Cricket 1901

CR IC K E T , MAY 9, 1901. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. no. 567. v o l . x x . THUESDAY, MAY 9, 1901. p i i o b a «. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD- MR. G. H IL LY A RD SW INSTEAD . For many years it has not been unusual for bowlers who are very keen about their analyses to enquire, with affected careless­ ness, as soon as they arrive on the Hornsey cricket ground, “ Swinstead playin g?” For when G. H ., or “ George,” as he is called at Hornsey, gets going, analyses come out very badly. I f he had been able to Bpare the time to play regularly, he would, without a shadow of doubt, have been a popular hero in first- class cricket, but the impera­ tive demands of his profession as an artist have prevented him from doing more than take his part in club cricket of the best kind. Once he found time to play for Middlesex second eleven against Kent, scoring 17 and 9, and having b y far the best bow ling analysis for his side, and lastyear, playing for M .C.C., he made 67 and 62 respectively against Blackheath and Bromley. He has done some very remarkable performances with the bat and the ball. Perhaps the feat which was received with the greatest admiration, was his innings of 106 made out of 141 (actually 127 from the bat) for the Artists’ C.C. against Mr. Barrie’s eleven in 1899. The next highest score on the side was 6. This was in its way a record, for although other men have made a hun­ dred while no one else on the side could answer for double figures, the proportion of his runs was greater. As he had Mr. Hesketh Pritchard, the Hampshire bowler, and Mr. S. 8. Pawling, the Hampstead bowler, against him, the feat was the more remarkable. In this match he also took eight of his opponents’ wickets. One of the most extraordinary of his feats, as well as the oddest, was per­ No one dreamed that any other result than a drawn game could be arrived at, but Mr. Swinstead went at each ball for all he was worth, and drove two of them out of the ground for six. It was about the most remarkable finish to a match on record, and was ren­ dered all the more exciting because the batsmen and fieldsmen could see the pavilion clock. His score was 130 not out. Since he became a member of the Hornsey C.C., Mr. Swinstead has taken the average bat six times, and has been one of the most prominent of the bowlers. In 1892, which was one of his best years, he took 108 wickets for 9 ’l01 runs each, a greater number than by any other Hornsey bowler in a season; in addition he took the average bat with 774 runs in 28 innings. In his cricket career he has made upwards of twenty centuries. He is a member of the M .C.C., the Artists’ C.C., and also the South Herts G olf Club and the Muswell H ill Golf Club, and formerly of Royal Epping Forest Golf C lu b ; as a golfer he has taken several prizes and medals from scratch. As an artist, Mr. Swin­ stead is one of those happy beings who are not forced to the conclusion that Royal Academicans are no judges of a good picture; he has been an almost constant ex­ hibitor at the Academy since 1881, and at all the leading provincial exhibitions. He is also a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Cambrian Academy. This year he exhibits at the Academy a large and well placed picture, No. 560, entitled “ First on the Antarctic Continent.” It represents Mr. C. E. Borchgrevink, F.R .G .S., Commander of the British Antartic Expedition, 1898- 1900, on his reaching Farthest South, latitude 78° 50', in the expedition formed in the same year, for Hornsey against St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. The latter had scored 261, and, with only two hours and five minutes before them, Hornsey set about the task of making the runs. They began badly enough, four wickets falling for 21 runs in twenty minutes—not by any means a winning rate. Then “ G. H .” joined Mr. W . I. MB. G. HILLTABD SWINSTEAD. (From a Photo by A . J . Chapman , Crouch End, London, N.) Hancock, and 233 runs were scored in an hour and 37 minutes. But despite their efforts, 31 runs were still required when only a quarter of an hour remained for play. There was still a chance of winning. But the bowlers and field were alert, and when the last balls of the last over were being .bowled, Hornsey had twelve runs between them and victory.