Cricket 1901

A u g . 15, 1901. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME 339 AT THE SIGN OF THE W ICKET. B y F . S . A s h l e y -C o o p b r . Mr. A. O. Jones and J. Iremonger will long remember the visit of Nottingham­ shire to London in 1901. By scoring over one hundred runs for the first wicket four times within the short space of eight days they performed a feat which had never previously been accomplished in great matches. The details are :— 134, Mr. A. O. Jones (88) and J. Iremonger (119) v. Surrey, at the Oval (first innings). *144, Mr. A. O. Jones (99 not out) and J. Iremonger (34 not out), y. Surrey, at the Oval (second innings). 238, Mr A. O. Jones (149) and J. Iremonger (133), v. Essex, at Leyton. * Winning the match by ten wickets. 119, Mr. A. O. Jones (72) and J. Iremonger (1C8) v. Derbyshire, at Welbeck. The turning point in Iremonger’s career may be said to date from the disastrous match against Yorkshire at Nottingham in June last—the match in which the home team were disposed of for 13 only by Rhodes and Haigh. In the second innings of that match Iremonger was sent in first withMr. Jones, and succeeded in carrying his bat through the innings for 55 runs out of a total of 173. It has already been stated that the performance of Mr. Jones and Iremonger is unique in the annals of first-class cricket. A few other notable first-wicket partnerships may be referred to. In August, 1896, Messrs. A. E. Stoddart and J. Douglas scored over 150 runs for the first wicket of Middlesex on three occasions within a fortnight:— 178, Mr. A. E. Stoddart (94) and Mr. J. Douglas (87), v. Yorkshire, at Bradford. 168, Mr. A. E. Stoddart (93) and Mr. J. Douglas (69), v. Nottinghamshire, at Nottingham. 166, Mr. A. E. Stoddart (127) and Mr. J. Douglas (65), v. Kent, at Lord’s. In three consecutive innings which they opened together against the Australian Team of 1893, Messrs. W. G. Grace and A. E. Stoddart obtained over a hundred runs before a separation was effected :— 120, Mr. W. G. Grace (45) and Mr. A. E. Stoddart (74), for M.C.C. and Ground, at Lord’s. 114, Mr. W. G. Grace (49) and Mr. A. E. Stoddart (94), for A. Shrewsbury’s England Eleven, at Nottingham. 151, Mr. W . G. Grace (68) and Mr. A. E. Stoddart (83), for England, at the Oval. Abel and Brockwell scored over two hundred runs for the first wicket of Surrey on three occasions during the season of 1897 : — 231, E. Abel (156) and W . Brockwell (181), v. Sussex, at the Oval. 204, R. Abel (113) and W . Brockwell (83), v. "War­ wickshire, at Edgbaston. 379, K. Abel (173) and W . Brockwell (225), v. Hamp­ shire, at the Oval. It would occasion no surprise if the last- mentioned record were equalled this season by Mr. L. G. H. Palairet ai d L. C. Braund, on behalf of Somersetshire. “ When found, make a note of.” Family matches are such rarities that details of two recently played deseive mention in this column. The first was between eleven of family of Hemsley and Isfield, in Sussex, and the secondbetween Backwell House (XI. Robinsons) and Clifton. Each match, be it noted, was won by the family eleven. A T BLACKBOYS, IN SUSSEX, AUGUST 5 th , 1901. X I. op th e H em sley F am ily. Joseph Hemsley, b Hemsley ... ................. 0 Frank Hemsley, b G. Poste............................... 80 Albert Hemsley, b G. Poste ........................ 4 Obediah Hemsley, b Hemsley........................ 1 George Hemsley, b Wratten ........................ 25 Samuel Hemsley, c F. Heaseman, b Hemsley 4 John Hemsley, b G. Poste............................... 22 Horace Hemsley. not out ............................... 14 Frank Hemsley, jun., b Hemsley ................. 1 W illiam Hemsley, c Lester, b Hemsley.......... 0 Luther Eemsley, b Hemsley ........................ 0 E xtras............................................. 7 Total ................. 1C8 Isfield, whose team included a flemsley, scored 69 and 22, leaving the Family X I. victorious by an innings and 17 runs. Particulars of the second match are appended:— A T BACKWELL HOUSE, IN SOMERSETSHIRE, AUGUST 6 th , 1901. X I. o f th e Robinson Fam ily. T. Robinson, c Roberts, b M olin e................. 3 K. Robinson, c Boberts, b Townsend .......... 15 D. Robinson, b Townsend............................... 5 F. Robinson, c James, b Moline ................ 102 W. Robinson, run o u t...................................... 20 A. Robinson, c Roberts, b Moline ................. 29 H. Robinson, b Mo'.ine ............................... 11 E. Robinson, b E. A. Sainsbury ................. 0 Alfred Robinson, run o u t............................... 2 Sidney Robinson, not o u t ............................... 0 Stanley Robinson, b Moline ........................ 0 Byes 16, lb 1, w 1 ........................ 18 Total ... .................205 Clifton were disposed of for 52 and 93, and were accordingly beaten by an innings and sixty runs. The first eleven a-side match played by the Robinsons took place at Backwell as far back as August 5tb, 1878, against West Town. The full score of this match can be seen in Scores and Biographies, Vol. xiv., page 787. In August, 1891, the Somer­ setshireRobinsorisopposedtheGloucester­ shire Graces, and on other occasions have placed a lamily eleven in the field. The promoters of the recent match between London County and the M.C.C. and Ground can hardly be congratulated on the teams they placed in the field. The scoring throughout was very large, even for these days of huge scores. The Marylebone team was notoriously weak in bowling, and as a consequence the London side scored heavily. A score of over six hundred, however, against so weak an attack was by no means sur­ prising. The team the M.C.C. put into the field was fit for only ordinary club cricket, whilst the London team was terribly deficient in bowling. With a membership of nearly five thousand, and more than sixty players on the Ground stuff, the M.C.C. should be able to place a very powerful side in the field. When two teams of batsmen oppose each other, the game degenerates from cricket to boundary, and runs obtained under such conditions have no value. At Bourne­ mouth, in 1897, Hampshire played so weak a team agaiust the M.C.C. that tbe Marylebone Club decided the game should not be regarded as first-class. With such a precedent, theM.C.C. should place the recent match in the same category as that of four years ago at Bournemouth. From Rye, in Sussex, a query reaches me. “ On the 3rd inst.. Rye played the 20th R .A ., at Rye. The home team declared their innings closed with the score 152 for no wicket, and then dismissed their opponents for 102. Is this a record of its kind ? ” Undoubtedly the performance o f F. G. J. Ford and J. H . Kelsey in an Under Sixteen House Match at Repton in 1882 far surpasses the feat recorded at Rye. In the match al­ luded to—The Priory (Rev. F. C. Hipkins’) v. Rev. Joseph Gould’s—F .G .J . Ford (202 not out) and J. H . Kelsey (102 not out) scored 312 without loss of a wicket. The innings was then declared closed and the Rev. Gould’s disposed of for eight runs ia each innings. The Priory thiis won by an innings and 296 runs without losing a wicket. N ot the least curious thing concerning the match was the fact that Ford and Kelsey each obtained ten wickets. Another match at double­ wicket in which two men did all the work was played at Wittersham, in the Isle of Oxney, in Kent, in September, 1834. On this occasion E. G. Wenman and R. Mills, both members of the Kent eleven, played single-handed against Eleven of the Isle of O xn ey:— Two of B bnrnden . E. G. Wenman. b D. Neve.. 65 notout................ 16 B. Mills, not ou t.................84 c ------- ... ... ... 29 Bye ... ... ... ... 1 Byes .......... 8 Total ................150 Total .. 48 The Eleven made 55 and 77, leaving the Two winners by 66 runs. Scores and Biographies says : “ By the agreement of the match no fieldsmen were allowed to Wenman and Mills, and this is (it is believed) the only instance on record of two playing against an eleven, at double wicket. It must, however, be remarked that the eleven were altogether inferior players, unknown to fame, and who had never played in a match of the slightest note. The match, however, caused some sensation in the cricketing world at the time, it being a laborious task for the two, they having to run after all hits, and, of course, when either of the two was out the innings terminated. While one bowled, the other had either to keep wicket or lon g-stop.” Matches in whicti players of skill are handicapped in some such manner as the above are always interesting to watch, although the cricket may not always be taken seriously. About 1860 there was a student at Weslev College, Sheffield, named F ord—“ Bessie” Ford he was called—who was so excellent a batsman that opponents objected to him being allowed the use of an ordinary bat. H e thei efore used a bdton instead. I believe Ford at the present time is a miller in Malta. In last week’s Cricket I gave details of some extraordinary scoring by Lees in a match on the Central Ground, Hastings. Since penning those notes, a contest has taken place on the same enclosure, in which a cricketer exceeded the century in each innings. The full score of tbe match is worthy of preservation.