Cricket 1899

n o. 5 0 4 . v o t . x v i i i . THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1899 p r i c e ad. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. MR. JOHN SHUTER. There never was a better instance of ihe right man in the right place than when Mr. Shuter became captain of the Surrey team in 1882. A t that time Surrey was at a very low ebb. There were men in the eleven who had by right of [years of service become fixtures, and nobody cared to be the first to begin to clear the way for batter things. B y the new captain a system of steady weeding out had to be adopted, which naturally met with great opposition from many who forgot that past excellence in a cricketer counts for nothing with a bowler or a batsman who is opposed to him. Despite many and serious difficulties, Mr. Shuter went on his way until he had gained the confidence of every Surrey man. When at last, to the universal regret of cricketers, he retired from the office of captain, he left the club in a position which was altogether satisfactory. Bat with all his skill ia the arts of ruling and organising, and with all his quickness to perceive the right moment for action, he would never have succeeded in accomplish­ ing his great work if he had not been a great cricketer. As a batsman he was in the first rank, and was particu­ larly good in playing an uphill game, while as a field he was unsurpassed. It need hardly be said that he was one of the most popular men who ever represented Surrey in the cricket field. Everybody knows that Mr. Shuter originally played for K -n t under the resi­ dential qualification, though he was bornat Thornton Heath, near Croydon, in 1855, and if county crickethad in those days been regarded as seriously as it is now, Kent would have made a very great effort to keep him in the eleven. But the oppor­ tunity was lost, and it was but natural that Mr. Shuter should wish to play in the same team as his brother Leonard, who, never having been asked to play for Kent, accepted the invitation of the Surrey committee to represent them. At that time Mr. Leonard Shuter was with­ out much doubt the better player, and if it had not been that he left school at the MR. JOHN BHUTER. ( Photo by Lavender , Bromley , Kent.') age of sixteen, he would certainly have { become one of the great cricketers of the | age. Even as it was his services to Surrey were very valuable. The Shuter family had always been identified with Surrey. They lived at Morden, a couple of miles from Mitcham, and the two boys learned how to play cricket there under the more or less intermittent tuition of Tom Sher­ man and Harwood, both well-known professionals. They played for Mitcham, and so got into touch with Surrey cricketers. Eventually, afterrepeatedinvi- tations, Leonard began to play for Surrey. His brother took part in a Kent colts’ match, and played against Lancashire at Maidstone. But he soon realised that he had no chance of playing regularly for Kent, and as he thought it absurd that two brothers should be parted, he threw in his lot with Surrey, who, knowing well enough that they had got a good man, took care to give him plenty of opportunities, a policy which bore fruit a hundred fold. It is well known that Mr. Shuter has decided opinions about the county qualifica­ tion. “ I cannot help think­ in g,” he said, “ that the old rules were good enough in themselves, and sufficient for all cases, if only the M .C.C. had taken a firm stand. To give a definition of what is meant b y ‘ residence’ may be difficult—I certainly could not do it myself—but if I were on a committee, and were asked whether the quali­ fication o f such and such a man was good, I could give a just ruling. It seems a re­ markable thing that anyone should have got the idea into his head that the rule meant that if a man paid taxes for a couple of years he was qualified for the county in which he paid them, without residing in the county at all. The original idea was that if a man wanted to play for a county, he should practically live in it. But the M.C.C. would never make a move unless an objection was brought before them, which was an extremely unpleasant thing for any cricketer to have to do. Lord Harris’s proposed scheme had, in my opinion, many good points, but the resi­ dential rule as lately revised will no doubt meet the difficulties of the position. I always feel that it was a misfortune