Cricket 1901

S ept. 12, 1901. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 4 0 9 C ommenting on the false report that, when the Yorkshire committee expressed a wish that Ehodes and Hirst should not go to Australia, the Melbourne C.C. intended to send a telegram to Mr. Maclaren to the effect that if Yorkshire refused to allow their men to visit Australia, Australians will probably refuse to play Yorkshire next tour, the Sydney Mail says:— T h e sen d in g of su ch a ca b le as th is w ou ld , it w a s th o u g h t, g iv e M aclaren stro n g su p p o rt, an d w o u ld h elp him in h is n e g o tia tio n s w ith R h o d es o r a n y o th er Y o rk s h ire p la y e r w h om he m ig h t w ish to select. T h e w ish is p ro b ab ly fa th e r to th e th o u g h t th a t su ch cab le m essage w o u ld stre n g th e n M c L a re n ’s han ds. I do n o t th in k it w ould. In th e first p lace h o w can th e M elb o u rn e C lu b s a y w h a t w ill h ap pen w h en th e n e x t A u stra lia n E le v e n v is its E n g la n d ? A n d th en fo r o th e r reason s it does n o t ap p e a r fe a sib le th a t Y o rk s h ire w ou ld ta k e a n y n o tice o f su ch a co m m u n ica tio n .” O ur contemporary continues as follows: “ What Yorkshire is afraid of is that the heavy work which Rhodes would be called upon to perform in Australia would con­ siderably diminish his usefulness for the county, at any rate for the following season, even if he ever got his power back. The county committee recognise what happened to Richardson and Hearne, and want to profit thereby. This is, of course, unfortunate for Australia. Without Rhodes and those who have declined to make the trip, theteam cannotbe regarded as a representative one, and, therefore, while Australia will have a lot to lose by being defeated in test matches, there will be little to gain by victory.” A fter some kindly comments on the interview with Mr. H. S. Johnstone, which appeared in Cricket last week, the Hastings and St. Leonards Weekly Mail and Times says, apropos of Mr. John­ stone’s remarks about league cricket L e a g u e m a tch e s do n o t ap p ear to h av e been th e m ean s of e n listin g yo u n g p lay ers fo r th e T o w n C lu b , th e C o m m ittee of w h ic h , a fe w season s b a c k , offered, if w e re c o lle c t r ig h tly , sp ecia l in d u cem en ts to y o u n g crick e te rs. . . . O n e is tem p ted to a s k w h e th e r th e ta le n t re a lly e x ists n o w a ­ d a ys. L o o k in g arou n d w e fa il to d iscern su ccessors to E . J . M cC o rm ick, R . B a k er, A . C lark, W . J. R an som , H a rry B u tt, W . H . B a ll, H . L o v e , M a w le a n d C. L a ven d er. T he new professional of the Hastings and St. Leonards C.C., W. Bennett, of Derbyshire, scored 981 in 28 innings for the club, with an average of 37"73, and took 90 wickets at an average of 18 21, a record which has never been equalled by a member of the club. Mr. H. S. John­ stone scored 672 runs, with an average of 37'33, and the Rev. H. C. L. Tindall 183 runs, at an average of 26'14, besides taking 30 wickets for 12'20 runs apiece. Harry Phillips, the famous old Sussex wicket keeper, played once for the club, and scored 20. I t has been suggested by various writers in Australian papers that in view of the visit of an English team only one match between each State should be played, apparently on the grounds that the matches cannot bo made to pay. This idea is knocked on the head by Worrall in the Sydney Referee '.—“ Does it ever strike the cricket genius,” he asks, “ that when an English team is here that fact alone provides sufficient argument against the stopping of any match between the three great cricketing States, irrespective of the one of sentiment. How otherwise will it be known what players are in form ? Any man might have a bit of bad luck in one match. These inter-State matches are the bf st test in the world as to a man’s fitness or otherwise to be a representative in the great International games.” T here was some remarkable scoring in a match at Newcastle last week between two scratch elevens, in which several well-known men were playing. Lancas­ ter, who has dropped out of county cricket for so:ne years, only missed making a separate hundred in each innings by three runs, his scores being 97 and 109, while on the other side the three men who went in first, Messrs. F. G. H. Clayton, B. N. Bosworth Smith, and K. A. Woodward, each made over a hundred. In the two days during which the match lasted 1,160 runs were scored. M r . M urray B isset , the captain of the South African team, left England on Saturday in the Union Castle liner Dunottar Castle for Cape Town. On the 14th inst. Messrs. Sinclair, Cooley, Tan­ cred, Shalders and Hathom sail per ss. Briton. Mr. A. Bisset and Mr. R. Graham have booked for 28th inst. per Carisbrook; whilst Messrs. J. D. Logan, E. A. Halliwell, and J. D. Logan, jun., are remaining over for some weeks yet. Some of the South African team have been staying at the Royal British Hotel, Perth, enjoying the beauties of Scotland. A great many people must have been very pleased to see that Captain Greig, Mr. K. O. Goldie, Mr. H. J. Sinclair, and Mr. A. E. Halliwell were all included in the Gentlemen’s team against the Players at Hastings. They have all distinguished themselves greatly this year in their various ways. A correspondent of the Sunday Times of September 8, in summing up the results of the season which is now so nearly over, lets himself go as follows : — Judged by comparison with previous years, the season of 1901 has been a thoroughly bad one. The batting has been poor, the bowling has been weak, the fielding has been abomin­ able, captainacy has very frequently been at fault in matters of judgment, and the “ gates” have not been treated in a proper manner. B ut the readers of the above journal are not bound to accept this decision as gospel, for another correspondent writes on the same date as follows: “ The past season of county cricket may be set down as one of the best of modern times. Per­ haps this is due to the preponderance of really fine and pleasant days we have enjoyed, and to the fact that at least some bowlers have shown that theirs is by no means a lost art. A large number of matches have been drawn, but there is not much room for outcry on this score, as many of the finishes in these matches provided a vast amount of interest and even excitement, while in most cases endeavours were made to bring about a tangible result. High scoring, too, seemed in many instances to be less monotonous, for it was carried out with less deliberation, and the chief aim of the game was not altogether lost sight of. That a little more attention to fielding is necessary has been clearly proved, and if this is done and bowlers will strive to impart variety to their attack we may hear rather less in the future of the great superiority of the bat.” F rom the Sporting Times : — A rustic cricketer cam e g a ily to the w icket w ith his pad on the w ron g leg. “ H oi, G earge,” called his partner to him . “ Thee’ st got th y legg in g on w rong le g ! ” G earge looked down doubtfully at his leg. Then a bright thought came to him . “ So it be, Tumm as, so it be ; but a ’ thought baw lin g w as from t ’other end ! ” Two of the Dutchmen who were playing cricket in England a few weeks ago, viz., W. K. A. Beukema and A. Broese van Groenou, have since their return to the Continent taken part in the lawn tennis tournaments at Homburg and The Hague (Scheveningin). Beukema, who was Champion of Holland, had his title wrested from him by a young French­ man, Max Decugis, who, although he had a good deal to learn yet, is perhaps the best man ever turned out by France. W hen the Gentlemen v. Players’ match began at Hastings on Monday there was just a chance that Tyldesley might bring his total for the season to over three thousand, and so join Mr. Fry and Abel in a great triumvirate. His total stood at 2,905, so that he still required 95 runs. At this time of the year it is not always easy to make runs, but Tyldesley’s opportunity came and he seized it. T he record for the season of E. H. D. Sewell, who is qualifying for Essex, is as follows: For Essex Club and Ground —18 innings (once not out), total 1,190, 200 not out highest score, average 70-00, 63 wickets for 9-26 each. For the whole season—2,198 runs in 50 innings (seven times not out), average 51-11. Hundreds : 100, 183, 125, 101, 147 not out, 200 not out, 168 not out. 162 wickets for 11-5 runs each. F rom the Sydney R eferee : T h e N e w S o u th W a le s C rick e t A ss o c ia ­ tio n , a fte r co n sid erin g a le tte r from th e S y d n e y ag e n t o f th e M elb o u rn e C rick e t C lu b (M r. C. H . R oss) d ecided u p on o h argin g a ce rta in p e rce n ta g e on th e gro ss ta k in g s o f th e tw o N e w S o u th W a les an d tw o T e s t m atch es to b e p la ye d on th e S y d n e y C ric k e t G rou n d . T h e term s w ill b e recip rocal, fo r it is u n d ersto o d th a t th e fo llo w in g E n g lish te a m to v is it A u s tra lia w ill com e o u t on th e in v ita tio n o f th e