Cricket 1902

Nov. 27, 1902. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 453 AN O TH ER CR ICK E T IN V A S IO N OF ENGLAND . The followiDg comm en ts on Am e ric an crick e t, ex tr a c te d from an ar ticl e in Outing , are fro m th e pen o f M r. J. A . L e s te r, th e w e ll-kn ow n P h ila d e lp h ia n p la ye r. As he has been a lre ad y tw ic e in E n g la n d , firs t fo r H a ve rfo rd C o lle ge and la te r fo r th e G en tle m en o f P h ila d e lp h ia , besides b e in g a ce rt a in ty in th e team com in g n e x t yea r, h is vie w s w ill be o f specia l in te re s t ove r here :— The recent action of the Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia in deciding to send a representative Philadelphia team to England in 1903, makes the present season a peculiarly interesting one. There are a number of young and promising players whose chances of gaining one of the coveted places will depend entirely on their form of 1903. Five years have already gone since English first- class cricket was matched against American ; and the Associated Clubs in taking such early and decided action have made a wise decision. American cricketers, though widely scattered, form, in the East at least, a sort of guild or brotherhood. In process of time, having met on the field with pleasant frequency, they know about what is to be expected of one another. A bowler has studied the strong and weak points of the batsmenhe hasto cope with, and a batsman learns by experience the wiles of each bowler he has to face. The new* wrinkles of the more strenuous professional contests of England and Australia can be learned in a superficial way, it is true, from the teams which visit us in the autumn. But the lessons are much more likely to be well learned by means of the experiences of a foreign tour, in which English cricketers are met on their own grounds. Ourbatsmen who find the old orthodox strokes good enough to get runs against the bowlers they meet, will not be at pains to learn new ones ; and bowlers who are successful in the good old way, will make none of the costly experi­ ments sometimes necessary abroad. Ameri­ can cricket thus left to itself is thus inclined to travel in a rut. We have no batsmen who take the chances habitually run by the best amateurs abroad. A great English player recently said that what made the foremost Australian batsmen so wonderfully good, was their constant endeavour to invent and practise new strokes adapted for a definite end. There is none of that progress with us. Our batsmen improve in accuracy indeed, but improvement in method is likely to be dis­ countenanced by both our amateur and pro­ fessional schools of cricket. Again, we have no lob bowler. All American cricketers regretted that Mr. Jephson was unable to accompany the English team which played here last autumn; but those who had a prospect of playing him comforted themselves with the thought that their chances of run- getting were increased. For there is no doubt that a good lob bowler would reap a rich harvest among us. The trick, too, of bowling overhand leg breaks with the fielders on the leg side, which has proved so successful recently in England, has not yet reached our shores. The reason in all these cases is plain —we have not felt the need for change; we have got on well enough. The best way to bring the latest methods into our cricket, as the committee of the Associated Clubs well knows, is by means of another tour abroad. There are, indeed, some difficulties which an American team abroad has to cope with, which no mere good luck can offset. The hard work of cricket, day after day, soon tells upon players whose matches at home seldom extend over more than six hours. Play upon grounds where the light and the peculiarities of the wicket are entirely strange, is far different from home play. The matter of the schedule of games to be pl yed in Engl nd, which never presents any difficulties to an Australian team, must he settled in our case in reference to our own strength. But there can be no doubt that the greater benefit to American cricket will come from tackling the full strength of the county teams, if the English authorities can spare the dates on their already crowded schedules. The advantage of ahard summer’s play abroad against the best players to be met, can be setn, for instance, in the rapid improvement of some of the members of the 1897 team. Witness the wonderful form dis­ played by Mr. Fred Bates, of Germantown, since his return, and the much improved bowling of Mr. P. H. Clark, of the same club. The International matches of last autumn were encouraging in one particular especially. They showed that the young players, whose performances earned them the recognition of the selecting commitlee, were exactly such as might be expected to strengthen the weak places of the team of 1897. It was not wise for that team to sail for England with only one wicket-keeper. Next year the selecting committee will have in Mr. J. H. Scattergood and Mr. Jordan, two men well able to do all the work of the tour behind the stumps. Mr. Jordan’s performance at Manheim last year, on the occasion of his first appearance as a representative international player, could hardly have been improved. Another defect in the 1897 team was that it included no left- handed bowler. Mr. Willard Graham, of the Belmont Club, was chosen last autumn for the Colts, and at Wissahickon, on a softish wicket, the Englishmen found him extremely difficult to play. Chosen for the second test match he did not come off, and showed that he had a good deal to learn in accuracy and pitch. But with the improvement the present season should bring, he ought to be a very strong candidate for a place in the Inter­ national team next year. Again, our batting in 1897, paiticularly toward the end of the side, was weak and uncertain. If there is one point in which the next representative Philadelphia team should certainly surpass the last one, it is in uniformity and con­ sistency of batting. In bowling, the burden will still fall upon the shoulders of Messrs. King and Clark; but it is quite possible to put together, at least on paper, a far stronger batting side. Another of the Colts who won his first International selection last year, was Mr. C. C. Morris; and his play in a 1 three games justifies the hope of great things. Mr. INIorris is in his second year at Haver­ ford College ; and with the intelligent train­ ing which he will get there he should leave a powerful and finished batsman. Mr. R. D. Brown, who scored a century against the Englishmen at Manheim last year, and Mr. Noble, both of the Germantown Club, would also add to the batting strength of the new team. Philadelphia (ricket is recruited from the schools and the junior membership of the clubs. Cricketers take a long time to come to maturity; and of batsmen in particular there are few good ones who have not been carefully trained at an early age. It is imperative, therefore, to foster cricket among the young membership at the clubs and in the schools. The clubs—those of Philadelphia at least—are generous in the care and attention they bestow on the juniors, as they are called. The youngsters are placed under competent coaches who get them started in the right direction. The promising junior is carefully watched by the club coach, given a chance as occasion may offer in second eleven games, and gradually works his way to recognition. A few years ago the Inter­ academic Athletic Association of Philadelphia added cricket to its list of competitive tpoits ; and some of the schools which comprise the association are beginning to prove fertile training grounds for future international players. Ample facilities are provided at schools like William Penn Charter, Haver­ ford Grammar School and De Lancey, for the careful training of bowlers and batsmen, long before the grass has grown green or smooth enough for the big clubs to iling open their gates. rIhere were the past winter, in or about Philadelphia, at least five such indoor training places for young cricketers. The Interactdemic outdoor season is over almost before the Junior Inter-club matches begin ; and the work of the schools is thus, as it were, preparatory to the work of the clubs, and is deserving of the warm support of all well-wishers of cricket. For it is only in Philadelphia that school cricket is intimately connected with that of the clubs. The best of the school cricketers often find their way to Haverford College, the institu­ tion which has done more than any other for American cricket. The list of fine players trained here who have made their names known on both sides of the Atlantic would be a substantial one. The young cricketer there continues his education under the best condi­ tions possible. There is training in a large and well-lighted cage from Thanksgiving till Easter for all who wish it. When spring comes, cricket rules supreme in the college athletics. It would be surprising to learn that so large a proportion of students could elsewhere in the country be found, devoting themselves to any other one sport, as that which is habitually engaged in cricket at Haverford. But the first great achievement of the junior during this course of school or college training, is to be chosen to play for the Colts against the foreign eleven which annnally visits us in the autumn. Fifteen Colts or sometimes more are matched against eleven of the visitors. The selection is the reward of success in the summer matches ; and if the young player has the luck to come off in his first attempt, he has a good chance to be chosen for the two more important test matches between the representative Phila­ delphia eleven and the visitors. Thus the continuous training by which an English boy obtains proficiency, beginning in his private school, proceeding to his public school, thence to his university, so to hia county team, and ultimately, if the fates be propitious, earning a selection for a representative English eleven, may in a remote way te paralleled with us. A youngster beginning at his club may pro­ ceed to a school where there is cricket train­ ing, then he may continue his practice at Maverford or Pennsylvania, and, proceeding to the first eleven of his club, win his way in the fulness of time to a representative Phila­ delphia team. To deliberately advocate such a course for an American boy may seem absurd. But it is indisputable that one who gets a boy, whoee home and future lies in Philadelphia, early and deeply interested in cricket, is doing him a very great service. The boy grows up in an atmosphere of clean and wholesome sport, among traditions which never permitted and never will permit unfair or dishonourable play. He need not heed those who tell him