Cricket 1902

M a t 29 , 19 02. CRICKET • A. WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 169 T he match at Brighton last week between Sussex and Somerset went through several phases of more than ordinary interest. After Mr. L. C. H. Palairet had been twice missed, on each occasion by one of the safest fields on the side, Somerset was out for 103, and Sussex lost six wickets for 49 and eight for 58. Then Relf and Tate put on 67 runs in just over half an hour. Again in the seoond innings Sussex had lost seven men for 83 out of a required total of 122, and again Tate and Relf came to the rescue, and at last pulled the match out of the fire. A t Kensington Park on May 9 the Artists’ Cricket Club played the Benson Athletic Club (F. R. Benson’s XI.). The game was very keen, the Actors scoring 118, of which F. R. Benson made 35 and Arthur Whitby 31. The Artists scored 135, of which Gerald Chowne made 52 and G. Hillyard Swinstead 38. So far the highest total of the season is the 665 made by the Girdlestoneites at Charterhouse against the Gownboys. The match was played on four after­ noons, and was won by the Girdlestoneites by an innings and 523 runs. As three men on the side of the victors made a hundred, I append the score of the innings :— G irdlebtoneiteb . G. T. Branston, c Davies, b Growse ...184 G. A . L . Payne, c Davies, b Gillespie 81 E. S. Cripps, lbw, b Lovell ..................... 9 W . J. H. Curwen, b Buchanan.....................141 C. V . L. Hooman, c Davies, b B o r to n __46 H. M. Forster, b Bor­ ton ...............................40 C. G. Grice-Hutchin- son, c Davies, b Bor­ ton ...........................14 D. Grahame, run ont ......................... 1 G. V. Goodliffe, c Light, b Borton ...106 H. J. B. Fry, b Buc­ hanan ................. 69 H. F. Bury, not ont... 8 B 14, w 1, nb 2... 17 Total ..........6fi6 Gownboys made 48 and 94, Branston taking five wickets for 18 and nine for 38. I t may be remembered that in the Melbourne Pennant Matches, which are played onSaturday afternoons, the two sides divide the time forbatting equally each day, with certain modifica­ tions. In one of the most recent matches Carlton only lost one wicket against EastMelbournein two afternoons, and in the same time North Melbourne only lost two wickets against Melbourne. The two scores are appended as curiosities—in each match the game was drawn:— C arlton . Worrall, c M’Michael, b Laver ...158 Wame, not out............................... 66 Collins, not out................................ 0 Sundries.................. 6 Total (one wicket) 229 East Melbourne scored 186 for three wickets. N orth M elbourne . Bean, c Bruce, b Over ...................122 Noonan, c Gregory, b Over..........103 W. Carlton, not out ................. 6 Browne, not out ........................ 2 Sundries.................... 12 Total (two wkts) 246 Melbourne scored 240 for five wickets. It will be noticed that in the Carlton v. East Melbourne match only four wickets fell in the course of two whole after­ noons. This must be exciting cricket to watch 1 Two serious accidents happened in recent matches in Australia. At Sydney on April 12 a player named Ashdown in tiying to pull a ball from Marsh, the native fast bowler, missed it, and was struck in the forehead. He was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where it was found necessary to stitch up the wound, whichwas, however, not likely to be serious In the other match, which took place at Adelaide, a player named McKay, when stooping to field a ball, fell on his left arm and put his shoulder out of joint. T h e report of the directors of the Forest Hill Cricket and Athletic Ground shows that the loan from the bankers has been reduced by £415, that the net profit for 1901 was £83 13s. 9d., and that a dividend of 3J per cent, per annum (less Income Tax) can be paid. The directors point out that if 300 more shares were taken up, and the loan to the cricket club repaid, the property of the shareholders would be entirely freed from encumbrance. Some remarkable changes took place in a match at Sydney between Petersham and Central Cumberland Second. The former team lost six wickets for 44, but eventually declared at 189 without further loss. Central Cumberland had to work hard to try to play out time, and looked quite safe when the last over was called with only seven wickets down. But you never know your luck at cricket, and in that last over R. Harvey took the three remaining wickets with successive balls! His analysis for the innings was six wickets for seven runs. On Sunday last —absit omen !—the members of the Selection Committee, namely, Lord Hawke, Mr. H. W. Bain- bridge, and Mr. G. McGregor, met at the Sports’ Club to choose the England team for the match against Australia, which begins at Edgbaston to-day (Thursday). Mr. A. C. Maclaren and Mr. Pry were “ co-opted,” as the technical term goes, to aid in the deliberations, while Mr. A. G. Steel, the M.C.C. president, gave the com­ mittee the benefit of his advice. Twelve men were selected from which to choose the team, while Llewellyn and Lockwood were afterwardsasked to go to Edgbaston. The final choice will be made just before the match begins. The fourteen players are as follows:— A. C. Maclaren (Lancashire) (capt.), F. 8. Jackson (Yorkshire), C. B. Fry (Sussex), J. R. Mason (Kent), K . 8. Ranjitsinhji (Sussex), G. L. Jessop (Gloucestershire), Lilley (Warwickshire), Braund (Somerset), Hirst (Yorkshire), Rhodes (~ ' " ’ Hay __________________ Llewellyn (Hampshire), and Lockwood (Surrey). I t would serve no useful purpose to criticise the choice of the committee, for the weather this spring has been so insufferably bad that the form shown by players is not to be relied upon. Suffice it to say that the choice has obviously been made almost entirely on last year’s form, since several of the men, notably Hayward, Tyldesley, and Mr. Mason had done nothing at all this year to distinguish themselves. The two men who are obviously in form this season, viz., Abel and Shrewsbury, would seem to have no chauce of ever being selected for an England team, probably because they cannot field as well as they could years ago. We Bhould say that the sporting odds would be about 5 to 4 on the Australians. I h a d the pleasure of meeting Syd. Donahoo the other day, says “ Felix” in the Australasian. He was down for a brief spell from Brisbane, and looked in fine trim. He plays very little cricket. I asked him what he thought of Henry, the aboriginal bowler, and 8yd. replied, “ He is faster than Marsh, and certainly one of the finest fields I have ever seen ; his fielding in the interstate match against New South Wales was mar­ vellous.” Syd. also informed me that the veteran <Id intercolonial player, Ned Sheridan, the “ Scud ” of former days, is hale and hearty in Brisbane, and doing well. In fact, when Syd. left, the “ Scud ” felt so young and fresh that he thought of sending a challenge to “ Felix ” for a single-wicket match. I t will assist Cricket readers, and there are plenty of them, who follow the competition for the Second Division of the County Championship to know who are taking part in it this summer. The following list has been kindly furnished by Mr. R. H. Mallett, the hon. sec. It will be seen that there are fifteen counties competing. Bedfordshire. Berkshire. Bucks. Devonshire. Durham. Glamorganshire. Hertfordshire. Monmouthshire. Northamptonshire. Northumberland. Oxfordshire. Staffordshire. Surrey (2nd). Wiltshire Yorkshire (2nd). A bel’s 150 for Surrey v. Essex at Leyton on Monday is the sixty-ieventh innings of a hundred or more he has played in first-class cricket. He has once scored over 300, which was in 1899, when he carried his bat for 357 for Surrey v. Somersetshire at the Oval. His first innings of over 200 was 217 for Surrey v. Essex in 1895, and this and his seven other scores of 200 were all got at the Oval. The eight are:— 1896 ... Oval, v. E ssex.............. 231 1897 ... Oval, v. Warwickshire 260 1897 ... Oval, v. Notts ............. 216 1898 ... Oval, v. Kent ............. 219 1900 ... Oval, v. Worcestershire 221 1901 ... Oval, Players v. Gents. 247 1901 ... Oval, v. Middlesex ... 206* * Signifies not out. Since 1894 his aggregate in first-class matches has never been under 2,000 runs. Last year it reached 3,309 which is so far the reoord. G. L e B lano S mith , a good all-round cricketer who has played once or twice for the Young Amateurs of Surrey, is captain of the Radley College Eleven this summer again. With him are no less