Cricket 1900

THE FINEST BAT THE WORLD PRODUCES. M a y 1 7 , 1 9 0 0 . CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 131 BUSSEYS </> LU t*s .J o fa fa & 03 ■J ; j s m £ —03 s J W Q CO LU ® C O LU g “ I _ CO CO *— evj ev « * CO CO p e r 0 9 CO CO w 03 s ' a «o w fa B* o -*»o s acS £ 0 9 CD BUSSEY’S AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. B y F. S. A s h le y -C o o p e k . An interesting letter has reached me from Mr. J. 0. Davis, editor of the “ Australian Cricket Annual,” in which he says, “ At present I am not sure whether I shall bring out the ‘ Annual ’ at any future period. ’ Unfortunately, cricket annuals do not flourish in Australia, which is surprising when the amount of enthusiasmoccasioned by the game out there is taken into consideration. As Mr. Davis’ excellent production deals with the game played in each of the colonies, the book should command a large sale. It is to be hoped the “ Annual” will again be issued, and that it will prove a success financially. Mr. Davis draws my attention to the match between Middle Brighton (Sydney) and Cheltenham (Victoria), which was supposed to have taken place early in 1898 and to have resulted in a victory for the last-named by an innings and 606 runs. This match was referred to in “ Pavilion Gossip” at the time. Mr. Davis writes: “ The match, Cheltenham v. Middle Brighton, is a myth— at least, I have never heard of it. Sydney is over 400 miles from Melbourne by rail, and a team, no matter how modest, from either place visiting the other always creates sufficient stir to gain for its matches some prominence in the newspapers.” Will statisticians and snappers-up of unconsidered trifles kindly note ? The match must now be placed in the same category as that between Ulster and Macquarie in 1874-75. For the benefit of those who take an interest in the notabilia of the game, 1 may state that the most decisive beating on record was when Clark’ s House beat North Town in a junior house-match, at Clifton College, in June last by an innings and 688 runs. In a match in which each side had but one innings, Mel­ bourne University defeated Essendon, at Melbourne, in March, 1898, by 1,018 runs. In October, 1883, East Melbourne (“ The Jolimonters ” ) beat Fitzroy, at East Mel­ bourne, by an innings and 601 runs. In July, 1865, four brotners, Messrs. H., J., Arthur, and Albert Rood (of Finchley) beat Eleven of the Albion United, at Finchley, by an innings and 308 runs ; and in an “ Under- Sixteen ” house match at Repton, in 1882 the Priory (Rev. F. C. Hipkins’ ) defeated the Rev. Joseph Gould’s by an innings and 296 runs without losing a wicket. In this last-mentioned case, F. G. J. Ford (202 not out) and J. H. Kelsey (102 not out) scored 31 i without being separated, The innings was then declared closed, and the other side disposed of for eight in each innings, Ford and Kelsey each obtaining ten wickets. This match has generally been regarded as fiction—indeed, Mr. Haygarth, in Scores and Biographies (Vol. XIV., p. 1038), refers to it as “ a story from Repton ” —but Mr. Ford informs me that the match really did come off, and that an account of it can be found in the school’s records. Some capital performances with the ball were accomplished in first-class matches last week-end, the best being eight wickets for 31 by Lees, at the Oval, against Hampshire. This is by far the best piece of bowling he has yet done in great matches, and recalls to mind his success against the same county three years ago, when he obtained six for 27 including the hat trick, and thereby almost enabled Surrey to pull off the match before rain put an end to play. Brockwell, too, was very successful in the first innings, his six wickets costing but 27 runs—obtained, curi­ ously enough, at the same expense as those of in 1897. The doings of the two players should restore confidence to those who have feared that Surrey would seldom succeed this season in dismissing their opponents for moderate scores. The successful bowling by Mold in the second innings of Derbyshire was one of the features of the match at Manchester. So deadly was his attack, that at one time he obt lined four wickets without a run being scored off his deliveries - a most rare achievement in great matches. ‘ ‘ W.G.,” however, for Gloucestershire v. Notts, at Cheltenham, in 1877, obtained 7 for 0 ; G. Strachan, 5 for 0, for Gents, v. Players, at the Oval, in 1875 ; Wainwright, 5 for 0, for Yorkshire v. Sussex, at Dewsbury, in 1894; and H. Trumble, 5 for 0, for Australians v. Gloucestershire, at Cheltenham, in 1896. The above occurred at one time during the innings, and do not represent the final analyses. The following, however, represent the figures at the end of the innings:— Pougher, 5 for 0, M.C.C. and Ground v. Australians, at Lord’s, in 1896; Sir F. Bathurst, 4 for 0, England v. Kent, at Lord’s, in 1844; J. R. Napier, 4 for 0, Lancashire v. Yorkshire, at Sheffield, in 1888 ; and Cosstick, 6 for 1, Victoria v. Tasmania, at Sydney, in 1869. Although taking the field without Messrs. Mitchell and Jackson, Yorkshire, after holding an advantage all through the game, found no difficulty in defeating Kent at Cat­ ford. For this they were mainly indebted to Wainwri^ht (116) and Mr. Ernest Smith (61), who added 166 runs -whilst together, and to Hirst, who proved successful both with bat and ball. There are few more entertaining batsmen to watch than Wainwright, when he is in form, his off-play being really superb, or, to use the words of John Mitford, “ simply and severely great.” The efforts of Bagshaw for Derbyshire and C. J. B. Wood for Leicestershire to keep their side from defeat must not be lightly passedover. Each played a remarkable innings when the other batsmen on the side were unable to make any stand against the bowling. In the current issue of the Hadminton Magazine , Mr. W. J. Ford writes on throwing the cricket ball, and seeks for definite information as to “ Billy the Abori- giml’s ” reputed throw of 142J yards. Mr. Ford will find what he requires in Vol. XIV. of Scores and Biographies , pages 1073-1077. It is impossible to reproduce the information here, owing to its length, but to sum it up it may be stated that the throw was made on the old cricket-ground at Clermont (Queensland), on December 19, 1872, and the distance measured by Mr. C. J. Graham (an old Cam­ bridge cricketer and oarsman, and afterwards Minister for Lands in the Palmer Ministry) and Mr. Donald Wallace, who3e horse, Mentor , won the Melbourne Cup in 1888. The throw was witnessed by several old University cricketers, and was made for a wager, Mr. J. Thorne (King Billy’s then em­ ployer) backing him for £5 to throw over 130 yards at the first attempt. When measured (by a tape belonging to Sir. W. B. Steele) the distance was discovered to be 142J yards, but 2J yards were deducted for deviation. Measurements were also made with other tapes, and in each case the distance was made the same. On Easter Monday, 1884, R. Percival is reported to have thrown 140 yards 2 feet, on the Durham Sands Racecourse. Other long throws are : 140 yards 9 inches, by Ross Mackenzie, at Toronto, in 1872 ; 137 yards, by G. Brown, on Wolverton Common, in 1819; 132 yards, by W. F. Forbes, at the Eton College Sports, in March, 1876 ; 130J yards, by A. McKellar (of Glas-