Cricket 1899

O c t. 26, 1899. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 445 delighted to discover that Cricket is to have the glory of solving the knotty question, ‘ How to avoid drawn matches.’ I read in the report, Kent v. Surrey (No. 523, p. 385, August 31st), the game was continued for twenty minutes after it was over. Surely, here lies the key to the solution.” Mr. Browning, to make his point, naturally leaves out the previous sentence : “ Then came a hailstorm.” R e v i e w i n g the personnel of the “ Eanjitsinhji team” which has been playing in America, a well-known Ameri­ can newspaper gives its readers some astonishing information, as the following extracts will show:— “ The personnel of the men is such as makes it by long odds the greatest coterie of willow handlers that has even invaded Uncle Sam’s realm. Some of the men are already known to cricket cranks of these diggings, so that it becomes a renewed pleasure to have themwith us oncemore. “ As a first and foremost is the swarthy Indian Prince Ranji, who this year has equalled the great W. G. Grace’s record of 3,000 runs in four months. “ Next in order is A. C. MacLaren, the captain of the Lancashire team, and who was once three entire days at the wickets, during which he piled up the enormous total of 640 runs. “ C. L. Townsend, of Middlesex (aprotege of Grace), is responsible for 2,000 runs and bowling 100 batsmen in a season. “ George Brann is a noteworthy howler and hail* fromEssex. “ The balance of the team is made up of B. J. T. Bosanquet, of Middlesex; G. L. Jessop, of Gloucestershire; A. Priestly, of Hampshire; and F. N. Robertson and C. Robson, of Essex.” T h e New South Wales Association and the cricketers of the colony are getting up a testimonial for “ Ted” Evans, a once fajaaous intercolonial bowler, who has fallen upon hard times. He was one of the best bowlers of his day, and in the opinion of many cricketers even better than Mr. Spofforth. Evans, when past bis prime, visited England in 1885. F o b . the two following obituary notices I amindebted to “ AnOldHarrovian ” :— The Rev. T. A. Anson, who died on October 3rd, at Longford Rectory, near Derby, in the eighty-first year of his age, played in the Eton Eleven v. Harrow and Winchester in 1835, 1836, 1837, and 1838, andassisted—in 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842— Cambridge v. Oxford. He also appeared for the Gentlemen v. The Players in 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1845, when, owing to his profession (the church) he abandoned the game. A short biographioal notice of this most famous amateur will be found in the “ Cricket Scores and Biographies.” He was a splendid wicket-keeper, and always stoodup to the fastest bowling. I read that in these degenerate days wicket-keepers stand back when the bowling ia fast. Dr. Alexander Wallace, who formed one of the Winchester Eleven v. Harrow and Eton in 1847, and also assisted Oxford v. Cambridge in 1851, died on Sunday, October 1, 1899, at his residence in St. John’s Terrace, Colchester, at the age of 70. He was for a time Physician to the Metropolitan Free Hospital, and the St. Pancras and Northern Dispensary, and he was a member of the Entomological Society of London, Acting Physician to the Essex andColchester Hospital, and a member of some of the learned societies. In later years he gained some distinction in tennis. At a meeting of ex-students and students of the Crown Street Superior Public School at Sydney, it was decided, says the Sydney Mail, to have an illuminated address prepared for pre­ sentation to Noble and Trumper, to entertain both of them at a smoking concert, and to limit subscriptions to the ex-students, students, and teachers of Crown Street School. C a p ta in G r e ig heads the batting averages of the Poona Gymkhana C.C. with 41-33 runs. His highest score was 178. Mr. Bond is second with 34'66, and a highest score of 121. The best bowler was Mr. Deas, with 66 wickets at an average of 1037 runs per wicket; Captain Greig follows him with 54 wickets at 11'57 runs each. The other bowlers are a long way behind. F oe “ Warsop’s XI.” v. “ Wisden’s XI.” G. J. Puckle made 50 runs in two successive overs and four balls on Sep­ tember 30th at Lords. His runs were made as follows : 4 2 4 4 3, 4 4 4 4 1 , and 4 4 4 4. T h e following rhymes are from Truth: W. G. Blackbearded he smites into space The ball at a terrible pace; With bat (as with pill) He has wonderful skill, And also unlimited Grace. M ajor P ooke . A batsman of Hants, Major Poore, Is a demon to centuries score, He’s strong in the wrist, And, like Oliver Twist, Is hungrily craving for more. A MATCH has been arranged, I under­ stand, by the Melbourne C.C. between the Australian team of 1899 and the Rest of Australia. It is to begin about November 9th. A f t e r the first match played by Ran- jitsinhji’s team against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia an exhibition game was arranged which was more or lees of a farce. But Jessop made 20 in five minutes, and Graves scored 21 in an over from Priestley. A m e rica n journalists generallymanage ‘ when they report matches to invent a few phrases which are new to us. Thus the American Cricketer says :— “ The next ball of the over completely beat Jessop, and he made amiserablelittle fly-pop in front of point. ‘ ‘ When Graves hit the ball he put all his strength behind the stroke. More of our batsmen should learn this, instead of making pokey.” N ot to be behind the times the Ceylon Observer has published periodical lists of averages made in the island, as well as of the English first-class averages. This is, I believe, an innovation in Ceylon, where averages have hitherto had to take their chance of coming into print at all. Up to July 4th Mr. A. O. Whiting had anaverage of 69. Considerable difficulties are thrown in the way of compilers of averages in Ceylon, not the least of which is the carelessness of some of the clubs in keeping the bowling analyses. I t is amusing to compare the speech made by Lord Harris at the Albert Hall, immediately after the Church Congress, and that of Mr. A. J. Balfour, at Dundee, about a fortnight previously. Mr. Balfour, in comparing golf to cricket, said that to show that he was “ a fair- minded man” he admitted that golf was not in it with cricket as a spectacular game. But he then proceeded to state that cricket is not a game for busy men, nor is it for the middle aged or for those who are past middle age. Again, he claimed that the grounds at Lord’s and the Oval could not, by the most ardent devotees of cricket, be said to supply anything like the views which the golfer, at North Berwick, St. Andrew’s, or at Monefieth, could have for the asking. On the whole, he voted strongly for golf. L o r d H ar ris , on the other hand, pointed out the great advantages which cricket and football had over “ a selfish game like golf,” and proceeded to show to his audience—which consisted of children—that in life, as in cricket, they ought to “ play for their side.” W r it in g to the Nilgiri News from England, on the subject of “ The Indian Team for England,” King Willow says : By the way what has happened to the aboveP Does the original date—“ April 1st, 1900” —still hold good for the auspicious start ? And has Jayaram managed to accu­ mulate enough “ leave ” to enablehimtotake the trip ? I ask, because the only reference I have seen to the project lately was in Cricket , which—in connection with the West Indian tour, already alluded to—spoke of the projected Parsis tour for 1900 ; a confusion, I take it, for the trip engineered in certain Bombay papers, and. blessed by “ Ranjit” before he left Bombay. In some ways—if, that is, any all native teamever does come to England—it is a pity that this was not the ohosen year, for as regards weather they could not have been better suited. As regards cricket, however, it would have killed the game altogether, so far as the members of the team themselves were con­ cerned, for if they had survived the amount of leather hunting they would have had this year it would only have been to go back to India sick of bowling and fielding. I t is stated that the inter-colonial matches in Australia will commence on November 24th, at Adelaide, when South Australia will play Victoria, and that South Australia will play New South Wales on December 16th.