Cricket 1900

“ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. so. 535 vox., jtjx THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1900. p r i c e 2*. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD MR. F. G. HARDING. Many o f the readers o f the early volumes o f Cricket will remember some articles written by Mr. Harding, with the signature under them of “ F. G. H .,” not the least interesting among them being a graphic history of the famous old Islington Albion Cricket Club, of which it is said a few years ago, by a writer that, in its prime “ it was a club to speak of with bated breath.” Mr. Harding has always been, and still is, an enthu­ siast where the game of cricket is concerned. He has written much and played still more. His chief per­ formances were accomplished as a member of the old Islington Albion, in the days when it was a name to con­ jure with, and when he was one of its chiefest members. The old club was founded as long ago as in 1805, and Mr. Harding first became associated with it when a schoolboy, 58 years since. In after years he had a great deal to do with the institu­ tion of the Haf-tings’ Fes­ tival, which has been brought to such a state of perfection by Mr. OarleBS. But it was with the old Islington Albion that Mr. Harding was chiefly con­ nected. It was a famous club in more ways than one, for most of its members were all-round sportsmen. “ Among the men employed more or less by the club,” said Mr. Harding, “ was Popjoy, who, although he was not much of a cricketer, proved to be an excellent hand with the boxing-gloves, and he became known to the world as the ‘ Islington Albion Pug.’ The famous Tom Sayers used to frequent the Islington ground at Copenhagen House, and I believe that his first backers were the two brothers Gibson, who were among the best cricketers in the club. Tom Spring, an old prize-fighter, was another frequenter of the ground, a quiet old fellow, who at times used to wear a dress coat, black cloth waistcoat and trousers, and a high silk hat, looked far more like a parson than a pug.” “ Was the club very particular as to the status of its opponents ? ” “ Well, it occasionally happened that a challenge from a club hitherto un­ known to us was accepted from a sporting point of view, and at times we were ‘ let in.’ Once, I remember, a club at Edmonton had challenged us, and we accepted their invitation to visit them on their own ground. We went, and at about two o’clock began to get hungry. To our surprise we found that no prepara­ tions whatever had been made for lun­ cheon. We had to continue the game fortified by a biscuit or two which we were luckily able to obtain on the ground. You may imagine what a rush there was to the inn near the ground when the game was over ; all the team rushed in— we had previously sent word that we wanted a great deal to eat— and to the general disap­ pointment we found that only eggs and bacon were available. In their excite­ ment some of the Albion men went into the kitchen to help in the preparations, and in their struggles to obtain possession of the frying pan turned it over, with the result that the chimney caught fire, fortunately with no serious consequences.” “ In 1859,” said Mr.Hardy, referring toamatch played by the club, “ we played Harrow Town on our ground, and owing to the skill of a slow bowler, named Gilby, who had played for George Parr’s famous All England Eleven, we were all out for eight in the second innings. I was not playing in the first match. In the return it was obvious that Harrow Town, for whom Gilby was again playing, had visions of an easy victory, for the players and spectators alike showed their contempt for a team wbich could get out for eight runs. Harrow seemed very likely to win, for they were doing very well indeed when Gilby came in ; he was a hard-hitting bat, who often upset all calculations. He made a few runs at the commencement of his inniDgs, but he made a hit to long-leg, where I was fielding, about eighty yards from the wicket, and to the disgust of the Harrow team and their friends, I managed to bring off a catch. This proved to be the turning-point of the game, for the Harrow men were discouraged by Gilby’s down­ fall, and we won easily.” Mn. F. G. HARDING. ( From a Photo by G. GlanviUe , Tunbridge Wells.)