Cricket 1902

C R IC K E T, O C T . 30, 1902. Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil ho. «i7. voi. xxi. THURSDAY, OCT. 30, 1902. p rice 2 d. M R . A R T H U R H A YG A R TH . AN INTRODUCTION AND SOME AUTOBIOGRAPHI­ CAL NOTES. The name of Arthur Haygarth will call up pleasant memories to readers of Cricket , who played the game many years ago, while those who cannot go back so far will like to read what is said by a man who was not only a great cricketer, but the com­ piler of the famous “ Scores and Biograpirns.” For a long time Mr. Haygarth has been an invalid, and by his doctor’s orders he is not allowed to talk about cricket at all, but, fortunately, he is not precluded from writing on the subject. As a direct interview was th<re- fore out of the question, Mr. Haygarth has very kindly consented, at my r<quest, to give some autobiographical notes for the benefit of readers of Criclet. Every cricketer knows, or ought to know, that the great work of Mr. Ha>garth’s life has been the compilation of the famous series of “ Scores and Biographies,*’ of which the earlier issues are so highly prized by collectors. Fourteen volumes have now appeared, bringing the work up to the end of the year 1878, and it is generally felt among cricketers that it will be a thousand pities if some effort is not made to have the series completed up to the present time. The diffi­ culty is, of course, the expense ; not that the compiler has ever askel for or received a half­ penny asa reward for his labours —fur throughout his long life he has always written purely for the love of the game—but the actual expense of printing buch large volumes would be very great. Nevertheless, it is not a credit to such a wealthy community as that of English cricketers that such an impoitant and useful work should be cut off in the middle, and it is devoutly to be hoped that some way may be found out of the present impasse. In compiling the ten thousand pages, of which the work consists as it stands, Mr. 11aygarth has had to correspond with hundreds of cricketers, to write thousands of letters, to collect material from all sorts of out-of-the- way quarters, to wade through miles of pages of cricket books, MSS. and news­ papers, and it does not seem right that such labours as were entailed should be thrown away. There are immense difficulties in the way of continuing the publication of the “ Scores and Biographies,” but can it be truly said that they are insuperable ? In addition to his work on the “ Scores and Biographies,” Mr. Haygarth contributed MR. ARTHUR HAYGARTH AT THB AGE OF 37. largely to other publications — Almanacs, Guides Tutors, Companions, etc , especially very many pages in the earlier issues of *•Wisden.” He also wrote heaps of letters to Bell's Life , which was then the chief, if not the only paper, dealing with cricket. In no case did he ever ask for or receive a single sixpence for his work; on the contrar}r, he spent large sums annually in obtaining information to bring it up to date. At the end of the year 1900 and at the beginning of 1901, several articles on cricket, suggesting improvements in the game, and signed “ An Old Harrovian,” were published in Cricket. Mr. Haygarth was the author of these articles, and he wrote them with the sole object of trying t? do good to the game which he so much loves. He also wrote the lines addressed to the Harrow Eleven on July 12th, 1900, and the lines on Alfred Mynn on July 19th in the same year. Very many times, too, under the same signature, he has written paragraphs for Cricket , chiefly about Old Harrovians who have passed away. Asa cricketer, Mr. Haygarth may reasonably claim to have been the founder of the school which afterwards produced Alec Bannerman, Scotton, Barlow, Willie Quaife, Louis Hall and Dr. R. Macdonald. He did not make many runs, but by keeping up his wicket for hours on the terribly bad pitches of that time, he gave other men opportunities to do so. So strong was his defence and so unwearied his patience, that if his day had been the present, matches against English teams in Australia would drive critics to despair, for Mr. Haygartli would doubtless be chosen as one of the repiesentatives of England—unless, indeed, Aus­ tralia rose to a man to bar him. Mr. Haygarth, who was seventy-seven yeais old on August 4th, has been a total abstainer since the summer of 1862. He has never smoked. For the last twenty-one years he has resided in London, and despite his great age he is almost as enthusiastic about the game of cricket as he ever was, and it is the only regret of his later years that his life’s work has not been brought up to date, and his one great hope is that it may be completed before the time comes when it will be too late. W. A. B e t t e s w o r t h . AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. I have nothing to relate about my “ early ” crickl t that I know of, beyond what appears in my two Biographies in Vol. III. and Vol. XIV. of Cricket Scores and Biographies .