Cricket 1902

22 6 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u n e 26 , 1902. ‘ Nonsense ! ’ for I didn’t thick it possible that anyone would ever be better than E.M. promised to be. But he stuck to it. The time soon came when people said that W. G. was too good, and I had to leave him out. But his turn came again to some purpose.” “ How was that ? ” “ Well, I had arranged matches against a strong team who were mostly Kent players, some of them being county men. In the first match my two bowlers left me in a hole. They didn’t like the idea of bowling against such a strong team, and when our innings was over I found that they had vanished. So I got beaten, and was well chaffed by the other side about it. I didn’t particularly like being beaten at any time, but I was downright riled then, and I said ‘ Look here. I ’ve been disappointed by my bowlers, but I ’ll tell you what I ’ll do. I’ll give you something to laugh about on the other side of your faces in the return match. I ’ll give you such a licking as you never had before.’ They said that they’d see about that—they would bring a tremendous team against me. ‘ Bring the counly, if you like,’ I said, ‘ or anybody else.’ So I got Bill Mortlock, the Surrey batsman, and little Pooley, who was then a youngster, but jrecious gocd, J. C. Gregory, and a few others. And then I went to W. G., and said, ‘ I’ve got a match for you. Will you play ? ’ He was ready enough.” And what happened ? “ When we got to the ground—we had to play at Stratford—it occurred to me that, if the other side knew that I had brought W.G., they would back out of the match, for his name had already become a terror. So I said to W.G., ‘ If I win the toss I shall put you in first. But you had better go and change in cne of the little huts, and don’t come out till I call you.’ These huts belonged to the various clubs which played on the ground. As he was a boy, he entered into the spirit of the thing, and did as I asked. I had the good luck to win the toss, and sent him to the wickets with J. C. Gregory. For- turately nobody knew him. He leathered away and knocked the bowling all over the place. After he had been in for about three-quarters of an hour, an old gentleman, who was the secretary of the dub, came down to see the fun. *Well, boys,’ he said, to some of the spectators who had come to see me beaten, ‘ how are they getting on ? ’ The reply was that they weren’t getting on at all. ‘ Who the dooce have they got batting ? ’ said the old gentleman, taking his glasses, and having a prolonged look at the batsman. I can see him now in my mind’s eye! Suddenly he turned round, perfectly furious, and shouted ‘ Why, they’ve got Grace! ’ He was up in arms in a moment, and was for stopping the match. Then I thought it about time to put in a word. So I said to him, ‘ If you recollect, you laughed at me when I was beaten, and I promised to bring a team which you would remember. And I ’ve done it; your men will have to stop out all day ! ’ W. G. got 136 runs, and the other side were about as sick as ever men could be. But they didn’t laugh at me this time. Altogether we made three hundred odd, and they lost half their wickets for about forty.” Did you ever get Dr. Grace out after he became famous P “ Oh, yes. I was playing for a twenty- two against the United South of Eng­ land Eleven, and the match waB over in three days. A Mr. Stedman suggested that, to finish up the third day, a single wicket match should be played between twelve of our team and three of the South of England. This was agreed to and the three South of England men who were chosen were W. G., W. R. Gilbert, and H. Cbarlwood. There was immense ex­ citement over this match, much more than over the others and the betting was very lively. Of course it was all against us, and you could have got almost any odds just before the match. Very much to my surprise, I was put on to bowl first, when the three won the toss, and, as it happened, the people who had bet against us did not much like the turn of affairs. For I got W. G. stumped for 4, Gilbert caught at the wickets for a duck, and I bowled Cbarlwood for a duck. I only had to bowl nineteen balls, and I was never much more pleased in my life. We made fifteen.” What do you consider your best bowling feat after that one ? “ I should think it was taking eighteen out of nineteen wickets for the Butchers’ Charitable Institution against Twenty of the Metropolitan Club at Walham Green. The score of this match never appeared in the papers, for the opposite side, who didn’t want it to be published, got hold of both score sheets and made away with them. Some time afterwards I got the score through one of the players who bad kept it for his own satisfaction. There was another bowling performance of mine which was a good deal talked about at the time. This was in July, 1872, when I tcok eighteen wickets and caught the other two men. I was playing for Wocd Green against Willes- den United at Wood Green. Charles Fluker bowled in the first innings at the other end, and Charles Wheeler in the second innings, and it happened that I caught one man off each of them.” No doubt in your time you have dis­ covered a good many rising players ? “ Yes, a good many. But the best I ever brought out was J. C. Gregory, who was afterwards captain of the Surrey Eleven. At first he played for Middle­ sex, but the County Committee of that period didn’t understand a good man when they had one; so I persuaded him to go across the water. He was a fine bat, and one of the best fieldsmen ever seen. In the course of six years he scored 12,600 runs in all matches, which, at that time, was a remarkable feat. When he was at his best something went wrong with his knee, when he was fielding a ball, and he had to be taken to the hos­ pital. He never played again.” Mr. Absolon has had the unique ex­ perience of playing against four genera­ tions of cricketers. “ I played against John Bentley,” he said. “ He played for Middlesex, the M.C.C., and, I think, for the All England Eleven, from about the beginning of the last centuiy, till 1822. Then I played against his son Charles, who represented Middlesex for about five years, although at this time there was no actual county club. The next was John Bradford Bentley, the son of Charles. He was engaged as professional at Mer- chiston School in Scotland, and after­ wards at Christ’s College, Finchley, but be now plays as an amateur. Lastly I played against his son, Walter John Barry, who is an amateur, in business with his father as a manufacturer of cricket bats.” One of the matches upon which Mr. Absolon looks back with the greatest pleasure, was that in which he played for Mr. Buidett Coutts in Vincent Square. “ There was an immense number of carriages on the ground,” he said, “ and many ladies had come to see the match. I stopped in for about an hour and a quarter for two runs, and as I was walking away from the wicket after my innings, who should I see but the Bareness coming cut to meet me. She took me by the band and led me into the pavilion, where she introduced me to eeveial of the lacies and gentlemen who btd come as spectators. I don’t think I should have been much more surprised if Queen Victoria had c<me out instead of the Baroness. I hardly knew whether I v as en my head or my heels, and I have not ibe slightest idea wbat I said, but it was probably not very sensible. W. A. BtllEfcWORlH. KENSINGTON PAKK v. M AtLB O E O BLUES.- P laj«d at S.. Quintin's Park on June 21. M ailuobo ' B luhs . C. H. M. T hrng, c Eaniton, b Cuney 68 H. M . R< gers, b Lilke 8 S. A. P. Kitcat, c and b Dilke ................... 79 L. M . lagers, c Ken­ dall. I Dilke ......... 26 T. C. Maunders, st Greatorex, b Ken­ dall ...........................16 T. W cstiay, not out... 16 E x tra s...........10 Total (5 wkts) *208 F. Yi . I elhmy, H. Luidttt, N. Rogers, A . M. G. Black, atd A . V>. Foster did not bat. * Innings declared closed. K knsikoton P ark . H. T. Roberts, e Bell- an y, b K itcat...........38 J. L. Nicholson, c 1 lack, b Ih iii g ... 3 P. Greatoiex, c Bur- dttt, b Black ........... 4 C. G. Bildyard, c Ibiing, b black ... 9 Godfrey Harrison, run cut ........................... R. F. A. Orr, c West- ray, b K ite a t........... W. R. Murray, not out F. Kendall, not out ... J yes ........... Total (6 wkts) 80 F. W . Dilke, H. W . Cuney, and C. K. Cunnii gham did not bat. OLD CITIZENS v. NORWOOD.—Plajed at N or­ wood on June 21. O ld C itizens . R. C. Cole, c Francis, b Brown . ........... E. E. Dent, b LeMay P. W . Hale, b Last... H. Bleu itt, b Last ... J. H. Bartelt, cH . Le­ May, b Brown........... W . Spencer, c Fran- 72 cis, b Brown ........... 0 1 J. F. Cole, c and b Brown ...................13 W . Taylor, not out ... 4 D. R. upsdale, not out 2 Extias ...........18 Total (7 wkts)*188 J. C. Hayden and W . A. Nye did not bat. * Ini ings diclared cl t Bed. N orwood . S. Holland, b Blewett 5 A . Francis, not out ... 32 L. Manvell, o J. F. W . Brown, not out ... 26 Cole, b Taylor...........12 j Extras ............12 S. Kay, lbw, b Hale ... 8 , — C. W . LeMay, b Hale 0 ; Total (4 wkts) 94 J. 8. Irons, P. C. Cartman, H. H. LeMay, H. J» Humphries, and Last did pot bat,