Cricket 1902

2 0 2 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u n e 12, 19 02. thirty summers ago. Devotedly attached to the club and loyal to its interests, it is no exaggeration to say that he was never happy away from the Oval. Until his last illness he hardly spent a day off it, and he died where he had lived practically all his life, a few hundred yards from the Oval. The Street family have been associated one way or other with Surrey cricket since the formation of the county club. Harry Street, who was, by the way, brother of the ground keeper of the Blackheath C.C., as well as a nephew of James Street, Surrey’s fast bowler of the seventies, and a cousin of A. E. Street who played for the county some six years ago, was the last survival of a connection lasting over nearly sixty years. T h e Yorkshire eleven this year seems to be stronger than ever. It was thought that the absence of Frank Mitchell would make a vast amount of difference, but behold! F. S. Jackson steps into his place, and in addition to making runs when they are badly wanted, has met with very great success with the ball. If by any chance it happens that neither Hirst nor Rhodes nor Jackson is suited by the wicket, Haigh comes in and scatters destruc'ion all around him. There are several men who can make runs under any conditions, while the fielding is all that could be desired. It does not look as if any other county could hold its own against them, at any rate as long as the wickets continue to be soft. C. B. F ry has only himself to blame if cricketers own to being disappointed with him this season. He has set himself such an extremely high standard, having made runs on all sorts of wickets, under all kinds of difficulties, that when he only makes a series of moderate scores (which would be counted excellent by most other men) people shake their heads sadly and say that he is not the man that he was. But when he once makes a fair start the bowlers who are opposed to him will wish that he had retired at the end of last year. The odds against his being at the head of the averages at the end of the season are not so very great even now. I t was but natural that the Australians, accustomedto play cricket under a broiling sun, should have been severely affected by our invigorating climate of this season. On Monday last, Darling and Howell were in bed in London with influenza; Saunders was gradually re­ covering from an attack of i t ; Noble was recuperating at Brighton, on account of the same complaint; while to crown everything, Trumble, who made his first appearance of the season in the match at Oxford, was obviously ill, and after bow­ ling for some time with great success, ~was compelled to retire—with influenza* I t has been suggested that under these untoward circumstances the match at Lord’ s to-day, between England and Australia, should be postponed, and played at a more convenient time. But this would be mistaken generosity, for how could it be possible to determine where to draw the line in the future ? A side must stand or fall by its accidents, however severe or disappointing they may be, and it would never have occurred to the Englishmen in Australia last year, when half of them were hors de combat, including their only bowler, to suggest that the matches should be played on other days. There would be no great honour in winning if half the Australian team were ill, but neither would there be great honour in winning if one side were overwhelmingly handicapped by the weather. Two men on Monday covered them­ selves with glory while nearly all their companions in the same team failed to distinguish themselves. At the Oval, Abel scored 151 runs out of a total of 266 from the bat, and went right through the innings. The next score on his side was 34. At Lord’s, Iremonger made 100 out of 162 for Notts against the M.C.C., the next score made during the day being 22 by Shrewsbury. L a s t week, in two innings out of four, Rhodes, who is perhaps the best slow wicket bowler in the world taken all round, was not put on for a single over, the Yorkshire captain finding other men, who were better suited by the wicket. He has probably never had so little work before in a week since he was in the York­ shire eleven. On Monday this week be showed that he had lost none of his skill by taking seven wickets for 24 runs fcr Yorkshire against Middlesex. T h e latest bowler to do the hat trick is Hopkins, the Australian, who against Cambridge University disposed of R. N. R. Blaker, K. R. B. Fry, and E. R. Wilson with successive balls in the second innings. Hopkins took seven wickets for 10 runs, finishing off the innings by taking six wickets in three overs for four runs. Before this match he had only taken two wickets for 98 runs. The details of his analysis were as follows :— . l . | l . . | . . . | 2 1 . l . . . | www |. w . |. 2 w w . . | . . . 1 1 . . | | . 2 1. . . |. . w A MATCH recently took place in Tas­ mania between eleven members of the M’Cullock Family and Ulverstone. The family won by five wickets, T. M’Cullock scoring 62 not out. This is the third year in which the same match has taken place. 4 “ B r i e f I n s t r u c t i o n s t o Y o u n g P l a t e r s ” is the title of a Chapter in Ayres’ Cricket Companion, for 1902, which also contains a photograph and short biography of C. M’Gahey, a list of fixtures, etc. The following anecdote is given at the end of the book. B oy : “ C’rect card, Sir—right up to the last wicket Sir,” O l d G ent : “ Why, there’ s nothing on th e c a r d ! ” B o y : “ No Sir. It started to rain ten minutes arter they went in, and they’ve tooken luncheon early.” “ THE|Metropolitan (New York) Cricket Fixtures for 1902” is aneat little pamphlet published at ten cents by the “ American Cricket Annual,” 150, Nassau Street, New York. It is compiled by Mr. Jerome Flannery, C o n v e n ie n t to carry in the waist­ coat pocket are two tiny books published in Scotland, and dealing with Scottish cricketers and clubs. One of them is “ The Scottish Cricket Record for 1902,” published, and apparently compiled, by R. W. Forsyth, R«nfield Street, Glasg >w. The other is “ The North of Scotland Cricketer’s Companion,” publi-hed and compiled by Joe Anderson, Perth. Price one penny. I n the selection of John Nyren’s Cricketers’ Tutor for their latest volume of the Sportsman’s classics, Messrs Gty and Bird have shown a nice appreciation of the fitnesiof things just now when we are still anxiously wailing for a taste of the real joys of the gane too long deferred by the exi crable weather of the past six weeks. Tne fact that the new Nyren, which, by the way, is to be illus­ trated, is edited by Mr. F. S. Ashley Cooper, is a guarantee of itself that full justice will be done to the old heroes of Hambiedon, whom Nyren portrayed so graphicalli’. Interesting facts concern­ ing the history of the Hambiedon Club will see the light for the first time in the new volume which is to appear very shortly. THE ONSET. A BATTLE SONG. [To-day the match at Lord’s between England and Australia begins.] Sound an alarum ! The foes are here ! I see their Trumper, their Joe austere; Their Duff and their portly Clemappear : Huzzah! Sound! Till with sadness their Trumper moans, To his captain’s dismay, while their Notie groans: What! Shall we shake at a man like Jones f Huzzah ! - Huzzah! Have we not bowlers as good as they ? Have we not chartered our Ranji to play ? Have we not Fry or; our side to-day ? Huzzah! Look! They are staggered by yon stout Hirst! Steady awhile ; let them do their worst! Now is your time ! Kill Trumper first! Huzzah !—Huzzah ! Back up each other ; if Trumper crows, Fight, till he white with terror grows ! Fight, as they fought for the oldwhite rose !* Huzzah ! Sound ! Bowl their terrible Trumper out! Bowl ! Put their brazen Hill to rout! Sound to the battle ! Sound and shout. Huzzah!—Huzzah! W.A.B. * Yorkshire beat the Australians at Leeds. P AR8I CRICKET, with 27 Illustrations, by M. E. P ay si. - A History of I’.irHi Cricket given in a lucid aud concise form. Records and many memor­ able achievements of prominent Parsi cricketers, etc. Price, 4 s .; post free, 4s. 3d .— Cricket Offices, 168, Upper Thames Street, E.C.