Cricket 1902

O ct . 30, 1902. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. 443 IR IS H C R IC K E T IN 1902 . (B y a C orrespondent .) The season of 1902 being now a thing of the past, it may be of interest to readers of Cricket to hear how the game progressed during the summer months in Ireland. It is a sad but indisputable fact that the great national game has never made much headway in this country. The reason is not very clear, but perhaps it is that theIrish temperament, so pre-eminently adapted for football, is unsuited for the necessary qualities of a cricketer— patience and solid determination amongst others. However we have several very capable cricketers, and some really brilliant players quite worth their place in most county teams in England—L. H. Gwynn, T. C. Ross, F. H. Browning, the brothers Hamilton, and both the Lam­ berts, to mention only a few names which occur to me as I write. It is a great pity that Irish cricket which is of a superior quality to Scottish in that there are several more first-class native cricketers playing than there are north of the Tweed, should be in a far less healthy condition than in Scotland. The inauguration of a county championship on the lines of that now existing in Scotland over here would do the game a world of good. As it is there are some counties which can boast very respectable teams, so that it is not from lack of talentthat wehavenochampion­ ship. Perhaps when the success of the institution in Scotland is 6een, Irish cricketers may possibly rouse themselves and establish a similar champion­ ship. In spe spiro. The best province for cricket is un­ doubtedly Leinster, which contains the four leading Dublin clubs, Phoenix, Dublin Uni­ versity, Leinster and Pembroke, as well as three very fair county teams, Co. Kildare, Co. Wicklow, and Co. Meath, but there is a welcome progress in Ulster cricket where thers is a good deal of local interest in a cup which is fought for at the end of every season by various clubs around Belfast. There have been some remark­ ably efficient cricketers in the north, one of whom is now the well-known Worcestershire wicket-keeper, Gaukrodger. An inter­ provincial match is played every year between Leinster and Ulster, and of late years the northern teams have shown very good form— effecting a very even draw at Dublin this year. Despite the miserable weather, the past season has not been without its en­ couraging features. The unfortunate dispute between the leading Dublin clubs which cast such a gloom over the cricket season of 1901 has been satisfactorily settled. An All Ireland team has played four first-class matches in England with considerable success, and an Irishman has assisted the Gentlemen v. the Players at Lord’s—all very gratifying facts to record. There can be no doubt that Earl Cadogan’s generous hospitality in entertaining a repre­ sentative team of Irish cricketers has given a much needed fillip to the game in this country, but it was a mistake to have the tour so early as it was—before men had got into proper form. The team as originally chosen included B. Hamilton, the finest bowler Ireland has had during the last 10 or 15 years. It was a thousand pities that he was unable to play, for in addition to being almost irresist­ ible when the wicket suits him, he is a splendid forcing bat without a particle of funk. He has a beautiful easy action like Rhodes, and like the Yorkshireman, bowls left-hand slow medium and bats right hand. He did not appear once during the whole season for his club, the Phoenix, and I hope his cricket days are not over. His inability to play on tour was a sad loss to the team which badly required a good left-handed bowler. Another misfortune was the fact that the greatestbatsman in the team—Lucius Gwynn— was unable to play after the first MB. P. □ . DROWNING. (From a photo by Chancellor , Dublin). week of the tour. There was not much to quarrel with in the constitution of the side when finally selected. Personally, I would have liked to have seen Rev. Lowry Hamilton, one of the best and most beautiful bats the country has produced, playing, but I suppose he could not have got away fromhis parochial work in Lancashire, in which district his splendid batsmanehip is well-known. He would have been a most valuable acquisition. Once more another mistake in having the tour so early in the year becomes apparent, i.e., before men had taken their holidays, but I suppose it could not have been otherwise arranged. The lack of a good fast bowler in the team was unsatisfactory, and I would have been inclined to include G. W. F. Kelly on the side, but perhaps he could not have got away from Oxford. On last year’s form, J. T. Gwynn who batted so magnificently for Dublin University, would have been one of the first men to select for an All Ireland Eleven, but this season he seemed dead out of form, and failed so completely in the trial match in the Phoenix Park that he lost_his place in the team. Taken as a whole, the result of the tour was decidedly satisfactory, the only defeat sustained being that from Oxford University by whom we ought certainlynever to havebeen beaten considering the team the Oxonians had last season. There can be no doubt that the most satis­ factory result of the tour was the fine bowling of Messrs. Ross and Harrington. The former was, all things considered, the greatest bowler in Ireland during 1902, and he thoroughly merited the honour of representing the Gentlemen v. the Players at Lord’s, lt was, however, unfortunate that he had to bowl on such a hard true wicket as prevailed during that match, as he is best suited by a pitch affected by rain, when he can get a lot of work on with his slow medium balls. He varies his pace and length very skilfully, and has one particu­ larly fine fast ball which whizzes in from leg at a sur­ prising pace, and keeps very low. W. Harrington of the Leinster C.C. is certainly the mos^ accurate bowler we have, and sometimes is quite irresis­ tible, but he is not so clever as Ross, and lacks variety. All the same, he is a first-rate trundler, who generally keeps the batsman playing him, not collecting lours. His record of 21 wickets at an average of 16 apiece, places him in the exalted position of first among the amateur bowlers of the year. Turning to the batting of the team, F. H. Browning proved far the most consistent scorer. He is an oldMarlborough Blue, and has always been one of our most dependable as well as prettiest bats. He appears to have played a very quiet game in all the matches, but his care was justified by results as he came off in each game. However, when he finds the bowling to his liking he can score at a great pace, and is always attractive to watch owing to his many polished strokes. As a wicket-keeper he is universally admired—on account of his neat finished style, so free from fuss or flurry. Everybody was delighted that the captain (Sir T. C. 0 ‘Brien) played by far the highest innings of the tour, and his great 167 showed that he has not lost much of his wonderful hitting powers. Both the Lamberts batted creditably, especially S.D., who is not quite such a hard hitter as R. H., but has a more finished style. As a bowler, Bob Lambert was a miserable failure, never seeming to trouble the batsmen in the least. R. E. Adair, the Pembroke Club cricketer, and one of the best all-round men in Ireland, did not by any means fulfil expectations. A very small man, he is a brilliant bat, if somewhat reckless at times, and is a pretty fast bowler, with a beautiful action and break from the off. The one Ulster cricketer in the team—Oscar Andrews —a hard-hitting batsman and fast medium bowler, made one or two useful scores, but he is scarcely class enough for an All Ireland team, and in several people’s opinion ought never to have been selected. The man who