Cricket 1903

A pril 30, 1903. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 99 AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. By F. S. A shlbt -C oofib . A player who willprobably addgreatlyto his reputation during the coming season is Mr. P. R.May,who has occasionally assistedLondon County, and who is now in residence at Cambridge. As he was born in March, 1884, he certainly has youth on his side, and, if his performances in club cricket are of any use in determining his ability as a bowler, he should certainly meet with success in first-class matches. He owes all his skill to Mr. John F. Macpherson, of Thorpe, Chertsey, Surrey —one of the most enthusi- as followers of the game one could possibly meet—who has trained him, with a view to first-class cricket, ever since he was eleven years old. May has always shown real genius for bowling. He has the ideal temperament —always cool, even when he gets hit out of the ground —is very strongly built, and has a grand constitution. As a boy he bowled perfectly straight from the first (not a wide in hundreds of overs) and a beautiful length, with a splendid natural action. Most people prophesied that he would certainly over- bowl himself, but ho got steadily faster and better every year. He frequently saw good players, and it was soon found that he had good imitative powers. Further, he began to develop finger work, discovered for himself a way of holding the ball (new to him) so as to get a fine off-break, and to cultivate an excellent slow ball. Now he gets about half his wickets with slows, and half with extra fast ones. The papers spoke of him last season as a fast bowler, and so heis, excep­ tionally so for his age (which should be of special value to him at Cambridge), but against M.C.O. and Ground in one innings he got Trott, King, and Raw- lin with slow balls, and against Leicestershire he clean bowled Mr. 0. E. De Trafford with a very slow ball in each innings. Eecently he has bowled big leg-breaks with equal suc­ cess. As a batsman he has magnificent scoring strokes. In his first-class matches he has played on thedefence, but he is naturally a fine free hitter, but not straight; however, he iB slowly but surely improving in this respect. For Young Amateurs of Surrey against Teddington last summer he scored 38 in ten minutes, including nine four’s, and in 1899, when appearing for Thorpe Juniors, made 95 not out out of 11* in a very short time. Last season he twice exceeded the hundred for Thorpe St. Mary’s, his second three-figure score being made in seventy-seven minutes on a ground on which the biggest drive and hardest cut goes for two, all run. His score included twenty-eight of these, each worth four, six of them off one over of the Ashford professional. In the field he is exceptionally good; can throw nearly one hundred yards, catches any­ thing, and is untiringly active. His averages for the Thorpe clubs are appended:— AVERAGES FOR THORPE JUNIORS C.C. BATTING. BOWLING. Comp. Total 1897 . 1898 , 1899 . 1900 . 41 . 54 , 27 . 7 . . 209 . . 643 . 192 . . 104 . Totals 129 1048 Aver. O. B. W . Aver. 5*09 377. . 608 . . 168 . . 361 1005 375. . 513 . . 207 ... 2 47 7-11 220 . 4^2 . . 113 . . 3 82 14 85 48. . 91 . . 29 . 313 8-12 1020 1644 517 3-17 Correct State o f the Game, Printed on the Ground. BY W IN D SO R , FROM GR AVESEND . G r a n d M a t c h o f C r i c k e t . Between Ken t and A ll England. Played at Town M ailing Aug. 17th 18th. & 19 1 8 4 0 . ENG L AN D , 1st Innings 2nd Innings, R. W. Keate, esq. b. Mynn.. 0— b Mynn . . . . 0 R. Kynaston esq. b Mynn .. 6— c Wenman.. 13 Guy leg before wicket . . . . 1— b. Mynn. . . . 0 Sewell c. D ickers.................. 11— b Hillyer .. 17 Fenner, b Mynn .................. 4— c Mynn . . . . 8 Cobbett, c Hillyer.................. 8— c Dicker .. 5 Box, b Hillyer ...................... 0— b Hillyer .. 2 Redgate, c. Dicker .............. 28— b Mynn . . . . 7 C. Taylor, esq b. Hillyer . . . . 1— c Pilch . . . . 2 G. L. Langdon esq c Harenc 6 — run out . . . . 11 Lillywhite not out .............. 2— not o u t ....... 3 Byes 12, Wide 1, no balls .. 13—Byes 3 Wide 3 6 Total 80 Total 74 K E N T , 1st Innings 3nd Innings. Smith b Lillywhite .......... 3— run out . . . . 0 W. Dorrinton c Cobbett . . . . 1— not out . . . . 3 C. Whittaker, esq run out .. 1— Pilch, c G u y ........................... 46 — 12 E. Wenman c Box ............... 9— not out . . . . — Clifford, c Langdon .............. 0— b Lillywhite 4 A. Mynn, c Langdon .......... 6 — c Fenner . .. 20 Adams, b Lillywhite.............. 16— b Lillywhite 5 Hillyer, not out .................. 5 — c Box.......... 0 Harenc, esq b Lillywhite . . . . 12— Dickers b Cobbett.............. 1— c Box.......... 0 Byes 4, Wide, 6 No Ball, 10—Byes 1 W ide.. 1 Total 110 Total 45 Umpires. Messrs. Bailey and Good A Full Statement Published at the end of each innings and at the Conclusion of the Days Flay. 2d. Each AVERAGES FOR THORPE ST. MARY’ S C.C. BATTING. BOWLING. Comp. Total Year. Inns. Runs. 1899 ... 27 ... 142 ., 1900 .. 28 ... 208 . 1901 ... 39 ... 599 . 1902 ... 86 ... 76V . Totals 130 1716 In the thirty-eight innings he commenced in 1902 for Thorpe St. Mary’s, he was not once disposed of without a run. It will be seen that in six seasons he has taken 1060 wickets for the two clubs, at an average cost of i'5 runs. If we add the wickets he has Aver O. R. W . Aver. . 6-25 302. . 749 .. 144 .. 5'20 742 236. . 617 .. 125 .. 4 93 .16 35 361. .1100 .. 155 .. 7 09 .21 30 267. . 7C3 .. 119 .. 5 90 13 20 1166 3169 543 6 83 obtained for Surrey Colts, London County, &c., &c., we find that he has over 1200 in all to his credit, or an average of two hundred a year between the ages of 13 and 18 ! Has any bowler of his years ever before taken so many wickets in club cricket, as distinct from school games ? Yet he could have taken a good many more during the past two or three seasons if he had bowled seriously in his less important matches. Some of his best per­ formances with the ball for the Thorpe Juniors were—8 for 10 v. St. Peter’s Choir, 13 for 21 v. London Road, 7 for 11 v. Mission Hall, 5 for 6 v. Stroude, and 6 for 7 v. Schoo of Handicraft, all in 1897; 8 for 6 v. Schoo of Handicraft, 7 for 8 v. St. Peter’s Choir, 6 for 6 v. Staines Linoleum Juniors 11 for 21 v. Addlestone Baptist Choir, 7 for 9 v. Hythe Park, and 9 for 3 v. Chertsey Mission Hall in 1898; and 13 (all bowled) for 16 at Mortlake, 13 for 24 v. St. George’s College 2nd X I , and 7 for U v. St. Michael’ s in 1899. For the senior club he has performed as follows —All 10 wickets (eight clean bowled) in an innings for 12 runs v. Weybridge Albion, 5 for 6 v. Gogmore, 7 for 8 v. Chertsey, 7 for I t v. Egham Congregational, and 7 for 14 v. Egham in 1899; 13 for 21 v. St. George’s College in 1900 ; 9 for 12 v. Sunbury D.A.W. in 1901; and 5 for 1 v. Sunbury D .A .W ., 8 for 12 v. Mr. Bartlett’s X I., and 7 for 14 v. Horsell and Wokingin 1902. Although the above feats were accom­ plished in matches of little note, the youth of the bowler must be remem­ bered. It is quite probable that in P. R. May Surrey will find the bowler of whom they have for so long been in need. During the non-cricket season the enthusiast can indulge in no more pleasant task than searching through old sporting magazines and newspapers and reading of the doings of the great men who flourished in the top- hatted period. There is a freshness and a quaintness about the old-time reports with which one does not meet in those of the twen­ tieth century. An amusing skit at the expense of the Alresford Players appeared in the Sporting Magazine for July, 1812. As it has never been reprinted in the columns of Cricket, it is reproduced now, verbatim et literatim :— “ The latter end of last month ” — i.e., June, 1812—“ a match at cricket was attempted to be played between eleven of Alres­ ford, Hants, and eleven of Droxford, but owing to thexainy weather and other circumstances, it was not played out on the Saturday even­ ing, and the players could not agree to go in again on Monday; the odds were against Alresford. In consequence, the Postmaster of Alresford received the following letter:— 4Hence, hence, ye undescending showers, Nor touch those sugar’d skins of ours.’