Cricket 1901

CRICKET, DECEMBER 19, 1901. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 589. VOL. XX. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1901. p b ic e 2a. A CHAT ABOUT S. F. BAENES. To the majority of cricketers" S. F. Barnes was practically unknown only a few months since. That he had been tried for his native county of Warwick some seven years ago was a matter of ancient cricket history of which only Warwickshire enthusiasts, perhaps, were cognisant. He certainly played for War­ wickshire once in 1894 and twice in 1895, but only with small success. According to some accounts he got his trial in the Warwickshire eleven m ostly as a batsman. Hitherto he had been con­ nected with the Smethwick Club, and his best perform­ ances had been in the Birmingham and District League Competition. “ How Warwickshire lost Barnes,” is the heading of an article which appeared in a Man­ chester paper some weeks back at the time when he was asked by A. C. MacLaren to join his team for Australia. How or why he was lost to Warwickshire is a matter which concerns the executive of that county alone. The fact remains that for some reason or other he was not seen again in the Warwick­ shire eleven. It could hardly have been that he was not worthy of another trial, for he has been one of the most p rom in en t a ll - roun d cricketers in the Lancashire League for the last six or seven years. He came straight from the Smeth­ wick Club seven years ago to Bishton to take up a professional engagement with the latter. But it was not until his third season with that club that he did anything especially noteworthy. In 1897 his highest score for Bishton was 49 against Burnley, and his bowling average 8'56 for eighty-one j proved, his last year with Bishton. After five seasons there he thought it advisable to make a change. * Naturally there was keen competition among clubs in the Lancashire League to secure his services. Six of them were eager to'engage him, and Burnley proved to be his choice. Meanwhile he had been tried for Lancashire, for which he was now qualified. Here, again, in first-class cricket he was not even a partial success, as he only scored twenty runs in the four innings he had in 1899 and his four wickets against Surrey and Sussex, cost 161 runs. Against Staffordshire, however, he made a much more favourable impression, scoring £fty, besides getting eight wickets at a cost of only thirty-two runs. For Burnley the last twojseasons his all-round cricket was simply invaluable. In 1900 he took 111 wickets at an average of 10'84; last sum­ mer his record showed 135 wickets at a cost of only 8’89 a piece. Burnley’s suc­ cess in regaining the championship of the Lan­ cashire League this year was, to a very great extent due to his bowling, admirably backed up as it was by the amateurs in the field. Effective as he was against all comers, the Lancashire executive were not likely to leave him long again untried, particularly with the bowling at times falling short. The Second Eleven matches against Yorkshire Second Eleven represented a pretty good test, and in these he came out with great credit, bowling well in the first at Barnsley, and scoring over a hundred not out in the return. By this time he had fully established his reputation with the Lancashire authorities. An invitation to play against Yorkshire at Leeds'followed, but this he‘ ‘ could not accept, |as .the Burnley Club had a very important wickets. The next season Bishton won the championship of the Lancashire League, in a great measure, through his all-round cricket. This time he took ninety-six wickets at accost of 8'44 runs apiece, and scored 514 'jruns in twenty- one completed innings,^including one of S. P. BABNK8. It eproduced hy permission o f the Proprietors of “ Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News .” } 106, which was oddly enough against Burnley again. In 1897, though he played one good innings of 100 not out against Enfield, he was not so successful either with bat or ball. This was, as it