skill, but he was very likely indeed to dispose of any man who had not pre­ viously met him. Once in first-class cricket, for Middlesex v. Kent, he nearly did the hat trick, taking three wickets in four balls. Mr. Ford made his first hundred while he was at school, in a scratch game. “ When my score was 96,” he said, “ the professional who was bowling gave me two half volleys to leg, and I missed them both ! Then he said : 1Now I ’m going to bowl you out.’ But I managed to get my hundred before he did. When I played for the M.C.C. against the Cam­ bridge team in the year in which my brother was captain he gave me a full pitch to leg first ball, and I missed that also, although I afterwards made 64 in about an hour.” “ Were you a hitter in your boyhood ? ” “ I think it would be better to say that I was a slogger. I pulled them right across all to the on side. There was no coaching at private schools in those days. I was origin­ ally at school at Eagle House, Wimbledon, where Yardley and Shuter were also edu­ cated.” “ You then went to Rep­ ton ? ” “ Yes. There I had the great advantage of being coached by Edward Estridge, an old Tonbridge boy, who only just missed his blue at Oxford; he was a splendid coach. I was in the eleven when I was sixteen, and was in it for three years, being captain in the third year. For a time I kept wicket. There were not any very well-known men in the team while I was there — the Palairets, Fry, Glover, and Eccles were all after my time. At Cambridge I was only in the eleven one year — got my blue at the very last moment, more for the reason that they were puzzled to know whom to choose than for any­ thing else. This was in 1873. A most extraordinary thing happened to me while I was at Cambridge. I was asked to ‘ keep’ in a match and did not take the trouble to put on pads. A fairly fast ball hit me on the knee cap and rebounded right back to the bowler, and I never even felt the blow! ” : ; -___________ _________________ ;_ _ _ MB. W . J . FOBD. (From a Photo by Dickinson, New Bond Street, London.)