Cricket 1900

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. » o . E 4 o . v o l . x i x . THUBSDAY, MAY 31, 1900. p b i c e s a . A CHAT ABOUT J. T , HEARNE. It is now ten years Binoe “ Jack” Hearne, for whose benefit the Whit- Monday match at Lord’s is to be played, first played regularly in the Middlesex team, and during all that time he has borne thebrunt'of the bowling*with conspicuous success. Over and over againjit has been gravely announced in the middle of a season that he was completely played out and that as a bowler he was practically done for. ’ He came into the Middlesex eleven at a time when a good bowler was very badly wanted indeed, and it was only natural that he should at times be overworked, and that towards the middle of a dry season he should show signs of staleness. There is very little doubt that one of the secrets of his continued success is his delightfully easy action ; there is not an ounce of work thrown away. Accordingly, although he has never seemed remark­ ably strong, he has been able to stand a strain which would have been far too much for any man of the same pace with a laboursd action such as so many fast bowlers of the present day have cultivated. Another Becret of his success is that he never does too much with the b a ll; if the wicket is ever so much in favour of the bowler he, like Alfred Shaw, only comes back about the width of the wicket, with the result that if the ball beats the bat it generally results fatally to the bats­ man. In the famous matches at Lord’s in 1896 the Australians were loud in admiration of the way in which be utilised the wicket to its full­ est extent, whereas their own bowlers had so much work, that by comparison with Hearne they were harmless. At the same time they were one and all convinced that he would be of no use on Australian wickets; they said that he would be too mechanical and simple to be in the least effective. To a great extent they were right in this, for, as a matter of fact, no bowler on earth can be difficult on an Australian wicket of the finest brand. But even here Hearne shewed that he was not to be despised, for his wonderful steadiness and accuracy of pitch told in the long run, while when he did get his chance, as in the first inn­ ings of one of the England matches, he absolutely startled the Australians. This mechanical accuracy of Hsame’s bowling has often been laid to his charge as a grievous fault, but it is decidedly a moot point whether on English wickels as a whole it is better for a fast bowler to be accurate in pitch without bothering him­ self very much about variation of pace, or to be striving continually to out­ manoeuvre the batsman; the subject has been discussed from every point of view, and opinions seem to be pretty evenly divided upon it. Before he played for Middlesex Hearne was engaged at Evelyn’s School near Slough. He was then quite a slow bowler. While at the school he was often seen by Mr. W. E.W . Collins, atremendously fast bowler, who if his duties as a headmaster had allowed him to play regularly in first- class cricket would have been one of the best all-round men of his time. Mr. Collins, with aforethought for which all Middlesex men owe him a debt of gratitude, saw that the young bowler had the makings of a cricketer in him, and also saw that as a slow bowler he had about as much chance of playing for Middlesex as for Kams- katka. He, therefore, sug­ gested to him that he should practise fast bowling. Like a wise man, Hearne promptly set to work, and met with so much success, that at Mr. Collins’ s request, Mr. A. J. Webbe came down to see him. Hearne was, perhaps, a little nervous in the pres­ ence of so famous a cricketer; at any rate, he bowled so badly that he must have considered that he wonld never have a career as a first-class cricketer. But Mr. Webbe was not the sort of man to be deceived; he knew a good bowler when he met him. He came down again. Once more Hearne failed to distinguish himself. Not long afterwards, Mr. Webbe, confi­ dent that he had got hold of a good man, sent for Heame to play for the Colts of Middlesex v. the M.C.C. in 1888. The result of the new bowler’s first appear­ ance was that he was played against the Australians, and did not go back to con­ tinue his engagement at the school, for Mr. Webbe made arrangements with the