Cricket 1901

A p r i l 25, 1901. CRICKET ; A^WEEKLY RECORD OV THE GAME. 89 Cricket: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON, E.C. THURSDAY , A P R IL 25 th , 1901. " C R IC K E T " is the only paper in the world solely devoted to the game. T e r m s o f S u b s c r ip tio n :— 6 /- per annum. 7/- post free abroad. Payable in advance. All communications to be sent direct to the Offices of Cricket , 168, Upper Thames Street, London, E.C. ^ a t n i t o n <3 o m p , The abstract and brief chronicle of the time.— ' Hamltt. N e x t Wednesday, May 1, is the date of the annual M .C.C. meeting, which is of more than usual importance this year, because the suggested alteration of law 24 is to come before the entire body of members without having previously been passed by the committee. The proposed law is as follow s:— T h e S t r ik e r i s o u t . Law 24.—Or, if with any part of his person (except the hand) which is between wicket and wicket, he intercept a ball which would hit his wicket: leg before wicket. W i t h his usual astuteness, Dr. W . G. Grace, when asked at a meeting of the London County C.C. to give a pronounce­ ment as to what would be the attitude of the club on the question of throwing, diplomatically replied that he should not think there was much to add to what had already been said on the matter. He considered that the Crystal Palace Club hardly had a right to express an opinion, seeing that it was hardly on a level with the first-class counties. It might be said that the captains had shirked com ing to a decision, but the fact that the question had been brought forward would no doubt result in much good. Umpires would most likely be more strict in the future. As a result of the suggestion whic’ i was made some time ago b y a member of the Kent County C.C., that the pavilion on the St. Lawrence ground at Canter­ bury should be made a museum of cricket curiosities, the Managing Com­ mittee have received a present of a cricket ball from Colonel J. H. Sankey and his brother, Mr. W . G. M . Sankey, of Gravesend. This is the ball with which a match was played at Mailing on August 20, 1833, between the famous Alfred Mynn and a Mr. Dearman, of Sheffield, the challenger. The result of the match was that Mynn made 34 and 88 and Dearman 3 and 11. The com ­ mittee have arranged to place this gift in a fitting place in the Canterbury pavilion, and hope to be able to add other relics connected with the history of the game in Kent. In a leading article, the F ield doubts whether the proposed new l.b.w . law would be rightly apprehended b y um­ pires, or that it would be accurately administered, and adds the follow ing remarks:— The law as it now stands has always been a stumbling block, especially to such umpires as are generally available in club cricket; and yet it is incomparably simpler and easier to work than that which is put forward in its stead. To be quite sure that a breaking ball would hit the stumps is in four cases out of five almost impossible, unless it is pitched between the wickets; to discern at the same time the exact spot on the batsman’ s pads that the ball strikes is a serious addition to the difficulty; and to determine further that this spot is or is not in the line of the wickets might task the eyesight of Argus himself. Thus, though the reform ought to be of little assistance to the bowler, it may well become in the hands of the ordinary umpire a most dangerous weapon. That it will not cause great disattisfaction in club and village matches is beyond the bounds of probability. T h a t the executive, continues our contemporary, have not ventured to recommend any course with reference to the proposed change in the law of leg- before-wicket is no small reason against the innovotion; but yet so earnest and so large is the reforming party that its success would not cause great surprise. An inkling of the state of opinion may be gathered from the fact that the committee, after consulting the counties and finding them averse to the proposed change, resolved, nevertheless, to leave the decision to the general meeting. In these circumstances, even though individual members of the com­ mittee should advocate the new law, it cannot be said to come before the meeting with adequate credentials. Such amendments of the cricket code as have hitherto been adopted have first received the approval of the counties and of the M.C.C. committee as a body, and it will be a strange departure from precedent if the meeting should take a leap which the counties have rejected and the committee shrink from advising. I t would seem that the popularity of Ranjitsinbji is understood so well by committees of provincial cricket clubs that they realise that it would be a fine thing for them if he would open their bazaars, etc. Some time ago he made a v«-ry (successful debut in this line of pub­ licity. H e had promised to open another bazaar in aid of the W igan C.C., but was obliged to decline ow ing to a recent attack of influenza. But he did the next best thing by sending a telegram of con­ gratulation and wishes for the success of the undertaking. Ranjitsinhji has been practising during the last few days at Cambridge. P r a c t ic e on the Essex ground began on Saturday, although a few days before there did not seem the slightest possibility that the turf could be played upon. Am ong the batsmen who have sampled the bow ling are Mr. Kortright, Mr. A. J. Turner, Mr. A. Buxton, Carpenter, Mr. McGahey, Mr. Perrin and E. H. D. Sewell, who is now at the head of the ground staff. Shaw, Albert Trott and Peel have commenced their engagement, for which Essex is indebted to Mr. C. E. Green. T he sixth annual issue of the Derby­ shire Cricket Guide, compiled b y Messrs. L . G. W right and W . J. Piper, jiin., has just made it s appearance. It is published at the price of twopence by Bacon and Hudson, Colyear Street, Derby, and con­ tains Derbyshire cricket records and statistics, an article on cricket by “ L .G .W .,” portraits and biographies of H . Bagshaw and Mr. A. E. Lawton, as well as much useful information. It is wonderful that the book can be brought out at such a low price. R e f e r r in g to Mr. Lawford, a batsman with an easy style, a good defence, and extraordinary driving power, the Annual explains how it came about that he adopted his style:— At one time a score from him was an uncertain quantity, for he was originally a “ slogger,” pure and simple. He found, no doubt, that playing carefully on hilly wickets, such as prevail only too generally in the Peak district, did not pay, a notion of which his mind was not wholly disabused until he was thrown regularly into first-class company. I n the article on Bagshaw, the same Annual says:— As long ago as 1880 he was nominated for a place in the Colts’ team, and in Whit-week of that year he played among the 22 young­ sters who took part in the trial match with the Eleven. On the same occasion, by the way, Mr. L. G. Wright came undei- the observation of the County Committee, but both of them fared very badly, Mr. Wright making 0 and 2, and Bagshaw 0 and 3— figures which anything but foreshadowed the brilliant future that lay before them as bats­ men. Here, by way of parenthesis, we may tell a story against Mr. Wright; he declares to this day that he “ bagged a brace ” in that particular match, the 2 with which he was credited in the second innings being in reality leg-byes, which were placed in the batsman’s column through a mistake on the part of the umpire. Y o u n g cricketers may be encouraged by reading the remarks in this Derby­ shire guide upon the career of Bagshaw in the follow ing years :— His failure in the Colts’ match caused him to be over-looked by the “ powers that were ” until 1887, when his splendid record in local cricket again forced him under their notice, and, in that year, he was first tried for the County. It was against M.C.C. at Lord’s, but he broke down completely, retiring with a “ pair of spectacles” —bowled Kawlin, 0; and run out, 0. In this match, by the way, Joe Hulme likewise made his first appearance for Derbyshire, and he, too, failed to give promise of anything great. It was the open­ ing match of the season and Bagshaw was not again called upon until the middle of the following summer when he turned out against the Australians at Derby. He scored 9, not out, and 2, but only played in one other match in 1888, namely against Essex, at Derby, scoring 4 and 6. He was so much out of favour that in 1889, he was not once selected for County honours. However, his (Jay of reckoning was at hand, for in 1890 he came out top of the Derbyshire averages with 25*71 as the result of nine innings.