Cricket 1901

130 CltlCKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ay 16, 1901. to stand bang in front o f his wicket. So did “ W . G .” and W . W . Read. It seems to me that the M.C.C. might at any rate try the proposed law as an experiment in some of their matches. I may say that I do not agree at all with the manifesto issued by some of the captains just before the M .C.C. meeting. Am ong other things they say that on a drying wicket against Jack Hearne or Haigh all that every cricketer has been taught as regards playing forward must be forgotten. Now who on earth would want to play forward to Jack Hearne or H aigh on a sticky w ick et! Again, they say that the “ forc­ ing strokes off the body which add such great variety to the game,” must go. But how can a man be out leg before to a ball off which he tries to make a ‘ forcing stroke off the body ’ ? As to their hook and pull strokes, they are no doubt very elegant and very nice in every way, but they make them at their own risk now, and would do the same if the law had been passed. All the arguments of the captains are based on the understanding that the wicket was to be bad, but it seems to me that they are out of court. H ow are you to make laws to suit degrees of weather? The fact is that it doesn’t follow that because a man is a magnificent cricketer he is a b om legislator.” “ What do you think would be the chief advantages of such a law ? ” “ It would, I think, lower the scores just enough, when the wickets are good, to bring matches to a conclusion as a rule. It would make batting more attractive and it would bring back the class of bowler who has been killed—the man with a bias from the leg. I ’ve got a little boy whom I am coaching. I teach him to bow l with his arm above his head, because it would be useless, as things are at present, to teach him any other way. But if the law had been passed the very first thing I should have done would be to make him lower his arm a bit and bow l round the wicket, so as to get the ball that goes naturally across the w icket.” “ Y ou are keen on running everything out at cricket ? Y ou believe that this would shorten matches ? ” “ I have had practical proof that it would. Until we tried it last year at Esher and Silwood Park we were always drawing our matches. But last year at Silwood Park we had only one match drawn, and only one at Esher. People say that the batsmen would not get tired. But they do get tired. Last year for instance, Pilkington made 70 for the Eton Ramblers against us, and strong young fellow as he was, he was a good deal done up. If it had not been for the running his score would have been doubled.” “ But the idea was not a success when it was tried in first-class matches ? ” “ It never was tried. I t was argued that if two veterans like K . J. Key and A. P. Lucas could make their hundreds without much exertion, the scheme must be a failure. But it was forgotten that the net was continually adding two’s to the score. This was the mistake— the added runs. Here again it was argued that if a man hit a ball very hard to the boundary he ought to get value for such a hit. But why not get value for very hard hits which are stopped at m id-off and extra cover p it is all a fluke whether the ball goes through them or not, for not one man in a thousand can guide the ball within a yard or two when it goes in that direction. I ’m very keen on this question. And while I think of it I may as well say that I wonder why men don’t sign their names when they write to the papers. What weight can be attached to the signature of ‘ A County Cricketer ’ for instance ! He m ight be a forty-year-old representa­ tive of a second-class county for all one can tell.” There have been many passages at arms in which honours were pretty equally divided between Mr. Clarke and Mr. C. I. Thornton, the famous hitter of former days. The two gentlemen have always been great friends. “ Once,” said Mr. Clarke, ‘ ‘ I caught him at the wicket, and said, ‘ Charlie you hit th a t! ’ ‘ Non­ sense,’ he replied, and I did not appeal. After the danger was past he said to me, ‘ Y ou silly ass. W hy, I hit th a t! ’ I was younger then than I am now, and when in the second innings I caught him again I did not like to appeal, but he admitted to me that he had really touched the ball on both occasions. So that I ought to have had him out twice in the same match. In another match in which Thornton and I were playing on opposite sides - I for Esher and he for the Orleans Club—I went on the ground, and in a minute or tw o saw Posno com ing towards me—he was the Posno who died a short time ago. When he was close to me he said nothing, but tossed up a coin. I called ‘ heads,’ and ‘ heads’ turned up. So I made arrangements about the order o f going in. Presently Thornton strolled up and said to me, ‘ Charlie, we may as well toss, hadn’t we ? ’ I replied that I had already tossed with Posno, at which he pretended to be greatly astonished, explaining that he alone was captain. ‘ W ell,’ I replied, ‘ we go in or we go home.’ And of course we went in. In this match Thornton made 90 in the first innings out of 103 and 49 out of 51 in the second! ” Mr. Clarke tells a most amusing tale of a match at a country house—he has referred to the story in the Stock Exchange book, but it will certainly bear repetition. “ The country players,” he said, “ found bread and cheese and beer waiting for them when they arrived at about eleven o’clock, and they did ample justice to both. A t half-past one there was a sumptuous banquet, during which a gentleman, who had done himself very well indeed at the previous meal, remarked with conviction, ‘ Ah, this is summat like, but what I don't like is a scoutin’ out a’tween the m eals! ’ Rather an amusing remark, considering he was out for a day’s cricket.” W . A. B ettesw o rth . CRICKET IN AUSTRALIA. BRI 8 BANE v. ROCKHAMPTON.—Played at Bris- bane on April 6 . R ockhampton . H. L. Pratten, b Mac­ donald ............... 1 . G.E Rodgers,cCrouch, b Griffith................ 7 R.B. Turner, b Griffith 2 J.Stevenson.c Patrick, b MacdoDald .............22 K. D. Coffin, b Griffith 5 F. Jillet, b Macdonald 3 R. Spry, not out. ... 4 Macdonald took four wickets for 27 runs, Griffith six for 23. B risbane . H. Oxenham, c Lewis, b Macdonald ........ A.C. Rule, lbw, bMac­ donald ............... H. Paterson, st Evans, b Griffith............... D.Burke,lbw,bGriffith Total ... ... i R.Crouch,lbw, b Oxen­ ham ...................... 2 J. Carew, not out ...119 H. B. Griffith, run out 18 A.Marshall,b Paterson 6 C. Patrick, b Oxenham 20 P. Carew, c Stevenson, b Spry ............... 31 C. Morgan, not out... 23 Extras .........18 Total (5 wkts) 237 GOLDSMITHS’ “ A ” v. MINTERN.—Played at New Cross on May 11. G oldsmiths ’ “ A .” W. Murrell, c Cory, b Cohen.....................43 C.E.Sykes,c andbCory 17 F. Bowler, c& b Cohen 1 J. S. Gillingham, b Cohen...................... 0 B. R. Scully, b Cory... 1 L.Lander,cMessenger, b Cohen ............... 42 H. Knapton did not bat. closed. M intebn , A. S. Medway, b Cory 1 E.M. Medway, b Cory 11 H. Sales, not out ... 24 E. B. Tolley, not out 16 B 4, lb 1 ......... 6 Total (8 wkts)*161 *Innings declared G. Cohen, b Sykes ... Cory, c Bowler, b Sykes P. Price, c Sales, b Gillingham ......... R. Gant, run out Weatherstone, c and b Gillingham ......... Heesey, b Gillingham Butler, b Sykes......... Savage, c A. Medway, b Gillingham......... Fletcher, not out Messenger, b Sykes... Chapman, c Bcully, b Gillingham ......... B 2,lb 1 ......... Total 13 HAMPSTEAD v. SURBITON.—Played at Surbiton on May 11. H ampstead . Ahsan-ul-Hak, c Tay­ lor, b Finlason........ 100 E.E.Barnetc,bWorsley 3 F. W. Orr, hit wkt, b Finlason ............... 30 T.M.Farmiloe,stHick­ son, b Pain ......... 1 E L.Marsden, bTaylor 27 G. Crosdale, b Pain ... 11 J.G. Q.Besch, st Hick­ son, b Fmlason ... 2 A. 8 . Oppenheimer, b Francis ............... 10 J.C.R. Dickson, c Fin­ lason, b Francis ... 2 Mobamed Said, not out ........ ......... 3 S fe.Pawiing,b Francis 1 B 9,1b 5, nb 1 ... 15 Total ...205 S usbiton . S.S. Taylor, bMarsden 12 H. J. Davenport, b Marsden.............. 0 C.E.Finlason,bAhsan- ul-Hak ............... 1 F.H.Bryant,c Dickson, b Marsden .........42 F. P. Francis, c Said, b O rr.....................57 J. A. E. Hickson, b Pawling ............... 20 T. Castle, bAhsan-ul- Hak ...................... 8 C. 8 carf,cOrr,bAhsan- ul-Hak ................13 G.W.Tireman,cBesch, b Pawling ......... 0 R. S. Pain, b Ahsan- ul-Hak ................ 0 C. B. Worsley, not out 0 Byes ................13 Total ...166 INCOGNITI v. TEDDINGTON.—Played at Ted- dington on May 11. I ncooniti . G. E. B. Pritchett, b Crowder ............... 13 R. O. Schwarz, c and b O. Marks...............35 G. E. Winter, c Lucas, b O. Marks .........19 Sir W. Russel', b Crowder ............... 0 C. J. Drake, c Wells, b O. Marks.............. C. Dixon, b Crowder W. Bowpitt, not out... J. P. Mead, c and b Crowder ................ Leg-bye ......... Total (7wkts) 74 T bddington . D. C. Lee, b Pritchett 38 O. Marks, c Dixon, b Russell ................11 G. Marks,candbRussell 4 W.Williams, c sub., b Russell ............... 39 S. H. Lee, b Pritchett 31 A. Worsley, c Russell, b Pritchett .........22 R. S. Lucas, c sub., b Pritchett............... 40 G. B. Crowder, c Schwarz, b Russell 14 M. J. Wells, c Dixon, b Schwarz ........ 7 C. W. Dixon, not out 18 B 5, lb 2 ......... 7 Total (9wkts)231