Cricket 1901

F eb . 28, 1901. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 19 BUSSEY’S C /5 l u O fc 6 m P 09 ►J ; >-5 s W — 1/5 s J H G O U J g C D ja _ C O 0 0 C O ^ « a C O C O W 09 S ' p W S M o w 0 9 7 CO g. CO I mmam « 3 ^ § S 0 9 BUSSEY’S A T T H E S IGN O F T H E W IC K E T . By F. S. A sh ley -C oopee . FACTS, FEATS AND FIGURES OF 1900. Continued from page 7. M E M O R A B IL IA . Alterations in the Laws :— At the conclusion of the ordinary business at the 113th annual meeting qf the Maryle- bone C.C. at Lord’s, on May 2nd, the meeting was made special, and the confirmation of the three suggested alterations in the laws of the game was virtually unanimous. rJhey were : (a) Six bal's to constitute an over. (&) Declaration permissible on or after the luncheon interval on the second day. (c) The tide which leads by 150 runs in a three-day match, by 100 runs in a two-day match, and bv 75 runs in a one dav match, shall have the option of calling on the other side to follow its innings. These alterations came into force at once. NovelMethods of Scoringfor Boundary Hits :— At the commencement of the season the M.C.C; introduced a plan at Lord’s by which an attempt was made to compel batsmen to run out all their hits. A net three feet high was placed round the ground, except in front of the pavilion and the new stand. A hit over the net was to count three, and should the ball touch the net two extra were to be added to those actually run by the batsmen whilst the ball was travelling backwards and forwards to and from the net. This experi­ ment was tried in the matches against Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, but proved a failure. It was then decided that hits which bounded over the net or went through it, or under it, should count four; hits over five, and out of the ground six. This second plan was adopted in the matches against Sussex, Yorkshire and Derbyshire, but met with no more success than the previous one, and the whole idea was aban­ doned as impracticable. Lord’s was the only ground upon which these fantastic experi­ ments were tried, and the M.C.C. the only club which played matches with the above arrangements in force. Yorkshire's Success in 1900 :— In 1900 Yorkshire played 3*2 matches, of which, they won 19, lost 1, and drew 12. The defeat was sustained at the hands of the M.C.C. and Ground, at Lord’s, who beat them by 182 runs. In county championship matches Yorkshire played 28 matches, of which 16 were won and twelve drawn. Surrey v. London County, at the Oval. For the first occasion since 1886 (in which year Surrey played Gloucestershire) a first-class match was commenced at the Oval on Easter Monday. Hayward’s innings of 120 not out for Surrey lasted part of each of the three days. London County v. Surrey, at the Crystal Palace. Hayward, T. (55 and 108) and Lockwood, \V. H. (95 and 68) added over a hundred runs whilst together in each innings for the fourth wicket, 107 runs in the first innings and 103 in the second. Hayward, in his first innings, was dismissed in an un­ fortunate manner, as C. L. Townsend, the bowler, in attempting to gather the ball from a return from Lockwood, accidently guided it into the wicket, with the result that Hayward, who was backing-up, was run out. On the third afternoon General Sir George White, the defender of Ladysmith, drove on to the ground and was accorded a most hearty welcome. Play was stopped for about ten minutes, during which time “ \V. G .” and other well-known personages were introduced to him. Yorkshire v. Worcestershire, at Bradford. The match was completed in one day. Lancashire v. Derbyshire, at Manchester. At one time in the second innings of the latter, Mold (A.) obtained four wickets for no runs. Surrey v. Hampshire, at the Oval. D. L. A. Jephson (84) and Richardson, T. (33 not out), added 56 runs in 20 minutes for Surrey’s last wicket. M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire, at Lord’s. In their first innings the M.C.C., going in first, scored 346, Yorkshire replying with 187. The visitors were thus in a minority of 159, and, taking advantage of the recent alteration in Law 53, rendering the follow-on at the option of the side leading by 150 runs, the M.C.C. decided to bat again in preference to allowing the county to follow its innings. This was the first occasion upon which this law was brought into use in first-class cricket. C. O. H. Sewell played for the M.C.C. under the assumed name of C. L. Lewes. Sussex v. Worcestershiie, at Brighton. Sussex declared their innings closed on the afternoon of the second day with the score 389 for seven wickets, they being the first team to make use of Law 54 since it was altered (on May 2nd, 1900) so as to make declaration permissable on orafterthe luncheon interval on the second day. Derbyshire v. Surrey, at Derby. Every player on the Surrey side scored double figures, the lowi st score being eleven by Richardson (T .). Oxford University v. London County, at Oxford. In making 169 for the former, R. E. Foster at one period of his innings scored four sixes from consecutive balls delivered by W . G. Grace. On the first day of the match Oxford University scored 539, play ending when the last wicket fell. Yorkshire v. Derbyshire, at Sheffield. Owing to rain, Brown, J. T., sen.’s score of 82 for the former lasted part of each of the three days. Leicestershire v. Nottinghamshire, at Leicester. A. O. Jones’ score of 155 for the latter lasted part of each of the three days. On the second day, owing to rain, less than two overs were delivered. Cambridge University v. M.C.C. and Ground, at Cambridge. On account of rain, J. Stanning batted on each of the three days for his score of 120 for Cambridge University. M.C.C. and Ground v. Derbyshire, at Lord’s. In the second innings of Derbyshire S. H. Wood, the captain, made a hit for ten off C. J. Burnup. The stroke was a cut, the ball reaching the net and four being rim. The return, however, yielded an overthrow to the opposite net, the tired batsmen being content to run two, though a third might have been obtained. A. E. Lawton (60 and 53) and Storer, W . (65 and 175 not out), added 111 runs for the fourth wicket whilst together in each innings of Derbyshire. Gloucestershire v. Somersetshire, at Bristol. For the former G. L. Jessop made 52 (out of 56, whilst in with Hale, W. H.) in twenty minutes, and Board, J. H., 214 (out of 308) in three hours and twenty-five minutes. For Gloucestershire H. J. Hodgkins obtained a wicket with the first ball he ever delivered in a first-class county match. Surrey v. Sussex, at the Oval. During the first innings of Surrey 207 runs were scored off Bland (C. H. G.), and he obtained but three wickets. Middlesex v. Yorkshire, at Lord’s. H. JJ. Hayman (87) and R. W. Nicholls (44), whilst together in the first innings of the former, at one time added 50 runs in fifteen minutes. B. J. T. Bosanquet played in this match under the name of T. Tindal. Hampshire v. Lancashire, at Southampton.