Cricket 1902

CRICKET, JUNE 12, 1902. “ Together joined in Cricket’ s m an ly to il.” — Byron. wo. 002 . voi. x x i . THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1902. f b i c b ad. A CHAT ABOUT GEORGE HIRST. It is pretty safe to say that if all the first-class cricketers were at the present time to make a list of the players who, in their opinion, ought to form an England eleven, the name of George Hirst would appear in every one of them. It is by no means certain that he would not be worth his place in an England team even for his batting alone, for he is a dangerous customer, either on good or bad wickets, and is, moreover, not at all influenced by the state of the game, or the failure of other members of his side. But it is as a bowler, and especially as a bowler with a swerve, that he stands out so prominently to-day. He must always have had some sort of a curl in the air, like nine out of ten left-hand bowlers, who for the most part have no idea whatever that the ball does not go in a perfectly direct line from their hand to the pitch, but it is only during the last two or three years that this curl has been so pronounced as to make it a by-word in the land. Give Hirst a new ball and a side wind, and he is likely to scatter destruction before the batsmen can settle down, and it does not make much difference to him whether on such a day the wicket is hard or soft. Men who have often played against him are almost as likely to fall victims to him as the most inexperienced and nervous beginner, for there is some­ thing uncanny about the swerve, which can seldom be rightly appreciated at first. But if Hirst relied for his success on his swerve alone he would only be a bowler of a meteoric kind; on some days he would meet s^with great success, on^others he would be as harmless as the professional "of a very “ weak medium ” Saturday afternoon club. With him, however, there are fewer off days than with most men, and it is very seldom indeed that he is quite OEOBQB HIRST. {From a photo by Hawkins & Co., Brighton .) ineffective, for if the swerve will not put in an appearance the pace and accuracy of pitch are almost as useful. It cannot be said that Hirst’s action would ever lead one to suppose that he •vas a great bowler. He seems to waste so much energy before he reaches the wicket that he ought to be tired out after a dozen overs, if he were built on the lines of ordinary bowlers. In his course to the wicket he reminds one irresistibly of a cork tossed about by little waves on the sea; he bobs up and down until it seems ridiculous to suppose that he can send in an extremely fast ball, and it is only after one has studied him a great deal that one really expects to see something out of the common from him in the way of pace. But it is after all nothing but a mannerism, caused by his exuberant nature, which would lead him to chuck himself after the ball if he could do so. Like so many Yorkshiremen, he looks as strong as ahouse, with a firmly knit figure, and a vast amovnt of muscle which never seems to develop into fat. Such a man is not exaotly the type of an athlete, but he can develop a tremendous pace, and there are few men playing in first- class cricket who would care to take Hirst on for a hun­ dred yards race. At the end of the day, as at its begin­ ning, he seems all energy, and it would be a source of infinite surprise to a spec­ tator to see him careering to the further comer of the field after a ball, when he has just finished an ever, if it were not that nearly everybody else on the York­ shire side hastens in just tbe same way. You can see the same energy in the Yorkshire second eleven as in the first, and you feel just as sur­ prised that such thick-set men can get up steam so quickly, and hold on to their pace when they have once got under weigh. As a batsman, Hirst is generally, but not always, a good man to watch. There are times when he kseems incapable of