Cricket 1899

“ Together joined In Cricket’ s manly toil.” — Byron. ho. 503 . v o l . xviit. THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1899 p r i c e aa. A CHAT ABOUT W IL L IAM BABNES. Although he dropped out of first-class cricket in ' 1894, aud did not take to umpiring in big matches, Barnes was still engaged on the staff at Lord’s, and was to be seen on the ground last year, while he still continued to play cricket in club matches. The announcement of his death at his home at Mans­ field Woodhouse a week or two ago, after a short illness, came as a great surprise to those who knew him, for although he did not perhaps look as strong as could be wished, he seemed a man who might have many years of life before him. For a long lime he was undoubtedly the best all-round man in the Notts team ; in fact, it would have been difficult at any period between 1880 and 1892 to point to a better all-round man in the county. His great merits as a cricketer were, moreover, recognised by others besides his county committee, for he was on several occasions chosen to represent England against A ustralia, he accompanied three of the touring teams to Australia, and was for years to be found in the Players’ eleven at Lord’s and the Oval. Not, perhaps, as amenable to discipline as the average schoolgirl, he was, nevertheless, a man who made many friends, and was generally popular. With the crowd he was always a great favourite; they liked him as a batsman because he was in the habit of making the game very lively when he was at the w ickets; as a bowler, because accidents often happened when he went o n ; and as a field, because he was neat and capable of making a brilliant catch. He had a style of batting which was peculiarly his own. When he first went in it was often possible to bow l a very commonplace ball to him without attracting his attention, for he seemed a little cramped and hesitating at first, and not inclined to make the greatest use of his height. But when once he became settled, his arms seemed to become longer and. on occasions, to lengthen out like a telescope, and anything in the shape of a loose ball was a four. One never quite knew how he man­ aged to make the cuts for which he was famous—cuts which, possibly from WILLIAM BARNES. From a Photo by Eatckins & Co., Brighton.) his Mephistophelean smile when he watched the course of the ball after the hit had been made, were often ascribed to accident b y the spectators. He was essentially a man to dispose of as soon as possible, for his appetite for hits con­ tinued to increase as his innings length­ ened, and, although he sometimes was ou+ through eagerness to score, the bowlers on the whole had the worst of it. As a bowler, even on a good wicket, he was often able to make the ball get up considerably, while when the wicket helped him he was, to use the language of the schoolboy, “ a beast.” In the field he was safe and quick, but sometimes he had an air of being so utterly bored by the whole thing that unwary batsmen were tempted to try a short run when the ball went to him, only to find that it was all too short. It is possible that Barnes was a valiant Conservative and one of the most loyal of Her Majesty’s subjects, but one always felt that if he had lived in the time of Charles I. he would have been found on the side of the Round­ heads, slicing his enemies with the same coolness and apparent indifference that he showed when he was getting wickets. It may be that when he was waiting for his turn to g o in he was cheerful, and prepared to talk on any subject, but one always imagined him sitting in solemn contemplation and repeating to himself that whatever happened would be “ Kismet.” He was not a man of whom a thousand anecdotes are told. H e very frequently said quaint and amusing things, but they were things which when re­ told b y anyone else seemed to lose their flavour, for the point lay almost entirely in the quaint manner in which they were spoken. Like many other Notts cricketers, Barnes was chosen to represent his county w ith­ out ever appearing in the colts’ match. In his first season, 1875, he did not set the Thames on fire, but did well enough to j ustify his inclusion in the team from July until the end of the season. In the follow ing year he established his position as a fine all-round player, and it became evident that the Notts eleven had been very greatly strengthened by his inclusion. From this time until about