Cricket 1902

THE FINEST BAT THE WORLD PRODUCES. S e pt . 4, 1902. CRIOKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 387 BUSSEY’S CO CO p e r £ CO BUSSEY’S AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. B y F . 8 . A sh ley -C o o pbr . The defeat of Yorkshire at Scarborough at the hands of the M.C.C. came as a genuine surprise. The eleven placed in the field by the premier club was hardly calculated to give the champion county a close fight, but once again the glorious uncertainty of the game manifested itself, with the result that the stronger team suffered defeat. It is so very seldom that a side succeeds in beating York­ shire that a few remarks here on the subject of the defeats sustained by the county during the past few years may be considered appro­ priate. The period of Yorkshire’s pre­ eminence may be said to date from the com­ mencement of July, 1899, since which date the county has played 115 matches, of which 64were won, 7 lost and 44 drawn. The results year by year are as follows:— Year. Played. W on. Lost. Drvwn. 1899 ... 18 ... 7 ... 1 ... 10 1900 ... 32 ... 19 ... 1 — 12 1901 ... 35 ... 23 ... 2 ... 10 1902 ...30 15 ... 3 ...12 In county championship matches during the same period the record of Yorkshire is still more extraordinary, viz., 96 matches played, 55 won, 3 lost, and 38 drawn :— Year. Played. W on. Lost. Drawn. 1893 ... 16 ... 6 ... 1 ... 9 1903 ... 28 ... 16 ... 0 ... 12 1901 ... 27 ... 20 ... 1 ... 6 1902 25 .. 13 ... 1 ...11 The seven matches lost by the county since the commencement of July, 1899, are as follows:— Year. Against. Ground. Tonbridge 1900 1901 1901 1902 1902 1902 i st. Kent M.C.C.&G. Lord’s Somerset Leeds England Somerset Lord’8 Sheffield Australians Bradford M.C.C &G. Scarboro’ Margin. 8 wickets. 182 runs. 279 runs. Inns. & 115. 34 runs. 44 runs. 26 runs. From the above it will be seen that four of the defeats sustained by the county were in representative matches, and that the side has not lost a county championship match away from home since losing to Kent at Tonbridge in August, 1899. Furthermore, Somerset­ shire is the only county which has lowered the colours of Yorkshire on one of the latter’s home grounds. These are splendid records, and bear eloquent testimony to the wonderful all round ability of the side. Three of the seven defeats chronicled above may in a large measure be attributed to Braund, who, for Somersetshire at Leeds, in 1901, scored 0 and 107 and obtained four wickets in the second innings at a cost of 41 runs,; for Somersetshire at Sheffield in 1902, scored 31 and 34 in a low scoring game, besides obtaining six wickets for 30 runs in the first innings and nine for 41 in the second ; and for M.C.C. andGround at Scarborough last week made 44 and 11, and took six wickets in each innings, for 77 runs in the first and for 34 in the second. The 30th of August, 1902, will undoubtedly rank as one of the red letter days in the career,ofWalter Mead, of Essex. As abowler, Mead occupies a unique position among cricketers, for he is the only player who has twice succeeded in obtaining as many as seventeen wickets in a great eleven a-side match. The first occasion upon which he performed the feat was for Essex against the Australians at Leyton in 1893, when he obtained nine wickets for 136 runs in the first innings, and eight for 69in the second. Two years later, when Essex played Hampshire at Southampton, his analyses were eight for 67 and nine for 62. F. P. Fenner (in 1844), William Mycroft (in 1876), W. G. Grace (in 1877), and C. T. B. Turner (in 1888) are the only other bowlerw who have taken as many as seventeen wickets in a great eleven a-side match, although H. Arkwright’s record of eighteen for 96 in the twelve a-side match at Canterbury in 1861, between the M.C.C. and the Gentlemen of Kent, must not be over­ looked. For many years past Mead’s bowling has caused him to be regarded as a tower of strength to the side, but he has seldom been looked upon—even by his friends—as a bats­ man. Hence his score of 119 against Leices­ tershire at Leyton on Saturday last came as a surprise—a pleasant one, it may be added—to all. He made his score, too, at a time when runs were badly needed, and when the bowl­ ing against him was fresh, and therefore his performance was of far greater merit than if it had been achieved when runs were of little value to the side and when the bowling was demoralised. The annals of first- class cricket contain several instances of a three-figure score being made by a great bowler, who had never previously given a hint that he was capable of notching as many as a hundred runs in an innings. As far back as 1863 John Jackson made 100 for Notting­ hamshire against Kent at Cranbrook, whilst three yenrs later George Tarrant scored 108 for Cambridgeshire against the University at Fenner’s—an inningscharacterisedas ‘ ‘ almost brutal in its freedom.” In 1877 Platts ob­ tained 115 for Derbyshire v. Hampshire, at Derby, whilst in 1897 J. O’ Halloran, on his first appearance in an inter-State match, played a not out innings of 128 for Victoria against South Australia, at Melbourne, and whilst in with A. E. Johns (57) added 136 runs for the last wicket, thereby setting-up a record for Australian cricket which has yet to be beaten. Two years ago C. H. Ransome and W. S. Medlicott made 310 runs together for the first wicket of Wiltshire against M.C.C. and Ground at Lord’s, a feat they surpassed last week in the match on the same ground, between the same sides, by obtaining 401 before a separation could be effected. A part­ nership of 400 rnns is still a very notable performance, and the one referred to above has onlybeen exceeded on twenty-one occasions in the whole history of the game, and but twice at Lord’s ground. The most lengthy stands made on the Marylebone enclosure are :— 454 for 3rd, W . Barnes (266) and W . Midwinter (187), M.C.C. and Ground v. Leicestershire, June 1st and 2nd, 1882. 419 for 2nd. W . Gunn (219 not out) and W. Atte- well (200), M.C C. and Ground v. Northumberland, August 9th and 10th, 1889. 4J1 for 1st, W . 8. Medlicott (219) and C. H. Ran- some (212 not out), Wiltshire v. M.C.C. and Ground, August 29th and 33th, 1902. 3*8 for 4th, A. G. Grant-Asher (215) and R. H. Johnston (163), Grange v. M.C.C. and Ground, July 11th and 12th, 1892. 310 for 1st, W . 8. Medlicott (169) and C. H. Ran­ some (147), Wiltshire v. M.C.C. and Ground, August 15th and 16th, 1900. The fact that Medlicott and Ransome should twice make over 300 runstogether for the first wicket of Wiltshire against M.C.C. and Ground at Lord’s recalls to memory some of the long partnerships indulged in by Shrews­ bury andGunn for Nottinghamshire v. Sussex. On six occasions the two famous batsmenhave added over two hundred runs together when playing against Sussex, as follows :— 398 for 2nd, Shrewsbury (267) and Gunn (196), at Nottingham, 1890. 312 for 2nd, Shrewsbury (165) and Gunn (161), at Brighton, 1891. 274 for 2nd, Shrewsbury (164) and Gunn (156), at Brighton, 1893. 266 for 5th, Shrewsbury (209) and Gunn (122), at Brighton, 1884. 241 for 2nd, Shrewsbury (154*) and Gunn (125), at Brighton, 1898. 208 for 2nd, Shrewsbury (114) and Gunn (150), at Brighton, 1899.