Cricket 1902

CRIOKET, JUNE 5, 1902. n 5©9—ez=D0©( 1 i l l s ^ 4 I t II § “ Together joined in Cricket’ s m an ly to il.” — Byron. vo. 601 . v o i. x x i. TH U R SD A Y , JUNE 5, 1902. p r i c e ad. A CHAT ABOUT A. J. HOPKINS. The preponderance of New South Wales in the personnel of the Australian team now here is still exercising the minds of some of the best cricket writers in Australasia. The inter-state rivalry between Victoria and New South Wales may account in part for the disapproval of some of the Victorian cr itic s . O utsider*, who notoriously see most of the game, go as far as to hint that personal pique is mainly responsible for a good deal of the deprecia­ tion which has been so freely indulged in by one of the most prolific of the Victorian c ric k e t scrib e s. E ven “ Felix,” one of the most able of Australian cricket recorders, in quite a recent number of his journal, the M e lb o u rn e Australasian, takes exception to what he calls the peculiar action of the Australian Eleven Selection Committee of 1901-2, Messrs. Trumble, Hill and Noble, in giving such a large share of the representation in the present Australian team to the players of New South Wales. How far these objections are justified, the results of the tour will, of course, show. Certainly New South Wales can claim eight of the fourteen who form the fighting strength of the Australian team. Of the eight, four at least, S. E. Gregory, J. J. Kelly, M. A. Noble and Victor Trumper, should be oertain- tiis, one would think, in any Australian team of the present day. Of the rest, W . P. Howell proved his great capacity as a bowler here three years ago, and, fit and well, is bound to be successful on English wickets, particularly if the pitch helps him the least bit. R. A. Duff was one of quite the best of the young cricketers of Australia last season, and on public form it is difficult to see how he could be left out of a representative Australian team of to-day. As the reserve wicket-keeper, H. Carter, barring accidents, will not have a very severe trial to undergo. Last, but not least of the eight, comes A. J. Hopkins, one of the later choices of the selection committee. How he compares with some of the best of the cricketers who did not satisfy the require­ ments of Messrs. Trumble, Noble and Hill we are not in a position to judge over here. That he was on his public form one of the most useful all-round players of the last season in Australia is however certain. Australian cricketers have, as a rule, to go through the often heavy mill of club crioket, some of course more than others, before they can hope even to get a chance in inter-state matches. Hopkins, who is a native of Sydney, made his mark first as a member of the North Sydney C.C., the club which also trained It. A. Duff. An excellent* innings of 115 for the Fifteen against the'Eleven of New South Wales in 1896-97 was his first performance of any real account. He was then twenty-one, and two more years were to pass before he got another chance in a big match. His career as an inter-state player practically began with the season of 1899. So far he had been known mostly as a batsman of promise. The match between New South Wales and Victoria that season showed that he was some­ thing more than a mere run-getter. Five wickets for 24 runs was his record as a bowler, and against the Victorian eleven of that season, one of which any bowler might have been proud. What success he had in 1900-1 was mostly as a batsman. Though always useful, his only notable score was one of 65 against South Australia at Adelaide. The presence of the English team in Australia last winter gave him, as it did all the leading Australian cricket­ ers, better opportunities. The best of several good performances with the bat was in the return match with Victoria at Sydney. On this occasion he helped to put on 165 before a wicket fell in New South Wales’ first innings, laying the foundation of what proved to be a hard-earned victory for his side. It was no doubt this performance which ensured him a place in the Aus­ tralian eleven for the last two matches against the Englishmen. His one success was in the fourth test match, and his first score of 43 was without a doubt quite one of the best batting displays of the game. In the few opportunities he has had over here Hopkins has shown A. J. HOFKINI. (From a Photo ijt R. Thiele &• Co., 66, Chancery Lane, London.)