Cricket 1899

S e p t . 21, 1899. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 429 R a n j i t s i n h j i , with 2,285 runs, and Abel, with 2,124, are the only players who have scored over two thousand runs in county cricket this season. On page 432 will be found an extract from the New York Herald about Rwjitsinhji’s tour. If one may judge from reading the account of the festivi­ ties which are being arranged in honour of the amateurs, we can hardly look for very brilliant performances in the cricket field from the team. S o m e curious coincidences are pointed out by R. A. W., who writes :—“ I think it is worthy of mention that Cuttell, the Lancashire professional, has, both this and last season, not only completed his 1,000 runs in the third match of the Scarborough Festival, but has also com­ piled exactly 20 runs in accomplishing the feat in each case. He has, further­ more, on neither occasion been dismissed. Last year he retired hurt; this year he took out his bat.” T h e performances of Eanjitsinhji, Abel, etc., have led some critics to assume, says the New York Herald, “ That there cannot be as many first - class bowlers in England as there were in former days, for they argue that, if there were bowlers cf the same calibre as these batsmen, it would be impossible for the latter to make so many runs or to guard their wickets for such a length of time. How much force there is in this argu­ ment it is not easy to say. One thing, however, is certain—no bowler in Eng­ land has during recent years made such a record or acquired such a reputation as has Prince Eanjitsinhji. There may be in England more than one bowler who is as great a master in the art of taking wickets as the Prince is in the art ot defending them, but, if so, he is not as well known to the general public, which is not surprising, since in cricket it is the successful batsman much more than the wary and deadly bowler who wins the applause of the populace.” Me. J. H. B u r n h a m writes : “ In the list of big hits given in 1At the Sign of the Wicket,’ on August 10th, that of Bonnor in the lastmatchbetweenEngland v. Australia in 1884, is omitted. It tra­ velled high over the club house.” [We do not think that the ball was hit out o f the ground. —Ed.] On the vexed question of the inclusion of native cricketers in Indian Presidency teams, the Madras Times says : “ Out of evil comes good. The action of several members of the Madras C.C. in writing down their names to play at Kolar, thereby promising to do so, if selected, and then at the eleventh hour excusing themselves on various grounds, has in reality done a deal of good to the game in Madras. For it has caused the inclu­ sion of two natives in a Madras C.C. eleven in a regular annual representative match, and thereby causes the insertion of the thin end of the wedge, which it is to be hoped, will in time permit natives to ba at least honorary members of the leading cricket club in the Presidency.” “ SOMByears ago,” continues our con­ temporary, “ there was a talk of certain native noblemen being put up for the M.C.C., and I remember the whole thing was vetoed. Since those years, however, we have moved forward a bit, and if Eanjitsinhji can be a member of the Marylebone C.C. and an All England Eleven, I cannot see on what ground the leading native cricketers (if they wish to) and noblemen may not be members of the Madras C.C. The fact that Jayaram has been a member of the Bangalore Gym- khanaforyearshas, I know, been advanced in some quarters pretty frequently as a reason for the inclusion of natives in Presidency teams, but as a member of the Madras C.C. all objections to his playing for the Presidency would vanish.” In last week’s Literary World there is a notice to the effect that Dr. Grace’s book is the first account of the war with the Maori, which is based on an intimate knowledge of the personel and tactics of both parties. This is a little startling at first, for although the Doctor is undoubtedly an authority on tactics, we hardly expect him to write about wars. But it turns out that the Dr. Grace in question is a Dr. Morgan Grace, who, for all we know, may be well known to some people. A m o n g the first-class cricketers who have been making runs in club cricket since the season ended are Albert Trott (68), C. M’Gahey (60), P. Perrin (66), Lockwood (48 and 12), Baldwin (43 and 63), W. G. Quaife (25 not out and 78), and Abel (52). T h e Rev. W. K. R. Bedford, who is well known to old cricketers—he was the honorary secretary of the Free Foresters C.C. for some years after its formation— has written a book, entitled, “ Outcomes of Old Oxford.” In a series of word pictures Mr. Bedford sketches University life as it was fifty years ago. The book is published at 3s. 6d. by F. G. Robinson and Co. O n Friday morning three members of the Australian team, Darling, Worrall, and Howell, left St. Pancras for Tilbury, to join the s.s. “ Oruba” for their voyage home. They are to be joined on Friday at Marseilles by Gregory, Kelly, Jones, Trumper, and Iredale. The other members of the team will follow in the “ Ormuz ” in a fortnight. On the following morning all the members of Prince Banjitsinhji’s team, except Mr. Jessop and Mr. Woods, left Euston for Liverpool en route for the United States. At Liverpool they were met by the other two amateurs, and sailed in the afternoon in the Cunard liner “ Etruria.” The following are the names of the p la y e rsK . S. Eanjitsinhji, A. C. MacLaren, A. Priestley, G. Brann, C. L. Townsend, S. M. J. Woods, G. L. Jessop, i A. E. Stoddart, B. J. T. Bosanquet, C. Eobson, C. B. Llewellyn, and W. P. Eobertson. Y. Barton will act as attendant. T h e Yorkshire County Committee have decided to make a grant of 10s. per week to two of their old players, Luke Green­ wood and Jack Thewlis, the grant in each case to begin September 1st and end May 1st in each year. C r i c k e t e r s who are footballers, and footballers who are cricketers, are so numerous that we need make no apology for announcing that a book, entitled “ A History of Association Football,” by Mr. N. L. Jackson, will shortly be pub­ lished by George Newnes, Limited. Unlike most books of the kind, it will contain a very comprehensive index. This alone will induce many people to buy it. The book will be a complete record of the game. It will contain chapters on “ The game, and how to play it ” ; particulars of the leading national associations, with accounts of the growth of the game in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; professionalism, its cause and effect; referees ; and acomplete history of the Football Association (which has not previously been published), with photographs of its more prominent officials; chapters on school football written by “ old boys ” ; and anappendix containing the results of all the principal competitions. Lists of International players and of Oxford and Cambridge “ blues ” will form a prominent feature of the volume. I n the Badminton Magazine for Sep­ tember, Mr. W. J. Ford makes the following remarks on the origin of the term “ yorker.” “ ‘ Yorker ’ is a comparatively modern innovation for ‘ tice,’ and my father, I remember, was quite mystified when we boys brought the phrase home from school, ‘ familiar on our lips as household words ; ’ such a ball had always been to him and his generation a ‘ tice ’ (en-‘ ticer ’ ?) and nothing but a ‘ tice,’ yet I warrant that a good many young players of the modem day have never heard the term. This is a peg on which to hang amild story. My father was howling —he was a very respectable amateur bowler ---to Bob Grimston, whose defence was of the especially careful type. ‘ How on earth amI to get this man out ?’ saidmy father, most wrongfully, to the umpire; ‘ he nevtr moves his bat.’ ‘ Give hima tice, sir,’ was the answer, equally illegal, ‘ and he’ll move it at once.’ TJpwent the tice, up went the bat, and hack went Bob Grimston. The only variation of name for this ball that ever came under my notice was bestowed on it by a victim to a real hot ’un, who turned to the wicket-keeper saying, halfto himself, ‘ Well, that was a ‘ chalker ’ ! ” “ Who,” asks Mr. Fordinthe samearticle, “ invented the names of the fieldsmen’s differentpositions ? Someareobvious enough when certain data are admitted, but why ‘ point’ ? Why ‘ on,’ ‘ off,’ ‘ slip,’ ‘ third man’ ? These arematters for the archaeolo­ gist of cricket, who might add an appendix on the origin of ‘ half-volley,’ ‘ break,’ ‘bye,’ and ‘ crease,’ supplemented by a dissertation on ‘ drawing stumps,’ which has a distinctly dental ring and, possibly, origin.”