Cricket 1901

CR IC K E T , JU L Y 18, 1901. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. TSto. 5 7 7 . VOL. X X . THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1901. PR ICE 2d. A CH A T ABOU T RO B E R T CARPENTER. It is not many years since Carpenter— “ Bob Carpenter ” as he was universally known, was a familiar figure on the cricket field, for although he had for a long time ceased to play cricket, he was recognised as one of the very best in the long line of good umpires. His death took place only last Saturday. In his later days his sight began to fail him, and he was not as well able as he had been in former days to decide upon nice points, but he was still in other respects such an effi­ cient umpire that he was not altogether left out until it was absolutely necessary to do so. But it was only in the last few years that his sight began to fail him, and until then he was every­ where recognised as an extremely good umpire. For a very long time his name was always associated with that of Thoms, who will miss him very greatly, and it was one of the pleas­ ures of life to see the two men standing in the same match, and to listen to their quaint and quiet remarks, which always had a lot of common sense about them. It was not very often that Carpenter was surprised, but once at least he showed his astonishment. It was during an important match in which the batting side seemed to have a very great advan­ tage in their second innings, only having a few runs to makeand five wickets in hand. Carpenter was one of the umpires. He was very well satisfied with himself and the world, for he had been called upon to give two or three of the very nicest decisions, and his promptitude and accuracy had elicited the admiration of both sides. He had, moreover, seen a batsman play a fairly big innings in the most unorthodox manner, and had relieved his feelings on the subject. To him entered a bowler, who not being well known to the captain, had not been put on at all in the first innings, and only with reluctance in the second, at the peremptory and continued bidding of the crowd, who knew their man. As the new bowler picked up the ball, he said to the famous umpire, who had ROBERT CARPENTER. (From a Photo by Rev. Thomas , 41, Cheapside.) probably never heard of him, “ I ’m going to finish off this match in about four overs” (there were four balls an over), for he knew the wicket and its peculi­ arities, which were many. Carpenter dryly replied, “ Yery like you will. They don’t want many runs.” In a couple of overs two wickets had fallen to the new bowler, and there were only three more. In his next over the bowler appealed for leg before wicket. Carpen­ ter raised his hand and said “ Out. Why in the name of goodness were you not put on before.” In the same over there was a catch at the wicket—ever so slight a catch—but Carpenter said, “ Out by a hair’s breadth, and by Jove, you’ ll do it.” The batsman said “ Damn. How the doose did he know I hit that ? ” The last wicket fell to a tremendous yorker, and Carpenter, taking the bails off the wicket, said “ Well, I wouldn’t have believed it. But, my young friend, that catch at the wicket was a mighty near thing, and that leg before ball would have missed the wicket if there had been two extra coats of varnish on it.” One of the last sketches of Carpenter was taken at Ton­ bridge—I think it was Ton­ bridge, but at any rate it was in a Kent match in Kent. In this he was repre­ sented as sitting with Thoms after lunch in a quiet comer, far removed from the inces­ sant talk about cricket. But what tales those two men could have to ld ! Thoms can fortunately still tell them, and we shall all be very glad when that book which he promises has actu­ ally appeared in print. There will surely be many anecdotes in it in which Car­ penter takes a prominent place, for the two great umpires saw a lot of each other, as players and umpires and spectators. Carpenter was bom at Cambridge on November 18, 1830, and died at his native place on July 13, 1901. He had nine children, of whom only one played cricket, viz., Herbert Carpenter, who has been such a valuable member of the Essex team, and who is now one of the very best professional batsmen of the day. The names of Carpenter and Hayward (Tom Hayward of ^Cambridgeshire) were every bit as well-known as a batting