Cricket 1900

28 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. F eb . 22, 1900. the soldiers at Naauwpoort played a match againsttherailway officials andwon. “ On New Year’s Day,” says the Pieter­ maritzburg correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, “ a shell crashed into the pri- vate dwelling in which Colonel Rhodes, the old Etonian cricketer, boards, killing a soldier servant named Clydesdale. A second shell passed over the house on the same day. It fell near the railway sta­ tion, where the railway officials and bridge guards were playing cricket, and it killed Captain Valentine Todd while in the act of bowling, the ball remaining in his hand. The deceased was a native of Upper Norwood.” We also hear that some of the Australian contingent have played cricket. A N incident in a recent match at Buenos Aires is thus described in the River Plate Sport and Pastime :— “ The umpire gave Mr. E. L. Rumboll out howled, but those in a position to see, including the wicket-keeper, say the ball never touched the wicket. All that could be seen from the pavilion was the wicket-keeper knocking the bails off in attempting to stump the batsman. As it happens, however, Mr. Rumboll did get in front of his wicket, and the hall would, in the opinion of the umpire and wicket-keeper, have bowled him, so that, although the decision was a wrong one, it may be some satisfaction for him to know that he was really out after all.” T h e Associated Clubs of Philadelphia are beginning to realise that the more matches played with outsiders the better for American cricket. It is probable that All Philadelphia will play out matches at New York, Baltimore, Boston, and other large cities, and possibly there may be some return matches. This is undoubt­ edly a wise move. R. B r o o k in g , an American cricketer, who went to Buenos Aires with the idea of becoming a professional, seems to have a poor opinion of the play to b i found there. He writes to his friends in America, says Cricket Club Life, Philadelphia, “ I will try and play a match or two under an assumed name in Buenos Aires, to see what I can do against these know-it-alls.” A particularly unwise proceeding as he is likely to find out. T h e Rev. Henry Kearney Boldero, for thirty-six years rector of Grittleton, died on February 18, aged sixty-eight. He formed one of the Harrow Eleven in 1850, contending that year at Lord’s v. Win­ chester and Eton. T h e executive body of Surrey cricket has, during the last fortnight lost two of its most useful members, Mr. T . Winter- flood and Lieut.-Col. Bircbam. The former who died on Tuesday last was one of the oldest members of the Surrey Club, and had served on the committee for some thirty years. In his day he was one of the most prominent players in South London, a good bowler, and a fine free hitting bat. Col. Bircham who pre­ deceased him by a week, was at one time Lieut.-Col. of the 60th King’s Royal Rifles. In cricket he was best known in connection with the Incogniti C.C., of which he had been treasurer for several years. He was a very active member of the Surrey committee, and served on several of its most important sub­ committees. So the Australian Cricket Council is no more. It executed the happy dispatch in the early part of last month at a meeting in Melbourne. The following is a copy of its last dying speech and con­ fession. The resolution proposed by J. T. Lipscombe, of Victoria, was, it is worthy of note, seconded by J. Darling, the Australian captain of 1899. “ That the Australian Cricket Council be dissolved; that Mr. Whittridge and Mr. Cresswell be appointed as a committee to liquidate the affairs of the council; that out of the balance, after payment of all debts, a donation of £10 10 s. be paid to the hon. secretary, Mr. Cresswell, for his services in connection with the councrl’s business and the liquidation of the affairs; that any balance remaining be equally divided between the Victorian Cricket Association and the South Australian Cricket Association, being the existing members of the body.” H is t o r y after all has only repeated itself. Like our own defunct Cricket Council the Australian body had in it the makings of a very useful organisation. As it was it never received the hearty support from the different colonies necessary to make its authority felt. Its methods, perhaps, were not always of a kind to effect such a result, certaiiily not to reconcile the internal differences with which it had to cope. Still, one cannot help a feeling of regret at its failure. A representative Council of a popular character for the control of Australian cricket legally supported should certainly tBnd to the well-being of the game. Without these essentials, existence could at the best only be precarious, and latterly the Council had lingered on little more than a name. Unhonoured and unwept it has passed away. T h e Cricketers’ Fund Friendly Society to judge by the balance sheet it has just issued, had a good yeal of it in 1899. The balauce on the 31st shows an increase of £178 10s. on that at the end of 1898 The subscriptions for 1899 amounted to £148 Is., donations to £167 6 s. 61., and dividends produced £180 6 s. 8 d. ; sick allowances amounting in all to £134 5s. were made to twenty-six members, and superannuation allowances reaching to an aggregate of £109 4s. to seven members. Death allowances of £15 each were voted in the cases of the late W. Barnes and W. Price. Still, the fund is capable of a much wider sphere of usefulness. It thoroughly deserves not only the sympathy, but the active support of cricketers of all classes. C o n s id e r a b l e disappointment has been felt by cricketers in Jamaica that of the fourteen players selected to go to England only one man was taken from their island. T h e following are some of the latest hundreds:— DECEMBER. 23. Noble, New South Wales v. Victoria ......122 23. C. J. Eady, Break o ’Day v. Wellington ... 218* 23. K . Burn, Wellington v. Break o’Day .....123* 26.J. H. Savigny, North v. South (Tasmania)... 164 2i. H. J. Oxlade. Gymkhana v. Town (Ootacu- mund, Madras) .......................... . 1 2 1 30. F. Davis, Nilgiri Volunteer Rifles v. Ootaca- mund (Madras) .......................................133 30. G. H. Gatehouse, Tasmania v. N . 8 . Wales 105 JANU ARY. 1. H. Evers, New South Wales v. Tasmania ... 138 1. C. Jansen, New South Wales v. Tasmania .. 106 2. G. W . Stephen, Green Point v. Robertson (South Africa) .....................................106* 4. C. Hill, South Australia v. Victoria .....126* 6 . E. D. Drabble, Hurlingham v. Quilmes (Buenos Aires) ......................................100 7. B. Bedford, Hurlingham v. Flores (Buenos Aires) .. ..............................................137 9. K . Burn, Wellington v. Break o’ Day (second in n in gs)....................................................213* —. A . C. K. Mackenzie, Paddington v. Lcich- hardt, Sydney ................................. 166 —. V . Truaiper, Paddington v. Leichhardt ... 119 —. W . Bell, Waverley v. GJebe ..................... 115 —. F. Iredale, Waverley v. East Sydney ... 104 —. C. Gregory, South Sydney v. Burwood ... 176 — . B. W . Faiquhar, C. Cumberland v. “ urwood 141 —. E. L. Waddy, C. Cumberland v. Leichhardt 133 — . E. Jansen, Leichhardt v. North Sydney .. 10D* — . J. Ranshaw, East Sydney v. W averhy ... 101* —. H. Donnan, Burwood v. Paddington ... 160* —. A. Hopkins, North 8 ydney v. Redfern ... 103 —. R. A . Duff, North Sydney v. Leichhardt ... 145 —. R. A. Duff, North Sydney v. Redfern ... 113 —. W . Redgrave, North Sydney v. Redfern ... 108* * Signifies not out. THE BOWLER’S TEAR. [Since his return to Australia, Jones is said to have completely lost his pace. A tre­ mendous lot of runs were made against him in the first few matches, and he only took two or three wickets.] Upon the pitch he turned, To take a last fond look Of the hole he made within the crease, And the length of run he took : He listened for applause, So familiar to his ear ; And the bowler looked upon the ball And wip’d away a tear. Inside that scoring box They added fours and threes : And held aloft their hands in awe For runs were thick as bees. They breathed a word or two, ’ Twas well he could not hear, But he paused to bless them as they worked, And wip’d away a tear. He turned and left the ground, Oh ! do not deem him weak, For dauntless was the bowler’s heart, Tho’ he’d slightly lost his cheek. Go watch the av’rage lists In “ Wisden ” year by year, Be sure the hand that’s foremost there Has wip’ d away a tear. W. A. B. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. B. M a y n a r d .— We have sent you a copy of Cricket. with the fixtures in it. There wi 1not be any charge, W .J.K . (W eybridge).—Thanks. See “ Gossip.”