Cricket 1902

2 1 0 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u n e 19, 1902. Stephen also played a good deal of cricket for Esher, the Eton Ramblers, Free Foresters, and I Zingari, and I think it was Charlie Clarke who first said that he was good enough for the Surrey eleven. He played off and on for the county for two or three years, generally making the northern tour in May when the wickets were nearly always dead, which was no joke against such bowlers as Shaw, Morley, Barlow, Peate, etc. The county nad no bowling to speak of, but two excellent captains in George Strachan and, after­ wards, Jack Shuter, the latter the best captain that ever lived. When my son gave up county cricket some very good men were coming to the front, such as W. E. Roller and C. E. Homer, and Surrey was beginning to win matches once more. Stephen’s best score for Surrey was 89, against Sussex, at Brighton. It was rather a remark­ able match, for after Sussex had scored 155, Stephen and Abel put on over a hundred for the first wicket, and it looked as if Sussex was in for a severe defeat. But in the end Surrey only won by two wickets. 1 am still so fond of cricket, and anxious to support it in every way I can, that although I am 64, I still play in two or three local (very local) matches a year.” N ATIONAL PROVINCIAL BANK v. LLOYD'S BAN K .—Played at Catford on June 9 and 10. L loyd ’ s B ank . Smith, c Stephenson, b File.......................... 1 Down wood,b Bichards 5 Melville, c sub, b File 4 W ilson, c & b Richards 0 Bennet, c Pennington, b Richards ...........12 Thomas, b Johnson... 12 Bone, not out ........... 5 F a ir b a n k , lbw, b R ichards................... 0 Byes ................. 8 Total (7 wkts) 47 N ational P rovincial B ank . H. C. J. McConachy, | W . File, c and b 2 b W ilson ... J. Price, c and b Mel­ ville ........................... a J. W . Richards, b Downwood ........... 3 H. L. Stephenson, c Beck, b Thomas ... 19 G. A. Coaser, c and b Smith...........................26 A. Harriaon, not out 33 P. E. H. Maatera did not bat. Smith ................... 0 C. Pennington, c aub, b Smith ... 5 S. H. Johnson, b W il­ son ......................... 17 W . Fear, not out ... 0 B 8, wb 3 ...........11 Total (8 wkts) 124 M ILL H ILL SCHOOL v. M .C .C .-Played at Mill Hill on June 11. M.C.C. F. W . Orr, b Auty ... 10 G. Crosdale, c Wills, b Bain ...........................17 Capt.Bradford, b Auty 3 L. Arb'ilhnot, b Dick 23 Capt. Black, b Dick .. 17 W . W .A ’deane. b Dick 1 A. Eiloart, b Dick ... 2 M ill B ill First inniDgs. N. K. Bain, c Needham, b Pawling .......................... H. C. W il's, b Pawling ... D. A . Ewen, b Needham ... J. S. Auty, c Black, b Pawling ........................... G.G.MacGregor.b Needham W . M P»nny. b Pawling ... H. J. Priestley, b Needham J. R. Dick, b Pawling J. F. Ewen, c Needham, b Pawling .......................... R. C. Taylor, b Neeoham ., L . W . Taylor, not out B yea.................................. Total ........................ W .P. Harriaon, lbw, b D ic k ......................... 8 Needham, c Wills, b J. Ewen ...................10 Burton, b J. Ewen ... 11 S. S. Pawling, not out 6 B 11, nb 1 .......... 12 Total .. 120 S chool Second inninga. 5 b Orr ................. 3 0 b Bradford.........11 0 c Harrison, b A ’deane ..........16 4 b Orr ........... 1 b Orr ........... 3 b Bradford... 0 b Orr ........... 0 st Crcsdale, A ’deane .. ... 4 ... 0 ... 0 ... 0 b ... 21 6 b Bradford......... 6 0 not o u t ............ 3 2cBlack,b A ’deane 1 11 B 8, w 1 ............ 9 82 Total ............. 74 SHORT CRICKET STORIES.* It does not seem very long ago since “ Tales of the Stumps” was published, but the book bas without doubt met with success or it would not have been so soon followed by “ More Tales of the Stumps.” Mr. Horace Bleackley evidently has had experience of village cricket, and the best of his stories are those which treat of this branch of the game entirely—it is only when he has to go far afield for his subject that he seems to us to be “ Bpar- ring for wind.” His new book contaios nine stories, of which we think the best is the first, entitled, “ A Clerical Error.” The following extracts from it will give a good idea of Mr. Bleackley’s style Altogether, Dolly’s uncle, who was no mean performer himself, had got together a capital side. “ I couldn’t help it. The Johnnies would insist upon playing,” he remarked, in answer to Dolly’s expostulation that he had raised too strong a team. “ Besides, its paying a compliment to old Cassock. It’ll make him uuck up, and that’s what you want.” The day before the match, while practising at the nets, the Rev. Mr. Cassock received a nasty knock on the knee-cap from one of the young grocer’s short-pitched balls, and to his great chagrin, for he hoped to excel before the fair Dolly, he became too lame to play. “ We sh a ll g e t w e ll th ra s h e d ,” h e re m a rk e d te s tily to h is cu ra te , as h e lim p e d h o m e upon th e y o u D g man’s a rm . “ I’m not so sure about that, sir,” Johnny Trouncer remarked cheerfully. “ Our school­ master is good for fifty runs every time he takes a bat in his hand in a match like this, and the grocer’s young hopeful is a demon when the wicket suits him.” Mr. Cassock groaned at the remembrance. “ Besides,” continued the curate, “ I’m not so bad myself! ” “ That only makes three,” answered the rector. “ Ah, but I’ve got somethingup my sleeve, sir. A great surprise ! ” cried the Rev. Mr. Trouncer. “ Old Hurdles is going to play for our team.” “ Hurdles ! ” said Mr. Cassock. “ Who on earth is he ? ” “ Beg pardon ! We usedto call himthat at Rugby. Of course, he was thereabout fifteen years before me, but he came down every summer term to play for tbe old boys, so I knew him well. Why, he was the best all­ round man in the Oxford eleven in his day ! He played for the Gentlemen half-a-dozen times, and twice against the Australians ten years ago. He was a deuce of a fellow ! ” “ Really, Mr. Trouncer-----” “ I was awfully surprised to find him in this neighbourhood,” continued the curate vivaciously. “ He made me promise to tell no one he was going to play. He says he has not touched a bat for six years, but if he gets into form we shall have a rare old beano.” “ Mr. Trouncer,” remarked the rector severely, “ I do not consider that these cricketing phrases sound at all well in the mouth of a clergyman.” ........... The two Oxfordmencommencedtheinnings for Dolly’s side, and began in rare style. Johnny Trouncer kept a good length, and they were not able to score much off him, but he could not bowl at both ends. It was soon evident that the wicket did not suit the grocer’s boy, or else ner­ vousness prevented him from doing himself justice, for his bowling was slogged most un­ mercifully. Then the schoolmaster tried his hand, but sixes and fours still came in great numbers. In half-an-hour the score had reached fifty ; at the end of the first hour the century was hoisted, and not a wi«ket had yet fallen. “ Ah! this must be Mr. Trouncer’s mysterious player,” remarked Dolly, who was sitting by the side of the bath chair, as a tall lithe figure came running from the pavilion. “ This, I suppose, is Mr. Hurdles. I half expected he would come masked like the Japs.” “ It is impossible to see his face at this distance,” said Mr. Cassock. “ But I don’t think I know him.” The curate was seen to welcome the new­ comer effusively, and at once put him on to bowl. He had an easy, natural action and delivered theballfromagoodheight. His first two overs yielded ten runs, and then he found his length. After beating the Oxford captain with two successive deliveries he knocked his off stick out of the ground, and bowled the county crack middle stump with the next ball. The remainder of the innings was a mere procession of batsmen. The military men were hopelessly at sea with the bowling of Mr. Hurdles, and the Oxford captain’s brother played on in the first over he received from him. His share of the spoil was seven wickets for twenty-four runs, and the final score reached a hundred and fifty exactly. The Kev. John Trouncer, who bowled unchanged, captured thethree remain­ ing batsmen. A few moments later the redoubtable Hurdles, bat in hand, strolled out into the field together with the schoolmaster. He had handsome, clear-cut features, tanned by the sun, and now flushed with recent exercise. The bath chair group, being some distance from the pavilion, did not have as good a view of him as they would have liked. “ Now perhaps we shall see some fun,” remarked the Rev. John. “ He’s been prac­ tising every day for the last fortnight.” Hurdles commenced in very cautious style, but it could be seen at a glance that he was a player of the first rank. His bat seemed to be a portion of himself, while his long reach and quickness of foot helped him to deal as he liked with every ball. The schoolmaster, who belonged to the genus Albert Ward, plodded along at the other end, and appeared indifferent as to whether hemade runs or not. There was really no need for him to score. Hurdles did quite enough of that. When he had once “ got set” —and this process occu­ pied about ten minutes—almost every time he touched the ball it glided to the boundary. Wherever the fielders were placed he found a passage between them, and though he seemed to put little force into his strokes, the ball flew from his bat like lightning. The schoolmaster had just scraped together twenty runs when Hurdles, with a mighty on-drive, reached his hundred. ' “ MoreTaleaof tbe Stumps.” By Horace Bleackley. Illustrated. Ward, Lock and Co., Ltd. THE WANDEREHS v. EALING.—Played at E ding on June 7. E aling . H. Squire, c Latham, , A. R. Littlejohn, b b Colman ...........33 A. E. Baker, b C. A. Beldam ... ... 8 E. S. Littlejohn, b Colman .................. 9 C. A . Beldam ......... 13 R. H. Mallett, not out 15 Extra ................... 1 Total 79 F. G. Jolly, W . E. Peal, W . G. Cheatle, H. H. Perry, S. W. Coxon, and E. Lowes did not bat. W anderebs . Did not bat owing toj*aiij.