Cricket 1903

154 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M a y 21, 1903. OBITUARY. A rth u r S h r ew sb u r y . Arthur Shrewsbury was bom on April 11th, 1856, at NewLenton, near Notting­ ham, and died at Gedlin, Notts, on the 19th inst. He learnt his early cricket as a member of the Nottingham Meadow Willow Club, and gave such great pro­ mise of developing into a player of unusual ability that when only 17 years of age he appeared for the Colts against the county eleven. His debut in import­ ant cricket was a distinct success, as he obtained 35 runs against Alfred Shaw, Morley, Martin McIntyre, and J. C. Shaw in a manner which met with the unanimous approval of the critics. The first occasion upon which he figured in a county match was against Gloucester­ shire, on the Trent Bridge Ground, in May, 1875. That season he gained an average of over 17 runs an innings—an excellent performance for a young player in the mid-seventies. So favourable an impression did his displays in various parts of the country produce, that in the following year— i.e. 1876—he was chosen to assist the Players against the Gentle­ men at Lord’s, thereby gaining tbe high­ est honour which could possibly bs bestowed upon him, after participating in first-class cricket for a single season only. His performances in Gentlemen v. Players’ matches would have been alone sufficient to cause his name to be remem­ bered as long as cricket is played. He appeared for the Players as many as thirty times, scoring 1,749 runs in 46 completed innings, average 38’02, and exceeding 100 on four occasions, making 127 at the Oval in 1886, 111 at Lord’s in 1887, 151 not out at the Oval in 1892, and 125 at Lord’s in 1897. To deal with his lengthy career in detail would far exceed the space at command, but it may be stated that most good judges of the game consider him to have been the best batsman we have ever had after W. G. Grace. His style was formed on that of the late Richard Daft, and was graceful in the extreme, as indeed were all his actions, either at the wicket or in the field. His beautiful style of play always made the bowling to which he was opposed look quite easy, even on the worBt wickets. His finest innings was probably his 164 for England against Australia at Lord’s in 1886, made against Garrett, Evans, Palmer, Spofforth, J. W. Trumble and Giffen on a wicket which varied in pace considerably. So hard were runsto obtain that only one otherplayer on the side made as many as 25. Shrewsbury, who maintained his form to the end of his career—being indeed at the head of the batting averages last year—visited Australia four times, always meeting with great success. His many long partnerships with Gunn will always cause the names of the two players to be bracketed together, like those of Hay­ ward and Caipenter of earlier time and those of Abel and Brockwell and Brown and Tunnicliffe of more recent years. Shrewsbury’s highest innings in great matches were :— 267, Notts v. Middlesex, at Nottingham........ . 1887 267, Notts v. Sussex, at Nottingham.. ... ... 1890 2?6, Non-Smokers v. Smokers, at E. Melbourne 1887 232, Shrewsbury’s England X I. v. Victoria, at Melbourne ..............................................1887 227*, Notts v. Gloucestershire, at Moreton-in- the-Marsh ...................... ................... 1886 524*, Notts v. Middlesex, at Lord’s ..................1885 212, Notts t . Middlesex, at Lord’s ................1892 209, Notts v. 8 ussex, at Brighton ..................1884 207, Notts v. Surrey, at the Oval.........................1882 £03, Shrewsbury’s England XI. V. Australian X I., at Sydney ... ....................... ... 1888 • Signifies not out. Last seasoD, for the first time in his career, he made two separate hundreds in a match, scoring 101 and 127 not out for Nottinghamshire v. Gloucestershire at Nottingham. Ten years ago he missed performing the feat by a few runs only, making 106 and 81 for England v. Aus­ tralia at Lord’s. His scores at head­ quarters will be found to be very large indeed, and in 1887 in successive innings on that ground he made 119, 152, and 111—afeat which hasneverbeen equalled. The year of 1887 was a most successful one for him, as during the season he exceeded the hundred on eight occasions, and scored 1,653 runs with the phe­ nomenal average of 78’ 15. Mr. Arthur Haygarth, in Scores and Biographies (xii. 658), sums him up a d m i r a b l y H i s wrist play is elegant; he drives w ell; he possesses strong defence; and his style is shaped in the best school. His fielding is safe and excellent; he is a sure catch, with a quick return; and he covers a considerable amount of ground.” He was one of the very few men who had played as many as one hundred three- figure innings in all kinds o f matches. F. S. A-C. M r . J ohn G rosyenor B e e v o r . The following are some additional notes to the obituary of Mr. John Gros- venor Beevor, which appeared iu last week’s Cricket. He was in the Upping­ ham School Eleven from 1859 to 1862, where he had as a brother-in-arms Mr. C. E. Green, who in turn played for Sussex, Middlesex and Essex. In 1867 he played his first match at Lord’s for the Free Foresters against the M.C.C., while two years later he assisted his native county against Surrey at the Oval, and Yorkshire at Sheffield. In the Oval match he went in first wicket down at 36 and was fourth out at 173, having by very fine bitting knocked up 88 against the bowling of Southerton and Street. Standing over six feet, and being very powerfully built, Mr. Beevor made the full use of his physical advantages, and warmed up an over (four balls then) of lobs from W. B. Money to the tune of 13 runs—two off- drives for four each, and an on-drive for five. The close of the match was very exciting, the Notts men getting rid of the last five Surrey wickets for 10 runs, and winning with a quarter-of-an-hour only to spare. Daft’s generalship did much to win the match. He went on with his slows in the second innings of Surrey and took five wickets for 23 runs, four of his victims being stumped by Biddulph. He obtained the last four wickets in ten balls. Mr. Beevor’s only other match that year was against York­ shire, at Sheffield, where he made 23 in “ good free style.” In the same year he played for the Gentlemen of Notts against the Gentlemen of Warwickshire, at Beeston, where he ran up a fine score of 100 against the late David Buchanan’s bowling. In 1870 he made bat three appearances in first-class company, two of which were for his county against the M.C.C. and Surrey. In the former match he made but 3 and 3 and found himself opposed to his old school-fellow, Mr. C. E. Green, whom he caught out. It was in this game that poor George Summers was struck on the cheek-bone by a kicking ball from Platts and died not long after­ wards. Mr. C. E. Green, in an interview with the Cricket Field, has graphically told how Daft, who was the next man in, came to the wicket with a towel bound over his cheek as a safeguard. The match was remarkable in other points, for example, W. G. Grace and Daft, each as in 1869, made a century. Grace in the first innings went in first and took out his b it for 117, he and J. W. Dale making 165 of the 175 made by the M.C.C. from the b a t! They put up 127 for the first wicket. In the second inniDgs the “ Champion ” was bowled by J. C. Shaw for 0, the ball breaking the middle stump. Mr. V. E. Walker fielded during a part of the Notts first innings, but having hurt bis hand, retired, and Mr. H. A. Richardson played through the rest of the match in his place, an incident not without its counterpart in recent years, and one which provoked a good deal of discussion. Again did Mr. Beevor “ come o ff” at the Oval, making 24 and 53, the latter a slashing innings, containing a 5 and six 4’s, Notts being the victors by 108 runs. His only other first-class match was for Gentlemen of the North against Gentlemen of the South at Beeston, where he made 1 and 59. This was the most remarkable scor­ ing match of 1870, no less than 1,114 runs being made for thirty-one wickets. In the first innings of the South, G. F. Grace made 189 not out (his total includ­ ing thirty-four 4’s), I. D. Walker 179, and W. G. Grace 77. The other eight batsmen could only amass 19 between them ! For the Gentlemen of Notts this year Mr. Beevor made 46 against the Gentlemen of Yorkshire, and 50 against those of Warwickshire. He subsequently settled down to his practice as a solicitor at Worksop, and important cricket knew him no more. He was also on the com­ mittee of the County Club. When he ceased playing for Notts he assisted the Uppingham Rovers for several years. J. B. P. D a v id E a s t w o o d . A well-known Yorkshire cricketer of a previous generation passed away on the 17th inst. in David E istwood, who died at Huddersfield at the age of fifty-five. He was born at Lascelles Hall on March 30th, 1848. Quite early in his career he gained distinction by a score of 42 for “ Colts of England ” v.