Cricket 1900

“ Together Joined In Cricket’* manly toil.”— Byron. wo. 5 3 3 . v o l . x i x T H O R S D A .Y , APRIL 12, 1900 p r i c e * 4 . A CHAT ABOUT ME. K. J. KEY. THE RETIRING SURREY CAPTAIN. SSOf the vicissitudes of fortune which are so often i experienced by cricketers Mr. Key has'at least had his share. He had the honour of representing his county when he was still a boy of seventeen at Clifton College, and what is more he vastly distinguished himself in his first county season, making 60 not out against Lancashire. If before this time he had ever looked forward to play­ ing in great matches, he probably thought that he would shine as a bowler, for it was with the ball that he first made a success, with leg-breaks, at Clifton, and it was not until his last year at school that he developed into a batsman. At Oxford he consistently failed in College matches, but fortu­ nately for the University his failures were attributed rather to bad luck than bad play, and he received a fair trial in the Eleven, with the result that he represented Oxford against Cambridge four times, scoring 17, 6 and 51, 6 and 143, 64 and 7 not not out. Thus his aggregate was 294 runs, beating by two runs that of Mr. C. W. Wright, who had preceded him, and it is hardly neces­ sary to say that, when in his last match there was some doubt as to whether he would get a second innings and thus be able to make the five runs which he required to equal Mr. Wright’s record, the excitement was consider­ able. For several years he played many splendid innings for Surrey, which was then captaiuel by Mr. John Shuter, but there came a time when *>« seemed to have reached his limit, and to the regret of spectators and players alike—for his batting was always most attractive—he was left out of the team. It was confidently predicted that his place in the Surrey Eleven would know him no more, for increasing weight seemed to have taken away all his skill, and he could not make runs. Suddenly he returned to form, losing about a stone in weight, and thereafter he was to be found in the team in every match—he may possibly have been absent from it once or twice from illness—until the last match of last season, and perhaps he never played more brilliant cricket than in some of his innings iu his last two or three years with Surrey. Affairs march so quickly nowadays that it requires an effort of will to remember that Mr. Key only began to act as caotain of the Surrey Eleven in 1894; so intimately has he been connected with the success of the county that he seems to have been captain for ages. He took office at a time when a captain’s nerve was likely to be sorely tried, for he had to succeed Mr. John Shuter, one of the very best captains ever seen on the cricket field. The county team, more­ over, had not been successful in 1893, despite all Mr. Shuter’s efforts, and the new captain had not much to hope for in the way of success. But with his advent the tide turned. Richardson proved to be the best bowler of the year, and he was so splen­ didly backed up by Lockwoe d that Mr. Key’s duties were considerably lightened, and at the end of the season he had the proud satisfaction of knowing that his county was at the head of the Cham­ pionship table. Not a little of its success was due to the way in which the team wt s led. Mr. Sydney Pardon, in “ Wisden,” of 1895, was one of the first to recognise the merits of the new captain. “ It was not to be expected,” he said, “ that he would all at once prove himself Mr. Shuter’s equal; but, apart from occasional errors of judgment in changing the bowling, we are of opinion that he led the eleven very well. As captain of the team he possesses the sovereign quality of self-possession.” In this quality of eelf- possfssion is to be found the great secret of Mr. Key’s success as a captain. He has' guided the team through parlous times—times when the weakness of the bowling at his disposal has been such as to make Surrey men swear that such stuff had never been seen on a cricket ground; times when the batting also has broken down. He never lost his head. He nursed his bowlers with admirable judgment, and very many good j udges are of opinion that Richardson would never have made his vast reputation if he had been under a man who did not know the precise moment when it was necessary to give him a rest.