Cricket 1903

226 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u n e 25, 1903. punching it between extra cover and mid-off. Since the war his health has to a certain extent broken down, consequent on exposure when he was on active service. Still, by taking great care of himself, he is able to keep up his wicket. Another useful bowler is Shepstone, fairly fast, with an awkward slow ball; he is an excellent field and a good bat. George Eowe seemed last season to have lost all his sting, but there is no reason why he should not come on again ; he has good physique and good health, and may get back his old form at any time. D. Lyons (Port Elizabsth), is a very promising young bowler, about twenty-one years of age; he has a delivery which deceives the batsman and varies his pace well. At short slip I don’ t know his equal. Then there is Carolin, of the Western Province. He has a good delivery and breaks both ways; but I fancy his style is apt to take too much energy out of him for continuous bowling.” “ Is there any possibility that you wil| ever get grass wickets in South Africa ? ’ “ A determined effort to bring this about is likely to be made soon. There has always been a great difficulty in get­ ting anything like uniformity in the wickets. For example, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth are the only centres where we play on matting over grass. All the other centres play on matting over fine gravel, and the consequence is that when Cape Town and Port Elizabeth players go up country, they are to a certain extent handicapped—and the Bame tbiog happens with the other centres in their turn. At Cape Town and Port Elizabeth it would be quite possible to play on the turf itself, if it were not that such a long time would elapse before the grass re­ covered. This drawback is chiefly due to a scarcity of water, which is always at a premium in the middle of the season. But there is now a strong feeling that a special effort should be made in all the centres to get grass wickets without the necessity of using matting at all, for if we wish to compete on anything like an equality with English and Australian elevens, we must play under the same conditions as they. There is some talk of the Transvaal laying out turf in the middle of the Wanderers’ cricket ground, whic'i is the finest in South A frica; it is beautifully level, and as true as a billiard table. But to get a turf wicket there would probably mean that the ground could not be used for an entire season. But for all that I believe something will be done. During their visit to South Africa, the last Australian team impressed us very strongly with the idea that it would be most desirable for us to play on turf.” “ Matting wickets seem to bring about a lot of high scoring ? ” “ It is not so much the wickets as the extreme fastness of the ground itself. A mere touch sends the ball to the boundary at such a pace that no fieldsman can get near to it. In the Transvaal, Kim­ berley, Bloemfontein and Natal innings of three and four hundred are by no means uncommon, whereas down south it is seldom possible to make more than a couple of hundred in an innings, because of the slower way in whioh the ball travels. Hence one frequently hears people in England express their surprise that the batting ia the north should be so much better than it is in the south.” “ Was the Currie Cup Tournament a success this season ? ” “ Yes. There had been no competition for three or four seasons on account of the war and the subsequent depression, and for the first time for 15 years the tournament took place at Port Elizabeth. The representative centres which took part in it were Natal, Transvaal, Western Province, Eastern Province and Border, while Rhodesia and Orange River stood down. Unfortunately there was a little feeling over the question whether Llew­ ellyn ought to be allowed to play for the Transvaal or not. Everybody was most anxious to see him play in the tourna­ ment, especially as he had been so suc­ cessful in the old country, and was, moreover, a son of the soil, but it was argued that under the rules of the com­ petition which prevent a professional from playing unless he has resided in South Africa for twelve consecutive months, he was not eligible. The Trans­ vaal took the view that although he was a professional in England, he went back to the Transvaal to perform clerical work, and was, therefore, an amateur in South Africa. They stated, moreover, that he would be returning to South Africa as an amateur at the end of the present English cricket season. The other centres did not for one moment wish to keep him out because he was a fine player; it was simply a question of precedent. The rule itself was precise, and it was framed with the idea of preventing Borne millionaire from getting three or four good pro­ fessionals for a team in order to win the cup for his centre. The ilea was to bring forward South African talent and not imported talent.” “ What is wanted in South Africa,” said Mr. Cook, “ is more millionaire en­ thusiasts who would take up the game in the same manner as is done in England. One of the first things that strike a Colo­ nial when he visits England, is to find that there are hundreds of gentlemen who keep up a good cricket ground for the sake of a fortnight’s cricket. There is nothing like this in South Africa, where you might count the well-to-do enthu­ siasts on the fingers of one hand. There is Mr. Abe Biiley in the Transvaal, Mr. J. D. Logan in the Western Province, Mr. M. M. Loubser in the Eastern Pro­ vince, who all do an immense amount of good, and in a small way there are two or three gentlemen in each of the other centres. The consequence is, that what­ ever branch of sport is taken up, and however many c’ubs are formed, the few gentlemen in each centre are generally made martyrs of. In England, with such a large population, wealthy men can take up various branches of sport, and even with us it ia not the lack of moneyed people, but the lack of enthu­ siasm that is felt.” “ Do young and promising players in South Africa get well looked after ? ” “ That is one of our difficulties, especi­ ally in the smaller centres. For instance, at Port Elizabeth we can only get a professional about once in four or five years, and the boys who are just leaving school get no opportunity of practising against the steady bowling of a pro­ fessional ; they do not improve as they ought to do, and many of them become indifferent to the game. Again, the average club player does not leave his work until half-past five, and as we have no twilight, and as, except in January and December, you cannot see to play cricket after seven o’clock, he does not get much time for cricket. Often he does not leave his work until half-past six. South Africans are always struck when they visit England by the number of old players that they see on the cricket field, and playing a splendid game too. With us a man at thirty-five begins to think that he is too old to play, but I hope that when I am that age 1 shall not think so.” What professionals have been engaged at Port Elizabeth ? ” " The first professional who came out was H. Webster, a Birmingham man; he was the first who came to South Africa. That was eighteen years ago. Then for a season we had Tom Brown, who is still on the ground staff at Lord’s, then Holland of Surrey, and lastly O’ Halloran, the Australian, who is now at Johannesburg.” “ Have you played much cricket since you have been in England ? ” “ I have joined the Surrey club, also the Wanderers, and have been booked for several matches. But this climate! What a damper on field sports of late! Why, for the past five years, I can only remember one match being abandoned in Port E izabeth on account of the weather. I have not yet got into my ‘ stride ’ on these grass wickets, but I managed to make 45 against Woodford for Mr. Harrower’s team on Whit Monday. I must say I have made many friends since my arrival here; they all put themselves out so to get me really good cricket, and if I chose I believe I could get a match every day. But, you see, my wife and children expect some attention.” Spsaking of cricket at Port Elizabeth, Mr. Cook referred to Mr. Albert Innes, a nephew of the Chief Justice of the Transvaal. “ It is a very great pity,” he said, “ that his cricketing days are over. He was wounded during the war, and can never be himself again. He played splendid cricket against the English team in 1890, and Johnny Briggs was so struck with his cricket that he tried to persuade him to go to England, and take up the game seriously like so many amateurs in the old country. He was a left-hand bowler with a natural break, and showed the utmost promise,”