Cricket 1900

6 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J a n . 2 5 , I S 0 0 On Moulsey Hurst, in Surrey, Monday, August 23rd, 1742. ( LONDON, WESTMINSTER, MIDDLESEX, SOUTHWARK, PART OF KENT. Surrey won. At the commencement of the match the betting was against Surrey. The ground at Moulsey Hurst, where so many famous cricket matches have heen played, is now held by the Hurst Park Racing Club. In the Artillery-Ground, Thursday, Septem­ ber 2nd, 1742. SURREY v. LONDON. Played for a considerable sum. The wickets were pitched at twelve o’clock. A Kent player, from Bromley, assisted London as a given man. This match was to have been played on September 6 th, but was changed to the above date on account of the visit of the Slindon men to London. In the Artillery-Ground, Monday, September 6 th, 1742. SLINDON v. LONDON. London won with great difficulty. The wickets were pitched at twelve o’clock “ on the forfeit of 100 guineas.” During the last innings of the match the betting was as much as 20 to 1 in favour of Slindon, so much praise must be given to London for winning. Before the above match took place the Slindon men had played forty-three games and lost but one. Several wagers were laid that one of the Slindon batsmen—probably Mr. Richard Newland—would obtain forty runs from his own bat, a feat he tailed to perform. Had the match not been com­ pleted on the Monday, play would have been resumed on the Wednesday. I q the Artillery-Ground, Friday, September 10th, 1742. SLINDON v. LONDON. London won by over 180 runs. The wickets were pitched at eleven o’clock “ on the forfeit of 100 guineas.” This match was to have been played on September 8 th, but was postponed to above date on account of rain. At the conclusion of the match Slindon offered to play another match against London either at Guildford or on the South Downs for £100, but the cha lenge was not accepted. It should, perhaps, be mentioned here that Slindon is three or four miles north - west of Arundel, in Sussex, and although but a village of a few hundred inhabitants it was at one time most famous on account of its cricket, its chief players being the Messrs. Newland—Adam, John and Richard-and Cuddy. A few miles south of Slindon is a place called Balls Hill, but whether the hill was so named on account of the cricketing skill of the neighbouring parishes cannot now be said. A few years ago the writer visited many of the places which were at one time famous in the world of cricket, and south­ west of Godalming and south-east of Famham passed, in succession, Bowler Green, Pitch Place, Balls Comer and Willow Green. {To be continued.) ('Tomsponiience. The Editor does not held himself responsible jor the opinions of his correspondents. 1 HE COUNTY CHAM P IONSH IP - DRAWN MATCHES. To the Editor of Ckicket. Sib,—May I be allowed a short space in which to reply to a correspondent’s interesting criticisms of the scheme I suggested in the November issue of Cricket ? He states that it would be as reasonable to give points “ for the first wicket or for the first two wickets as for the first ten” —and again—that the game “ cannot thus be divided into compart­ ments.” I think, however, it is clear that the completion of one innings a side marks a distinct stage in an unfinished game at which we can reasonably set the total obtained by one side against that obtained by the other. Indeed, if we take the case of a one-day match we find that the laws themselves divide a cricket match into “ compartments,” by declar­ ing that “ the match unless played out shall be decided by the first innings.” I submit that my scheme is merely a pro­ portionate application to three-day matches of the principle on which one- day matches are decided, and is so far in accordance with the spirit of the laws. A one-day match may be decided on the first innings owing to the difficulty of playing a game rigiit out in a single day. Late experience shows that even in three days there is the greatest difficulty in bringing a county match to a conclusion where the wicket remains true. The difficulty in either case being similar can­ not we logically apply a similar remedy ? What difference exists between the two cases would be adjusted by allowing only half a win in the case of a three-day match as against an absolute victory in the case of a one-day match. Your cor­ respondent next quotes three instances in which my scheme would inflict hard­ ship on a side that after being behind on the first innings had the game all in its favour at the call of time. Two of these instances I find occurred under the follow- on rule, and could scarcely arise should the new “ proposals” of the M.C.C. be made law. In the third instance, a slight turn of luck would have left the Surrey v. Middlesex match in a very open state, and it is hardly likely that with further time at their disposal Middlesex would have “ declared” when their last two batsmen were scoring well. Further than this, it is quite possible in a one-day match, where scores rule low, that a team may be beaten through holding a heavy advantage in the unfinished second inn­ ings. Of 417 county matches actually played during the last three seasons, no less than 163 have been left unfinished, but it would be dangerous to predict that in more than six instar css the losers on the first innings would eventually have won. One of these six instances occurred under the “ follow -on ” rule. I should further contend that the proverbial un­ certainty of the game justifies us in ignoring probabilities and possibilities and awarding points on the basis of facts only. As an example of the “ glorious uncertainty,” Mr. Nicholls and Roche added 230 for the last wicket against Kent last season after nine Middlesex wickets had fallen for 55 runs ! Where neither side has led on the first innings, I would, again in accordance with one-day games, ignore the match, but in a tie would award one point to each as the “ honours are even.” I am not setting up this scheme in opposition to reforms, such as narrowing the bat, etc., but I claim that it has at least as good a foun­ dation as the present system of ignoring drawn games, under which any county winning one match and drawing the rest may secure the first place. This actually occurred last season in the minor counties competition when Buckinghamshire, with one victory and seven draws, was pre­ ferred to Glamorganshire, who won six matches and lost one. Your obedient servant, J. B. PAYNE. January 18, 1900. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. The following are the matches to he played hy the Camhridge XI. for the coming season:— APRIL. SO. Home, Senior Match M AY. Home, Freshmen’s Match Home, v. A. J. W ebbe’s X I. Home, X II. v. X V I. Home, v. Yorkshire Home, v. M.C.C. Home, v. L.C.C. JUNE. Home, v. Surrey Home, v. South Africans Crystal Palace, v. L.C.C. Oval, v. Surrfy Brighton, v. Sussex Lord's, v. M.C.C. JU LY. Lord’s, v. Oxford Liverpool, v. Liverpool and District All three-day matches. CR ICK ET IN N A TA L . JOHANNESBURG v. DURBAN. Played at Albert Park Oval (Durban) on November 30, and resulted in a win for the Uitlanders by 68 runs. D u rban . C. Yevrah, c Over, b Hathorn ......... ... 1 — Smith, b Kempis ... 13 L. Conyngham,c Frost, b Over ................... W . Noakes, c and b Hathorn ................... H. 8 . Crompton, c and b Kem pis........... J. Arthur, b Kempis... J. W right, c Saunders, b Over .................. W. H. Smithers, run out ........................... 3 C. P. Carter, c Over, b Budgeon ...........28 F. Holmes, b Bud­ geon ...........................29 W . Walker, not out... 1 Extras................... 4 Total J ohannesburg . H. Kyle, not out ...4 6 M. Hathorne, b Smith ‘*9 W . Over, c Noakes, b Carter.......................... 3 H. Tudhope, c Holmes, b Smith .................. 0 M. Parkes, c Smithers, b Smith .................. 2 G.S. Kempis, c Cromp­ ton, b C a rte r........... 0 J. Budgeoo, c Noakes, b Y e v ra h ..................34 C. Saunders, c Con- yngham, b Arthur 1 A. C. Burrill, b Y ev­ rah ...........................14 R. J. Frost, b Carter 7 J. Tillet, c Noakes, b Carter ................... 6 Extras................... 8 Total ...150