Cricket 1901

3 1 4 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A u g . 1 , 1 9 0 1 . T y l d e s l e y brought his score to over two thousand last Friday, and thus did not long leave Abel in the position of being the only player who had accom ­ plished the feat. On Saturday Mr. Fry brought his total to 1926, but had no chance of adding to it this week, as he was not playing in any first class match. F ottr players, all professionals, have now taken over a hundred wickets, Rhodes being first with 172, Trott second with 140, Hirst third with 118, and Richardson fourth with 114. H ir s t is still the only man who has taken a hundred wickets and scored a thousand runs this season. Vine seems the most likely man to follow in his footsteps. I n the Leisure H ou r small prizes were recently offered in a competition in which the greatest living Englishman was to be named. Am ong the names sent in by competitors was that of Mr. C. B. Fry, but it did not win a prize, the judges possibly thinking that Dr. Grace might reasonably come before him on account of his many great performances in the past. But after all what chance had a cricketer against “ General ” Booth, who tied with Lord Roberts for first place ? W il k in s o n , who bow led so success­ fully against Yorkshire for Gloucester­ shire in tbe second innings, is one o f the Clifton C.C. professionals ; he had a trial for the county against Notts two years ago. . M b. S a m pso n , who made his debut in a county match for Somerset in the match at Catford against Kent, and scored an exceedingly useful 21 when runs were wanted, is a left-handed bats­ man, who played in some of the trial matches this season at Oxford as a Senior. H e had previously played for Somerset against Oxford University. T h e various captains of teams which won the toss on Monday had some curious experiences. A t Derby Mr. Lawton put Lancashire in first, with the result that his bowlers only got nine wickets down for 371 before stumps were drawn. Mr. Jessop also tried an experi­ ment, putting Yorkshire in without meeting with much success. On the other hand Mr. Mason— although in the end Kent probably won the match because Somerset had to bat last—went ir first, and saw his opponents more than double the Kent score. Mr. Jones also went in first at Leicester, and his side broke down badly. T h e Sydney correspondent of the D aily M a il has cabled the statement that “ The Melbourne Club have threatened to wire Maclaren that if Yorkshire persist in their objection to Rhodes and other Yorkshiremen going out, the next Australian eleven which visits England will refuse to meet Y ork ­ shire.” This is of course not an official statement. F r o m the Adelaide Observer : — “ Our Melbourne correspondent telegraphed on June 21st— Although a press cablegram some days ago informed tbe public and the Melbourne Cricket Club committee that Mr. A. C. Maclaren had arranged with Jessop, Lilley, and Hayward to accompany him to Australia, Major Wardill, secretary to the Melbourne Cricket Club, has heard nothing direct from Mr. Maclaren since he accepted the responsibility of organising a team. H e therefore cabled to Mr. Maclaren asking him to report progress, and an answer came. It was short, but very much to the p oin t: ‘ Representative team certainty.’ The news will be welcomed throughout Australia.” We should imagine that Mr. Maclaren has altered his mind since then about the possibility of getting together a represen­ tative team. A c o r r e spo n d e n t o f the Sydney R ejeree throws an interesting sidelight on the subject of the letter from Mr. J. B. Wardill, which was quoted at the general meeting of the M .C.C., when it was proposed to pass a new l.b.w . rule. He says :— At the annual meeting of the Marylebone C.C., when the proposal to amend the l.b.w. law, to the effect the striker shall be out if he obstruct the ball with any part of his person (except the hand) which is between wicket and wicket, a letter was read from Major Wardill conveying an Australian opinion favourable to the change. One was surprised with this, for although I had often heard the matter dis- eusssed, I never heard one first-class player in Australia express himself favourably of the proposal. As far as New South Wales is concerned, I believe there is not one represen­ tative player, including those who were mem­ bers of the 1899 Australian Eleven, who is not thoroughly opposed to it. A t r ip to R io de Janeiro has been arranged b y Buenos Aires cricketers, who have had endless difficulties in getting together a team. F ifty-tw o players had to be asked before an eleven could be found, although nearly all of them would have been glad to go if they could have left their business, or got leave of absence from their employers. N e x t Monday—the August Bank H oli­ day— the ever famous Week begins at Canterbury. For the sixtieth year the Old Stagers will give their performances in the evenings, while the county balls are to be revived, and the town will “ let itself go ” as good naturedly as ever. The Kent team will be about as strong as it can be, and will be selected from Messrs. J. R . Mason (capt.), F. Marchant, R . N. R. Blaker, C. J. Buraup, W . M. Bradley, S. H . Day, E. W . Dillon, P. C. Baker, and C. H . B. Marsham, with Alec H eam e, Huish, Blythe, and Humphreys. A ccordin g to present arrangements the Standard Athletic Club of Paris will play a series of matches in Devonshire in the week beginning August 19th. This is an experiment which w ill be generally welcomed by English cricketers. T h e inhabitants of the Borough of Hackney must have felt a thrill of pride when they read the local daily paper (the Hackney Standard) last Friday, for under the heading of “ Local Lady Cricketers ” there appeared the follow ­ ing :— Miss E . J. Feesey, daughter of Councillor Feesey, is evidently a first-class “ bat.” On July 10th the St. Quintin’s Ladies’ Cricket Club heat the Grove School, Highgate, at Wormwood Scrubs, and in the match Miss E . J. Feesey made 142 not out. Miss Feesey’s batting average for this season is 36'6 in twenty-three innings, runs 660, top score 142, times not out 5. She should get 1,000 runs this season. W e may add that Miss Feesey’s score of 142 was made out of 197 for seven wickets. Another score of 100 b y a lady comes to hand, viz., 119 by Miss M . K. Woods, for the Physical Training College against the Pilgrims at Dartford Heath, Kent. W e suppose that it will be some time before a lady claims the right to represent the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’s, but it is not safe to prophesy when ladies are concerned. This year a lady entered for the croquet championship, which had hitherto been considered one of the exclusive preserves of the gentlemen, and not only entered, but became the champion in the teeth of the most determined opposition. But by the wildest stretch of imagination croquet can hardly be called an athletic game, and when in the course of ages a cricketer gives up cricket altogether he still has a reasonable prospect of becom ­ ing the croquet champion. I n the Sussex v. Hampshire match, at Brighton, Butt made six catches in the Hampshire first innings. I t may not be much of a coincidence, but the latest mails give a dismal account of the wet weather then prevalent in India. At all events, it is curious that the most recent issue of the Bombay Gazette chronicles the fact that “ last Saturday not a ball could be bow led in any one of the matches arranged.” S t il l , though the Bombay papers talked gloom ily of two successive Saturdays spoiled b y the wet, at Poona there was plenty to interest in the current cricket. About the middle of last month the best performance of all was recorded to A. P . Douglas, the older of the three brothers who came into first-class cricket through Dulwich College. Like the others, R. N . and “ Jimmy,” A , P.