Cricket 1902

THB FINEST BAT THE WOULD PRODUCES. JuLt 10, 1902. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 259 BUSSEY’S co M iJ O 6 m C m D 03 J W £ GQ s i j « 01 3 a a .§ H CO « 8 CO CO » OQ S * Q D CO CO as w o H OU I e? o O § £ BUSSEY’S AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. B y F . 8 . A hhlet -C oo pbr . The test match at Sheffield and the meeting of the rival Blues and the Gentlemen and Players at Lord’s have combined to make the past week an interesting and a notable one. For the time all interest in the county championship competition subsided, for seldom indeed have three such all-important contests been in progrt ssin one week. Those of us who can hark back to the days when representative matches were looked upon as the fixtures of the year—this is, before inter- county matches were considered of supreme consideration, and when cricket was still a game and not a money-making concern (to quote the Old Buffer) —must wish it could be possible for more such games to be played nowadays. Lord Alverstone, in the recently- published book on Surrey cricket, writing on this subject, remarks : “ I should like to see more of those which have been called extraneous matches ; at many of our great centres, as, for instance, Manchester, Brad­ ford, Nottingham, Brighton and Maidstone. I should be glad to see the champion county for the year play England, and I should like to revive the old days in which there were more combination matches against England, that the true cricketing strength may be represented in one match. There are, no doubt, difficulties in this suggestion, because the increased standard of county ciicket has put cricketers so much upon an equality. Take the case of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which is, after all, the premier cricket club in England. Look at the list of matches with which the members of Lord’s have now to be content. Can anyone say that they compare with the matches played at Lord’s ten or fifteen years ago?” Autre temps, autre moeurs : what could be easily arranged thirty or forty—and even twenty—years ago is now rendered almost impossible owing to the multitude of county champion­ ship matches. When, however, a break in the stereotyped programme occurs, it always comes as a « elcome relief. Such, at least, proved to be the case during the past week. Most followers of the King of Games, how­ ever, must have regretted that the test match at Sheffield clashed with the ’Varsity match at Lord’s, and many probably recalled the lament of a famous Irish baronet—“ Bow can I be in two places at once ? I’m not a bird ! The third trial of strength betweenEngland and Australia is now a thing of the past, and the well-deserved victory of the latter by the substantial margin of 143 runs in a somewhat low*scoring game, mu?t have confounded those critics who have all along apparently deemed it impossible for the colonists to gain the verdict against the full strength of this country. What luck there was in the match certainly favoured the Australians, but the Englishmen certainly made a great mistake in not appealing against the light on the first evening. The umpires have since stated that if an appeal had been made play would have been suspended. Throughout the game the Australians held the upper hand, and, at the conclusion of playonthe second day, it was felt that nothing short of a most exceptional dis­ play on the part of the Mother-country could pull off the match. The inclusion of Barnes in the England eleven, at almost the last minute, proved ‘ a hit, a palpable hit ’ on the first day. Whether, however, it was a step in the right direction to play him in prefer­ ence to Lockwood is a matter of opinion. The Surrey player is certainly a finer bats­ man and fielder than Barnes, and on his day is assuredly more deadly with the ball. Moreover, he can generally be relied upon to give a good account of himself all round in a representative match. The enforced absence of K. S. Banjitsinhji proved a great dis­ appointment to Sheffield folk, and possibly weakened the England eleven considerably. Owing to his inability to participate, C. B. Fry came into the team as eleventh man, and as in each of the two previous international matches, proved the lowest scorer on the side. It is difficult to see how the Selection Com­ mittee can again offer him a place in the team. Abel quite justified his inclusion by obtaining the highest score in the first innings, and should certainly appear in the games at Manchester and Kennington. In some quarters it was felt his fielding might handicap the side, but his activity at Shef­ field should end all such surmises. The catch by which he disposed of Gregory in the first Australian innings was a brilliant effort. The out-standing feature of the game was Hill’s century score on the second after­ noon, though from aspectacular point of view it was surpassed by Trumper’s innings of 62. The return to form—both with bat and ball— of Noble was one of the most noticeable and pleasing items in thematch. For some weeks it appeared as though he could do nothing right. It is sad to see a great cricketer struggling with adversity, and it is to be hoped that the recent success of Noble will prove the forerunner of many such, for a more enthusiastic player never took part in the game. In the England match, besides obtaining the highest score in the first innings of either side, he credited himself with eleven wickets, and with Hill and Trumper can claim to have had most to do with theAustralianvictory. Thebatting ofthe home eleven, it must be confessed, proved ter­ ribly dit«appointing: “ Sixtyfor no wicket: all out 145 ” is not true England form. Granted that the bowling was very fine, the fielding —as it always is—superb, and that Kelly upheld the best traditions of Australian wicket-k eping, sucha collapse is inexcusable. Maclaren and Jessop made great efforts for their side in the final phase, but received most scant assistance. Noble and Trumble bowled splendidly on the last morning, and at no time did England appear likely to bring the game to a successful issue. Hirst’s failure with the ball was one of the most surprising features of the match, but he atoned considerably for his non-success by the heroic exertions he made in the field. A word of praise is due to Lilley for his excel­ lent wicket-keeping; in the second innings he was especially brilliant, not allowing a single bye in a total of 289. The Australians are to be heartily congratulated on their victory, which was brought about by a display of wonderful all-round ability. From start to finish they held a winning position, and their success should do much to obliterate remembrance of their historical collapse at Edgbaston. To Mr. Hamish Stuart I am indebted for the following details of Jessop’s innings of 55 in the match at Sheffield:— Bowler. Saunders ... Noble Saunders ... Noble Trumper ... Noble Trumptr ... Noble Trumper ... Noble Trumper ... Noble Trumper Noble Trumble ... Runs scored. ... 4 1 ... 0 0 1 ... 0 0 4 0 2 4 ... 4 20 ... 0 0 0 2 0 0 ... 0 0 0 ... 14 1 .. 01 .. 0 1 ... 1 ... 0 2 4 0 0 1 ... 0 0 4 4 0 1 .. 03 ... 0 1 ... 2 lbw.l