Cricket 1900

A p r i l 2 6 , 1 9 0 0 . CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 91 came to 313. Thu appearance on paper of the South Melbourne score in this second innings is curious, as it would lead one to suppose that the two batsmen went in tirtt and that one of them carried his bat through the innings. It is as follow s:— S outh M elbou rne . Second Innings. W . Armstrong, not out ...................121 W . McCormacK, b Rippon.......... ... 101 S. Morris, b Rippon .................. ... 7 D. Sutherland, c Tuckwell, b Robert­ son .................................................. 3 W . Inglecon, e W ilson, b Robertson 1 R. McLeod, c Todd, b Marshall ... 1 W . Joynt, at Todd, b Robertson ... 4 J. Deane, b M arsh all......................... 1 H. Walch, b K n ell.................................. 33 P. Forman, c Rippon, b Marshall ... 14 G. Honeybone, ' Rippon ... ........... 0 E x tr a s .......................... 24 Total ... 313 T he most remarkable thing I ever wit­ nessed, sayB “ Short Slip,” in the Sydney Mail, was a stroke for seven, all run and without any overthrow. Oarlton were playing a strong team from the North. Baker, our short-leg, had something wrong with his eyesight—if he kept his eye on the ball he would bring off very fine catches or do some clever fielding, but if he happened to lose sight of the ball, if it went the other side of the um­ pire, it took him a long time to search it out. On this occasion a leg-stroke was made, he lost sight of the ball, but fol­ lowed in its wake. The ball stopped within five yards of the boundary, and before he could find it seven runs had been added to the score. In the next over he brought off an extraordinary catch. T he Patriotic Match at Melbourne, arranged to assist the fund, organised by the Ladies’ Working Bees, to provide comforts for our troops in South Africa, was, it will interest the older generation of Cricket readers, the happy idea of F. B. Allan, the left-hand and slow bowler of the first Australian team. Many of us still remember well the way in which the bowler of the century, F. R. Spofforth, and H. F. Boyle dis- mismissed a formidable side of M.C.C. and Ground for 33 and 19 at the com­ mencement of the first tour in 1878. It was Allan who took the first wicket (W.G.’s) in the match. W. H. Moule, who scored a hundred for the Yeterans, was a membtr of the second Australian team, that of 1880. Another interesting feature of the match was that B. B. Cooper, who helped our own W.G. to put on 283 runs for the first wicket of the G ntlemen of the South against the Piayers of the South at the Oval in 1869, was one of the umpires. The score will appear in next week’s Cricket. M r . H enry C ope , it will interest all who had any acquaintance with the Haverford College Team during their visit in 1896, will be able alter all to accompany the Haverford players to England this summer. This is good news, as it was he who managed their tour four j ears ago so ably. Haverford’s first game this season, according to the American papers, is to be on Saturday next against Belmont. Among other clubs Haverford College have to meet this year are Merion, Philadelphia, German­ town, Rtdnor, Baltimore, Old Haver­ fordians, Knickerbocker Athletic Club, and New York. T he intercollegiate championship matches in America are :— MAY. 19. Haverford, Pennsylvania v. Haverford, 25. Mannheim, Pennsylvania v. Harvard. 26. Haverford, Haverford v. Harvard. A notable instance of fast scoring comes to us through the medium of “ Recorder’s ” cricket notes in the Adelaide Observer. In a match, in the middle of Mirch, against Peachy Belt, Smithfield scored 360 runs in two hours and a-half. This gives anaverage of two and two-fifths runs a minute. J. D arling , the Australian captain of 1899, gave the West Adelaide bowling the long handle on the Adelaide Oval on March 17th. He was playing for East Torrens and scored 103 out of 135 while he was in. Among his hits were one 6 and twenty 4’s. C aptain W. W. E ccles , who died on the 18th of this month, was, at the end of the sixties, a well-known personality on the cricket field. He played a great deal, about that time, for the Marylebone Club, as well as for I Zingari, and, if we remember rightly, occasionally for Hamp­ shire. He was also hon. secretary of the Hampshire County C.C. for a few years in 1867, 1868, and 1869, unless we are mistaken. Latterly he had taken a prominent part in golfing matters. He had been captain of the Cinque Ports and Barham Downs Golf Clubs, and sub­ sequently captain of the Folkestone Golf Club, a post he had held for many years. M r. P. F. W arner ’ s book, “ Cricket in many Climes,” is now advertised. It is published by Mr. W. Heinemann, who recently took the “ Badminton Maga­ zine ” over from Messrs. Longman. “ I f the M.C.C. want to dispense, as far as possible, with boundary hits,” writes a correspondent, “ why not pass a law to the effect that a batsman should be out if he hits as far as the boundary ? '1his would effectually put a stop to the practice, and make cricket quite a new game. 1 believe that in certain forms of rounders and marbles some such rule as this is adopted with excellent results.” In the Sportsman of yesterday (Wednes­ day) “ Wanderer” writes: “ It would appear that those responsible for the first statement as to the experiments as to boundaries to be made during the forth­ coming cricket season at Lord’s made a terrible muddle of the idea ; at any rate, from what I now hear, I gather that four is still allowed to be allowed provided the ball goes over the net—if not, as many as can be run, but no additional two. The M.C.C. intend to try the idea against the first-class county teams which they oppose.” [B u t we understand that the proposal as it appeared in the Times and other newspapers was actually in print. If “ Wanderer” is right about the modi­ fication in the original idea, the best hits of men like Mr. F. G. J. Ford and Mr. Fry would produce no runs at all, for there would be no time for the batsman to cross the wicket before the ball reached the net.] I f the experiment is tried the duties o umpires will be very considerably in­ creased. Presumably one umpire will have to watch the ball, and the other the batsmen, and it will be a nice point for one or the other of them to decide whether a couple of runs have been made before the critical moment, or only one run and seven-eighths. It will also have to be decided whether a run has been made when the batsmen have crossed each other, or only when they have each reached the opposite crease. Now, if the simple experiment were tried of having a net, and running everything out except when the ball went over the net, there would be no complications at all, and a hard hit would not be penalised, except when the ball happened to hit a post (for you cannot have nets without supports) and rebounded. This would be so seldom as hardly to be worth troubling about. “ In reference to a paragraph in last week’s Cricket'’ writes Mr. A. D. Taylor, “ I have a memorandum to the effect that J. B. Challen hit four 6’s and nine 4’s in succession for Wellingborough v. Bedford, in 1891. This goes one better than either Jayaram’s or Ryrie’s per­ formance.” T here has recently been published the first issue of the “ Ceylon Cricket Annual.” The book is dedicated to Sir Joseph West Ridgeway, Governor of the Island, and contains 180 pages of matter dealing with the game, which will be read with interest by all cricket enthu­ siasts. In addition to scores, averages, etc., there are to be found reminiscences and many other very interesting articles, as well as two full-page illustrations. The book is a capital production, and should be in the hands of all cricket enthusiasts. The publishers are Messrs. A. M. and J. Ferguson, of Colombo, and the price of the annual is 1 Re. W e still continue to receive further additions to the list of cricketers who are either at the front, or about to go to South Africa. The list is now as follows: Major Poore (staff). Mr. F. S. Jackson (4th Battalion Royal Lancaster Regiment of Militia). Mr. J. J. Ferris (with Col. Byng’s S.A. Light Horse). Mr. F. W. Milligan (with Colonel Plumer. Reported to he taken prisoner near Alafe- king and severely wounded.) Also reported killed.