Cricket 1902

CRICKET, SEPT. 11, 1902. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. no. 015 . v o l. x x i. THU RSDAY , SEPT. 11, 1902. p r ic e 2 d. A CHAT ABOUT CAPT. A. H. MEHTA. Capt. A. H. Mehta, popularly known among the cricket public as “ Johanny,” was born on April 8th, 1876, at Murree. He commenced his cricket life at the early age of nine, and, indeed, it may be said that almost from the cradle he was a cricketer. He was for a long time at AUahnbad, and played for Allahabad Cannington C.C. and the Volunteer C.C., winning golden opinions as an all-round man from the locil cricket circle. In 1893-94 he went to Karachi and played for the Parsees and Sind Volunteers, doing havoc in bowling as well as in batting. In 1896 he was invited by the Bom­ bay Parsee Selection Com­ mittee to play in the international game, Parsees v. Presidency. In 1898 he accompanied the Parsee team on a cricket tour to Northern India, and played against Simla and Patiala, the latter including Prince Ranji, Brockwell, and J. T. Hearne. He was very suc­ cessful with the ball, captur­ ing seven wickets for 38 runs. Prince Ranjitsinhji was so much struck by his bowling performance that he recommended him to the late Maharaja Sir Rafinder Singh of Patiala, with the result that he got a com­ mission as captain of the Household Troops (of which Prince Ranjitsinhji is Hon­ orary Colonel). There he remained four years, and in this period his best per­ formance was during the cold weather season, October, 1899, to March, 1900, in which he played twelve first-class matches against the cream of Indian cricket, and took 105 wickets for 825 runs—a record for India. When he was playing on December 8th, 1901, for Parsee Gymkhana v. John Bright C.C., he made a score of 30 runs in one over (three 6’s and three 4’s), and altogether scored 69 runs in fifteen minutes. His hits included five 6’s and nine 4’s. At one time he intended qualifying for Gloucestrshire. He is a splendid hitter, of Jessop’s type, and is considered to be one of the best bowlers in India; he bowls medium pace, with off and leg breaks, and works well with his head, and has great command over OAPT. A. H. MEHTA. (From a photo by Bourne <k Shepherd, Bombay.) the ball. A brilliant field anywhere, he is a great favourite of the public; on the cricket field he is a source of joy to the spectators. He has had a purely English education, and talks English as if to the manner bom. His height is 5 feet 11 inches. His future performances will be looked forward to with more than ordinary interest. A jax . THE COUNTY SEASON OF 1902. Shorn of most of its glories by the visit of the Australian team, the past county season has brought little but disappoint­ ment and unrest to committees and players alike. The ever-growing serious­ ness and importance of the Championship Competition have resulted in increased expenses,5but the weather has been so shock­ ingly bad that the receipts have tbis year failed to keep up with them, and there is not a single county which can look back upon the year with absolute satisfaction. Even in Yorkshire so many matches were ruined by the weather that the highly in­ teresting balance at the bankers cannot have been added to at all largely, and some of the more unfortu­ nate counties must be won­ dering what things are coming to. Yorkshire was the only county which could manage to defeat the Austra­ lians, but their performance in dismissing the team of 1902 for 23 will never be forgotten. Two years ago in review­ ing the county season we stated that despite the vic­ tories of Yorkshire, the team which had attracted the greatest attention during the season was that of Sussex with their eighteen drawn games and brilliant efforts which not only frequently saved them from defeat, but often played themselves into a winning position. This year the Yorkshiremen have been easily first and the rest nowhere; in fact they have been a class by themselves, and thus deserve special notice. Under these circumstances we cannot do better than quote a few of the commentaries upon them which appear in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph from the pen of “ Looker-on,” who has made a special study of the team. These appear on another page.