Cricket 1899

CRiCKE*T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r i l 27, 1899 that he is reluctant to consent to undertake the captaincy, which has been pressed upon him with much importunity. When the Parsees first went to England sixteen or more years ago they were one of the curiosities of cricket, and people flocked to see them in the same manner that they flocked to see the famous Clown Cricketers. That trip was a dismal financial failure. When they went a second time they had been coached by Hen­ derson, the English professional, and claimed public patronage on a certain amount of cricket merit. The tour resulted in the bankruptcy of the organisers and financiers. But the loss was not grudged, because the tour had been undertaken for an educational purpose, which in the main may be said to have been achieved, for after the return of the team to India the Parsees were not long in becoming the cricket champions of India. The proposed trip in 1900 has not, however, that saving feature to recommend i t ; and we cannot see how the Indian team can hope to draw the shillings of the British spectator any more than did the Parsee team of 1886. It may be argued that a full representation of indigenous Indian cricket will possess more real cricket merit than only a Parsee repre­ sentation. We are not prepared to admit th at; but conceding it for the sake of argu­ ment, will anybody contend that the best Indian team procurable could have even an outside chance against the weakest of the second-class counties? We trow not. And if not, what possible hope can the organisers entertain of making the expenses of the tour ? The present condition of cricket in this country does not justify the ambition of an invasion of England any more than it would an invasion of Australia. The Parsees, who are admittedly meritoriously the best, as they are numerically the strongest exponents of the game, can at the present moment produce only one really first-class batsman who could hope to play for a first-class county at home, and that is Mistry. Half-a-dozen others might distinguish themselves in club cricket, but certainly would not have an outside chance in legitimate county cricket. Of the Hindu cricketers, Jayaram, of Madras, is the only one whose claims can be considered by the most tolerant. And with these two men and a fearful tail, would a cricketer like Prince Ranjitsinhji reap anything but ridi­ cule and chagrin in his attempt to establish in England the claim of India to champion cricket honours? The idea is preposterous, and we think the young Rajput is very wise in declining to identify himself with it. Then, again, Ranjitsinhji is not an Indian cricketer. His education in the game has been purely English. His great performances have been on English ground. In India he was a com­ parative failure, and his sympathies are all English. His nationality from a cricketer’s point of view is a pure accident. The idea of taking an Indian team to England with any hope of prevailing against representative county cricket, or of immortalising some of the members in the way Prince Ranjitsinhji has been immortalised, is ridiculous, and the sooner it is dropped the better. If Mr. Patel or any other wealthy Indian gentleman wishes to take an Indian team to England and disport himself about the country, let him by all means do so ; but for goodness’ sake do not bring more ridicule on this poor country by attempting to give that holiday jaunt the colour of a national invasion. B URGESS H IL L (strong) have August 14th vacant (Burgess Hill Cricket W eek).—W rite S. Holman, Burgess Hill, Sussex. SURREY COUNTY CRICKET CLUB. R e p o r t o f t h e C o m m itt e e . The committee have once more to con­ gratulate the members on the prosperous condition of the club. Though the Surrey Eleven were only able to obtain the fourth place in the County Championship, their cricket all round was of a high order. Of the twenty-six matches played during the past season, thirteen were won, nine drawn, and four lost; at the Oval they did not once suffer defeat. Rain pre­ vented any play in the matches against Derbyshire at the Oval and against Warwick­ shire at Birmingham. The Committee desire on behalf of the Club, to gratefully acknowledge the services ren­ dered by Mr. K. J. Key, as Captain during the last five seasons, and have the great plea­ sure to announce that he has consented to continue to act in that capacity. The Second Eleven were beaten in both matches by Worcestershire; these are their only defeats in six years. The matches of the Second Eleven will this year possess far greater interest, as they will count in the competition for the Minor Counties’ Cham­ pionship. For the coming season home and home matches have been arranged with Derby­ shire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Notts, Somersetshire, Oxford University at Oxford. The Australian team will be seen three times at the Oval, twice against Surrey (on May 15th, 16th, 17th, and July 24th, 25th, 26th) and once against England (on August 14th, 15th, and 16th). The match between Gentlemen and Players will be played at the Oval on the 6th, 7th, and 8th July. Under the provisions of Rule X III., the Committee will announce at the Annual General Meeting that the privilege of mem­ bers to introduce a friend into the Pavilion will be suspended on the occasion of the Australian matches. The following members of the Committee retire by rotation and are eligible for re- election:—Lieut.-Col. A. H. Bircham, J. Burrup, Esq., R. K. Causton, Esq., M.P., R. Roberts, Esq., W . E. Roller, Esq., J. Shuter, Esq., W . W . Thomson, Esq., T. Winterflood, Esq. During the year the maximum number of members (4,000) was reached, 409 having been elected. Up to the present time 3,630 members have paid their subscriptions for 1899. The new pavilion has given general satis­ faction to the members. During the winter several improvements have been made in the internal arrangements. The seats in front of the Club Room have also been covered with an awning, which will as far as possible pro­ vide protection from the sun. The Committee had hoped to be able to replace the existing stands on each side of the pavilion with more capacious as well as more ornamental erec­ tions, providing in addition ample accommo­ dation for the storage of cycles. They have, however, not as yet been able to arrange with the landlords, the Duchy authorities, as to the plans of the proposed additions. The Committee have determined to erect a tem­ porary Stand near the Vauxhall entrance for the coming season, and to provide during this season for the Storage of Cycles in the Old Skating Rink. Cycles will be admitted to the ground by the Vauxhall entrance only. The experience of the coming season will be of value to the Committee in dealing with the question of further accommodation. The financial condition of the club is thoroughly satisfactory ; the surplus, beyond the cost of pavilion, cannot be exactly ascer­ tained, as the balance due to the contractors has not yet been finally adjusted, but there is no doubt that the club, after meeting every claim, will lave a satisfactory balance in hand. The proceeds of the Lancashire match at the Oval on August 24th, 25th, and 26th will be given to T. Richardson, in recognition of his brilliant services to Surrey cricket. The committee invite the cordial co-operation of members to make his benefit a substantial success. The annual general meeting will be held in the pavilion on Thursday, May 4th, at 5 p.m. The Australian team will be the guests of the club at a dinner to take place on the same evening at 7.30. MATCH EXPENSES (Cricket)— £ s. d. Derbyshire ........................................... 167 1 6 Essex.......................................................... 145 9 0 Gloucestershire .................................. 165 9 0 Hampshire .......................................... 149 19 9 K e n t.......................................................... 149 13 6 Lancashire .................................. ... 168 8 10 Leicestershire.......................................... 149 16 6 M iddlesex................................................. 129 8 6 Nottingham shire.................................. 192 1 6 Somersetshire.......................................... 169 2 6 Sussex .................................................. 164 19 2 Warwickshire.......................................... 176 5 8 Yorkshire.................................................. 180 10 0 Gentlemen v. P layers........................... 185 13 0 Oxford University.................................. 85 3 0 Cambridge University.......................... 66 16 1 2nd X I. M atch es.................................. 516 3 10 Club and Ground, and Colts Matches 286 2 0 Luncheons and Refreshm ents........... 260 7 8 Balls, Gloves and Caps.......................... 63 6 4 Nets .......................................................... 13 2 6 Sundries .................................................. 74 4 3 £3,650 4 1 MATCH RECEIPTS (C ricket)- £ s. d. Essex.......................................................... 492 7 6 Gloucestershire .................................. 407 5 6 Hampshire .......................................... 309 17 6 Kent ... .................................................. 412 0 0 Lancashire ........................................... 714 7 6 Leicestershire.......................................... 188 15 6 Middlesex .. .......................................... 292 9 6 N ottingham shire.................................. 1,189 4 6 Somersetshire.......................................... 208 0 6 Sussex ... .......................................... 318 17 6 Warwickshire.......................................... 265 13 0 Yorkshire.................................................. 731 10 6 Gentlemen v. P la yers........................... 445 15 0 Oxford University.................................. 167 10 6 2nd X I. Matches .................................. 112 3 6 Stands .................................................. 1,129 14 6 £7,455 12 6 AUSTRALIAN CRITICISMS ON THE TEAM. ADELAIDE. From the Advertiser. Though a win for the Rest of Australia would undoubtedly have been popular here, I am rather glad it did not come off. Mis­ takes have been made in the selection of the Eleven, but in spite of them, there can be no comparison between its strength and that of the team it so barely defeated on the Adelaide Oval, and it was only right that the best team should win. The men, it is true, go away under a cloud of unpopularity, but when bitter feelings have been allowed to die a natural death, all will be forgotten, except that they go as the elect of Australia to do what they can to uphold the honour of Australian cricket, and retain if they can on English wickets the advantage gained over our friendly rivals here. I hold strongly that the team is not complete without Giffen, but seeing that it is now impossible for him to go, I should be as sorry as anyone to see them do badly.