Cricket 1901

CR IC K E T , MAY 30, 1901. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. n o . 5 70 . v o t . x x . THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1901. p r i c e 2d. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD- MR . J. H . SINCLA IR . Undoubtedly the best batsman in the South African team, Mr. Sinclair, like so many other good cricketers, has not yet been able to get acclimatised sufficiently to show us his true form, but a man with a reputation such as he has gained is bound to come to the front be­ fore long. Although he is still young, he has greatly distinguished himself against the various teams which have visited South Africa, nearly always making good scores, and nearly always taking several wickets. Dur­ ing the visit of Lord Hawke’s team in 1899- 1900, he scored 106 and 4 for South Africa in the return ‘ test’ match, besides taking six wickets for 26 in the first innings, and three for 63 in the second, an all-round perform­ ance which would take a great deal of beating, for Lord Hawke’s team waB exceedingly strong. Only two other men on his side scored double figures in the first in­ nings, and the second score was 26. In the first “ test” match he made 86 and 4. He can hardly fail to be exceedingly popu­ lar during the present tour, both as a man and a player. He will very easily be recog­ nised on the field, for his height is 6 ft. 4 in. As a batsman he is the sort of man whom every cricketer likes to see at the wickets, for, although he can play a defensive game, he can, and does, hit tremendously hard. H e is a fairly fast bowler, with a good deal of variation, and asplendid field. O f his first appearance in important cricket, Mr. Sinclair said : “ In 1891 I played against W . W . Head’s team at Johannesburg as a),bowler. I was quite a boy. I remember]that I went in last and MR. J. H . SINCLAIR. [From a Photo by Bussell and Co., Bond Street, London, by good luck hit a ball from Martin right down to the pavilion rails. O f course as I was a mere youngster this pleased the crowd immensely, and it was a big crowd too. About seven thousand people were present, and I had never seen so many together before'; for the matter of that I have not seen"!so many since then on a cricket field. That team of 1891 was a warm o n e ; it included Murdoch, Ferris, Pougher, Martin, and J. T. Hearne. I remembered Murdoch the moment I saw him over here, but of course he could not recollect m e.” “ Since that time you have played against all the touring teams from England ? ” “ Except in 1894, when as I had not come on much I was left out. In 1895-96 Lord H awke’s team came and had a very trying ex­ perience at Johannes­ burg, for their visit took place at about the time of the raid, and just after the big explosion w h ic h k ille d and w o u n d e d so m a n y people. The ground of the Wanderers’ Club on which the match was played, was full of the wounded, and I shall never forget Tom H ay­ ward’s look of astonish­ ment when he arrived on the scene. I was afterwards chosen to play in the test match at Cape Town, and altogether I had a most enjoyable time during the tour, for the members of the team were exceedingly pleas­ ant men to meet. But all English cricketers seem to play the game in such a good spirit. L ord Hawke has made himself very popular indeed in South Africa, and we all hope that he will take out another team. You see it is only b y the visits of touring teams and visits to England that we can get a chance of learning. W e come here