Cricket 1900

M a y 3 , 1 9 0 0 . CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 1 05 T he following is from the current issue of the “ Hurst Johnian ” :—We have received dismal news of the Eev. F. F. J. Greenfield. He was captain of the college in 1876, and subsequently Cambridge University. He had a fchool near Dundee, but, being taken prisoner by the Boers, was robbed of all he possessed, and badly treated. The Boers knocked out all his front teeth, and made him walk eighteen miles in his night shirt under the African sun.” C ertain alterations have taken place in the West Indian team which is to visit England this summer. Much dissatis­ faction had been expressed in Jamaica that only one representative of the island was chosen to accompany the team; there will now be two repre­ sentatives in it, Mr. W. P. Livingstone taking the place of Mr. H. R. Cole (Bar­ bados), who is unable to make the visit. The long discus­ sion about the captaincy has ended in Mr. W. Bowring resigning the position, which will now be taken by Mr. R. S. A. Warner (Trinidad), who comes into the team in place of Mr. G. B. J. Cox. Mr. Warner is a brother of Mr, P. F. Warner, the well- known Middlesex cricketer. F ew freshmen have gone up to either of the Univer­ sities with a greater reputa­ tion than Mr. E. M. Dowson, the old Harrow captain. Nothing is more uncertain than the prospects of a man getting his “ blue,” but unless Mr. Dowson has a series of the most remark- ablefailures with both batand ball he is certain to be found in this year’s Cambridge eleven. Already he is in great form. Twice last week he scored over a hundred (107 in the Trinity Freshmen’s match, and the same score for Trinity v. Crusaders). In addi­ tion tothishe took five wickets for 25 runs in the first match, and in the second five for 50. Prince Ranjitsinhji played for Trinity in the match against the Crusaders, but only made 17 rune. T he following remarks by “ Short Slip ” in the Sydney Mail are not without interest to a few English players in club matches:— “ There are, I am firmly convinced, a few players who shepherd their average, so much that when there is a prospect of a sticky wicket they stay away. Those who turn up are on the bad wicket quickly dismissed, and their averages experience a big drop. Those who stay away maintain theirs, hut the clubs suffer in reputation if they are defeated, and the’clubs’ general averages also decrease, for an absentee is a wicket lost to their side. Therefore, would it not he wise for the clubs to enter into a little domestic legislation to meet the case—such as ruling that unless a satisfactory explanation be received the ab­ sentee would be debited with a completed ionings ? Some will, no doubt, say—but how can that be a man’s average if he be so penalised ? I reply, averages are useless un­ less as a matter of comparison, and can it be a fair comparison if one man, loyal to his team, turns up and is dismissed for a few, while the other, without reasonable or any notice, stays away, such act being really equal to a score to the extent of his average ? ” J. W o r r a l l , one of last season’s Australian team, has also something to say about averages. He writes as follows in the Sidney Referee: — “ It is to be hoped that the Melbourne pennant committee will decide definitely on Tuesday night what are to be the conditions of premiership. I sincerely trust they will TOM LOCKYER. 'he famous old Surrey wicket-keeper of fifty years ago. [Reproduced from an oil painting.] give the ridiculous average system the go-by, and have a play-off. It is the life and soul of the game, and the only possible chance of awakening any interest in the pennant games. Club cricket has never before been in such a dead and alive condition, and a play-off would put some interest in it. There is not a cricketer in the metropolis but who is in favour of it. There is no rhyme or reason in the average system. A win is a win all the world over. One side makes a big score the first day. The following Saturday turns out wet, and the first club wins in one innings. There is nothing particularly meritorious about it, but their averages receive a great lift, especially the bowling, which counts the greatest of all. The other side’s averages correspondingly drop. On the other hand, a side which, in the face of adversity, struggles gamely on and j ust gets home, gains nothing in averages. If it is an even scoring match— though the performance is of far greater merit than the other—the win is practically only what counts to them. So let us have a play off by all means.” Q uestions which one asks oneself in the train when passing the pitches in the parks:— How is it that a wicket always falls just as the train is passing by ? How is it that, on a slope, when there is no longstop, and the ball will run for half a mile, the bowler always bowls down hill ? How is it that the players are so seldom hurt, seeing that wickets are pitched, without nets, within a few feet of each other P How is it that the distance between th6 wickets varies in inverse ratio to the age of the players ? Thus a child of seven or eight invariably measures out twenty-five yards, or thereabouts, while his elders are content with anything from twenty-one yards to about seventeen. Among the well-known cricketers who have already made good scores in club matches are Dr. Grace, 41; E. M. Dowson, 107 ; Brown, sen. (the Yorkshireman), 71; Wainwright, 41; Hirst, 60 ; Rhodes, 47; Lord Hawke, 62 not o u t; W. L. Knowles, 101 not o u t; C. J. B. Wood, 44; Whitehead (Leicester), 43 ; Coe, 46 ; A. C. MacLaren, 84; K. J. Key, 79 not out. A l o v e l y instance of the way in which the old follow- on rule was made to serve the purposes of a ciptain has been shown by C. J. Eady in a match in Tasmania. His men required four runs to save the follow-on, and were anxious not to make them, as their only possible chance of winning the match was to follow-on, make runs quickly, and get their opponents out for a few. The way in which Eady outwitted Kenny Burn, the captain of the other side, is told in an extract from the Tasmanian Mail on page 110. It should on no account be missed by cricketers who are fond of an exciting situation. T he new laws which were passed by the M.C.C. yesterday (Wednesday), are as follows They have already been referred to in previous issues of Cricket, and there is nothing new to be said about them until they have been tried. ( a ) Six balls to constitute an over. ( b ) Declaration permissible on or after the luncheon interval on the second day. (c) The Bide which leads by 150 runs in a three days’ match, by 100 runs in a two days’ match, and by 75 runs in a one day’s match, j shall have the option of calling on the other side to follow its innings. I