Cricket 1901

CRICKET, JUNE 27, 1901. <- — )«©SCZ3 — J@9— j M gj j fe !)»«((■ j - Jjrtjc......( i ©5 “ Together joined in Cricket’ s m an ly to il.” — Byron. wo. 574 . t o i . x x . THURSDAY, JUNE 2 7 , 1 9 0 1 . p b ic e 2 a. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD- M R . W . W ILL IAM S . When last year, in June, Mr. Williams appeared at Lord’s in the Middlesex team against Gloucestershire, it was remembered that he was b y no means a new hand. He had assisted the county as long ago as 1885 and 1886. But whereas he was then chosen to play because he was a good wicket-keeper, he played last year as a slow leg-break bowler. It is, of course, a most unusual thing for men to play for a county years after they have retired from first-class cricket, and it may be doubted whether anyone has ever been called upon after such a long interval because of his pro­ ficiency in an entirely different branch ofthe game from that for which he was previously known. It must not be supposed that he suddenly developed skill as a slow bowler, and so came to be chosen once more for Middlesex ; on the contrary, he had been exceedingly well known for years to London club cricketers as a very awkward bowler to meet. F or at least the last five years he has annually taken over a hundred wickets for Richmond. Batting is not his forte, but he has made some big scores, in­ cluding 156 at Chiswick Park, while in first-class cricket he has sometimes played a very useful innings when runs were badly needed. Some years ago he accompanied Mr. Priestley’s team to the West Indies, and on the matting wickets he managed to get a very big break. Nevertheless, he is not in love with matting. Of the different phases in his career Mr. Williams said : “ When I left school 1 was a very fast bowler—not as fast as Tom Richardson, but still very fast—and *n the class of cricket which I then played a fast bowler was bound to get a lot of wickets. In after years I played for Chiswick Park, still bow ling fast until I gradually drifted into wicket-keeping, because we were short of men who could take that position. I t was for wicket- keeping that Webbe first asked me to play for Middlesex. We had a very good side about that time at Chiswick Park. “ What induced you to give up fast bow ling for slow ? ” “ I had found fast bow ling rather trying work, and gradually took to w icket-keeping. In course of time, when trying experiments at the nets, more for amusement than anything else, I found that I could get a b ig leg break, and after this sort of thing had served as a sort of curiosity for some time I began to think that I might possibly do something with it. So I set to work to try to get a length, which is, of course, the most important point about leg breaks, and, at the same time, the most difficult to master. Gradually I succeeded more or less and bowled occasionally in matches. After I had begun to take wickets I joined the Richmond Club. I suppose that my bow ling must strike people as being very slow, for I once heard a remark which amused me greatly. I had been bow l­ ing in a country match with a good deal of success, and as I was walking to the tent after the innings was over, I noticed one of the old school o f cricketers—a prosperous- looking yokel—holding forth to a few.interested listeners. I arrived just in time to hear him say with the utmost contempt in his tones, ‘ ’E ’s been bow ling ’em all out, and he can’t bow l no faster than an old worm can craw l! ’ ” “ When you returned to first-class cricket did you think it had altered much ? ” “ Except that the wickets are ever so much better than they used to be, I have not noticed much difference. So many things have to be taken into consideration when one compares past with present that I do not feel qualified to give a decided opinion, but I cannot help thinking that the bow ling, taken all round, has deterio­ rated ; that the fielding is not as good as it was, and that more catches are dropped. This ishow it strikes me, but I may be w rong for all that. It seems to me to stand to reason that when men are playing all day, and practically every day, they must get stale, and this would apply more to bow ling than to batting, and still more to fielding. H ow can men possibly field their best when, for instance, as often happens, their team has been fielding out to a very long score MR. W . WILLIAM S. (From a Photo by J. Chaffin A Sons , Taunton.)