Cricket 1902

CRICKET, JANUARY 30, 1902. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. XI. THU RSD AY , JAN U A R Y 30, 1902. pb ice 2d. A CHAT ABOUT JOHN BRIGGS. It was with the deepest concern that the news of the sudden illness of Briggs in the match between England and Australia, at Leeds, in 1898, was received by cricketers of all kinds, for the little pro­ fessional was one of the most popular players ever seen on a cricket ground. His successful re­ appearance in the Lancashire team last year gave universal satisfaction, but unhappily his recovery was only temporary, and after a serious collapse, he died a week or two ago. The secret of his popularity is not far to seek. He was of a somewhat happy-go-lucky disposition, with a fund of humour which seemed inexhaustible. In addition to this, it is well known that he was exceedingly good natured and kind hearted. On the cricket field he was a source of joy to the spec­ tators, whose expectations of being amused by some of his quaint doings were very seldom disappointed. The caricaturists, who have of late years worked so hard and so success­ fully to please the cricket public with more or less suggestive draw­ ings of players in their characteristic attitudes, were in the habit of representing Briggs as a clown. In this they hardly did him justice, for, by nature a low comedian of exceptional merit, he never over­ stepped the bounds of low comedy. But much may be forgiven the caricaturists, for have they not given us, in a good natured way, every attitude and mannerism of Briggs—his lengthy stride when walking by the side of a big man, his way of hurrying, his look of woe when he had made a duck’s egg, M b smile when he had distinguished himself by some notable perform­ ance? His pretended attempts to make the shortest of runs always served to delight the crowd, who were nevertheless in a fever of excitement for fear that this time he would certainly be run out. Wise fieldsmen understood well enough that he never let himself go quite as far aB the point beyond which there would not be time to return to his wicket in safety, but unpractical or excited men sometimes banged the ball in with great force, with JOHN BRIGGS. {Fr»mj>Tphoto by^Messrs. Hawkins^&^Co.ftBriyhtor. the general result that there were overthrows; they had to learn by experience that a man of this sort is very seldom run out when he is playing at running. In many other ways Briggs was very entertaining when engaged in the game, while off the field he was also very funny indeed at times. The story that he once took Dr. Grace’s cricket bag by mistake, and proceeded to change without discovering that anything was wrong until the laughter of his friends aroused him to the absurdity of the situation, is probably only an invention of someone who knew him. Like most real humourists, he had his serious side, sometimes being very depressed, for he had many worries and troubles. When he first played for Lanca­ shire he was really only a mere boy of whom great things were antici­ pated in the future, and for many years he was generally known as “ the boy Briggs.” At first he was only remarkable for his fielding, and it was not until 1885 that he began to attract much attention as a bowler, just when Peate was going off. For a long time there were fears that after all that had been prophesied of him he would never get beyond a certain stage of excellence which he had already attained; but when he once began to develop, his skill increased in a remarkable manner, until he became one of the best half-dozen all-round men of the day. As abowler he was almost bound to get wickets in the long run, for, slow left hand, he was able to make the ball turn a good deal when he derived the least assistance from the ground, and to make it come off the pitch with a good deal of devil in it. Even on perfect wickets he often did well, much to his own surprise, for, as he told me some years ago, all the best batsmen knew his tricks with the utmost thoroughness—his fast ball never deceived them, nor did the ball which he bowled some feet behind the bowling crease—and that in future his only chance was against beginners. For all that, he only had about two years of small success, and in the year when he was taken ill he was in such splendid form that he was chosen for England against Australia, at Leeds—the match