Cricket 1900

306 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME, A ug . 2, 1900. a little, medium-paced, left-hand bowler, is better than anyone else as a bowler. I did not see much of Writer, a Parsee, who was a very fine bowler—in fact I only made five runs in three innings when he was bowling, although he only got me out on ce; he is fastish right- hand, with a low delivery over the wicket. Narain Eao and Sreenivasa Rao are also excellent cricketers, the former a fine bowler and fair bat, the latter a very good bat and fine field. Sesha Chari is a fair wicket-keeper, but has so far never bad to take much fast bowling. All the Madras native cricketers are more or less good fields, but what every one of them wants is good coaching. I should think it would be a very good thing if an English team could be got together, including one or two profes­ sionals, for the cold weather of 1901- 1902 to tour in India, and then for a team of Parsses and natives to tour in England in 1903 to meet all second-class counties and about half-a-dozen first- class elevens. I am convinced that if either of these events came off the game in India would receive a most desirable fillip. Pew cricketers in England know what an impetus Lord Hawke’s visit gave to cricket throughout ludia in 1892 to 1894.” “ What do you think will be the future of Madras native cricket p ” “ I believe that if they could get good coaching, and if more teams from Eng­ land would visit the country, there is no telling how good the natives might become or how soon they would be fit to play in England. Tbe athletic nalives are as keen as possible, but of course there are vast numbers of them who at present take no interest in any game whatever.” “ Did you at once begin to do well at cricket when you arrived in India ? ” “ I airived there iu Februaiy, 1892, but it was not until August 8th that I played my first m-itch for Madras on a matting wicket at Kolar, I took six wickets for nine runs as a beginning, and in my second match, against Bangalore, six for 27 in the first iuniugs, and eight fur 24 in the second. The Kolar wicket dis­ appeared from <ff the face of the earth a short time afterwards ; it was practically washed away by the bursting of a tank on account of the heavy rains.” “ What were your first impressions of cricket iu India ? ” “ I f und at once that if a man has been in his school eleven, he always has a good show. I thought that there were several teams which could have m*de a good fight with the second-class counties; they might not have won, but they would have made a second-class county go all the way. Among the men who were then at Madras were: R. J. H. Arbuthnot (who now does well for Black­ heath and the Band of Brothers), H C. King ( n old Marlburian), H, Bejnolds (who 1as been hsked 10 play lor Middle­ sex, 1 believe, but could not get away becau e of business), W. H. Dent (the old Harro\ian), Major Bruce, E. H. Boome (a very good left-hand bowler in those days); he played last year for Surrey Club and Ground.” “ Were you playing pretty constantly when in India ? ” “ Matches were sometimes few and far between. If you were on the plains be­ tween February and September you didn’t get a match. Sometimes one got matches about once a month, sometimes a little more frequently; but in the year when I made most runs I only had nine­ teen completed innings. But one could always get practice of a sort; there were native ground bowlers who could bowl just a little, but I made up my mind always to play at the nets as if it were in a match, and never to get bowled and to give what might be a chance if I could possibly help it. I believe that a lot of harm is done to anyone by not caring how he bats at the nets.” “ You had great difficulties in getting efficient umpires in India p ” “ N o; I should not say great difficul­ ties. Generally a man was put into a coat and told to do the best he could, and he generally did his best. Of course there were at times some curious deci­ sions. When Madras were playing Lord Hawke’s team a Tommy was umpiring. The bowler appealed for ‘ leg before ’— I suppose he forgot himself in the excite­ ment—for a ball which the late J. S. Robinson played hard, and which hit him high up on his leg. There were really three bad decisions in this case; in the first place the batsman played the ball; in the second the ball hit the leg much too high u p ; in the third the ball was not pitched anywhere near the wicket. But even in England one sees curious decisions. I was bowling in a club match. The batsman missed the ball by some inches: it went on to the wicket-keeper, who just touched it and sent it into short slip’s hands. Short slip and square leg appealed, and the man was given out by his own, umpire, who probably went by sound.” “ What did you think of Shaw and Peel when you first practised against them on your arrival in England ? ” “ I got on rather better than I expected at first, but when they began to find out my faults I had a more difficult time. Of course they were not trying to g et me out as often as they could, but I have no doubt that they would have been very success­ ful if they had done so. I found that the difference between their bowling and that which I had previously met lay chiefly in the length and in variety in pace. I don’t think I should have actually got out so much by this, but I felt that there was something curious about the ball, and I was quite satisfied if I stopped it.” “ Where was your early cricket played ? ” “ My very first match was iu India, at Ellichpur, when I was eleven years old. I played for Europeans against Natives, making nine runs and two catches. I had my first coaching from Lieutenant Plumer, a cousin of the Colonel Plumer who has so distinguished himself in South Africa; he was a very good cricketer, and could throw the cricket ball over a hun­ dred yards. Afterwards I went to Bedford Grammar School, where I was for four years in the eleven. We beat the M.C.C. in my second year by two runs. We had made 80, and M.C.C. had nine wickets down, when the game was a tie, according to the scoring-board; but, after we had got the other wicket for no more runs, it was discovered that the scorers had made a mistake in adding up the total. From 1886 to 1888 the school had an exceedingly good fast bowler in C. B. Combes, who afterwards went to Australia, and played in good cricket in New South Wales. But his business prevented him from coming to the front, as I am sure he would have done if he had had the opportunity.” Against Lord Hawke’s team, in November, 1892, in the Madras Presi­ dency match, Sewell did not do much with the bat, but took four wickets for 44 and five for 40. The match was drawn, the monsoon interrupting play a good deal. He played against the Visitors in Decem­ ber at Bangalore. Bangalore had six wickets down for 48 when he went in, and he carried his bat for 70. Private Beeves, a cousin of the Beeves who pla) s for Essex, scored 50 for Bangalore in twenty minutes. In the innings of Lord Hawke’s team, Sewell took six wickets for 106 runs, out of 298, being ou the whole time, with the exception of two overs. Playing for All India at Allaha­ bad in January, 1893, against Lord Hawke's X I., he scored 1 and 21 and took two wickets. W. A. B e t t e s w o r t h . WALTHAM STOW (2) v. CLAP TON.—Played at Walthamstow on July 21. W a lth a m sto w . Gillard, b Genders ... 1 Nicho Is, c Harding, b Jenkins .................... 7 H. Collard, b Jenkins 5 F. Bristow, b Jenkins 10 T. Wildash, c Genders, b Griffey ...............26 Beck, b G riffey ............ 15 Mellor, b Griffey ... 0 C la pto n . Workman, b Griffey 13 Thomas, b Griffey ... 0 Soar, c Goodwin, b Griffey ................... 0 Burton, not out.......... 4 Byes.......................... 6 8. Genders, ct W ild­ ash, b Collard........... 8 W . Goodwin, run out 25 G. Masengarb. c Bris­ tow, b Workman ... 13 A. W. Renals, c Work­ m an,bC ollard......... 1 C. Nelson, b Wildash 31 A. Dodson, not out ... 77 F. L. Jenkins, b Nicholls ................... 4 W . Salaman, b W ild­ ash ........................... J. Gordon, c Bristow, b Wildash F. M. Harding, c sub., b C olla rd ................. P. H. Griffey, b Collard .................. Extras .................. Total .. ..................! CLAPTON v. 80U TH H AM PSTEAD— 1layed at Clapton on July 21. C la pto n . F . W .Fenn. cChichester, b Reynolds ............ 0 W . Couchman,cBrown, b N olloth................70 F Hougbt >n, b Rishop 57 Lambert, not out ... 35 Orgias, b Bishop 7 Brooman, st Biown, b N jlloth ......... ... 3 Hind, c Reynolds, b Nolloth ......... Coles, st Brown, b N o llo t h ................. Wesson, c t eynolds, b Nolloih ... ... .. v P. Gilliard, not out ... 21 B 22. w 1 .......... 23 6 Total S outh H a m pste a d . C. Brown, lbw, b Coles 15 H . B. Hugill, b Co!es.. 5 H . E. V. Chichester, b C oles.......................... 7 H. Boyton, not out 11 S. Reynolds, not out.. 10 Byes ................... 5 Total . ... 53 J. L. Tate, F. A . Bishop, G. Stanley, H. E. Traf­ ford, J. J. W iggett and W . H. Nolloth did not bat.