Cricket 1903

J olt 9, 1903. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 267 I n the second match of the Streatham cricket week against the Incogniti, played on Tuesday, 686 runs were scored for the loss of only nine wickets. As this is a decided cricket curiosity I append the scores here:— B treatham . N. Miller, not out...................................... 200 H. S. Barkworth, st Tabrum, b Sarel ... 2 C. J. Parton, c Tabrum, b Chaplin.......... 21 E. J. Dobson, not o u t ............................... 0 Kev. H. F. 8. Adams, c Airey, b Cowley 110 B 14, w 4 ........................................... 18 Total (3 wkts) ... *351 * Innings declared closed. I ncogniti # W . G. M. Sarel, o Parton, b Phillips ... 193 H. P. Chaplin, c Scott, b Hooper ....................0 K. G. Cowley, c Miller, b Hooper ............ 17 H. F. Fox, c Drower, b Hooper ............ 17 L. H. W.Troughton.c Miller, bWileman 52 A. S. Bailey, not oat ................................ 40 B. M. Airey, b Phillips ......................... 5 B 9 ,lb 2 ........................................ U Total (6 wkts) ... 335 I n the free seats at Lord’ s on Tuesday during Gentlemen v. Players :— Spectator: “ The larst time I come here Fry got a duck and Ranji didn’t make a blessed run. To-day Fry gets five and Ranji he gets nine. It’s dis­ gustin’.” His Friend : “ Well, ’t anyrate you’ve ’ad a chawnst of seein’ some good bowlin’.” Spectator : “ Bowlin’ ! Well, that’s a bit heavy, that is ! Who the doose wants to pay sixpence to see bowlin’ ! ” O ne of the best bowling performances of the present season was that of J. B. King, for the Gentlemen of Philadelphia in the second innings of Lancashire at Manchester on Tuesday. Lancashire had made 35 before lunch without the loss of a wicket, but when play was resumed King, in three overs, took five wickets for 6ix runs, and although there was for a time a check to his run of success, he finished up the innings by taking nine wickets for 62, thd tenth man being run out. In the first innings King took five wickets for 46. F or North Hants v. South Hants at Alton on Tuesday, Bowell, the Hampshire professional, scored 237 out of a total of 378. Only two other men on the side made double figures, H. V. Hawkins scoring 61 and G. P. Burrell 19. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the following extract from the Sydney Referee : — It is not generally known, but it is a fact all the same, that Cricketer C. B. Fry once held a commission in the British Army for four or five consecutive days, at least. While Fry was at Oxford he was awarded a direct commission in the army, and this he accepted with much pride. Shortly after, a notification was sent along ordering him to join his regi­ ment at Woolwich forthwith. To this Mr. Fry replied he would be pleased to take up arms in defence of his King and country as soon as ever the cricketing season, which was just then beginning, was over. The official response to that was of the donkey’s gallop order, short and lively, but Btrictly to the point, for it took the form of a notice in The London Gazette, which ran as follows :— “ C. B. Fry, gentleman, has resigned his commission in the Eoyal Artillery.” Conse­ quently C. B. bowled no Boers out, but it must have been a shock to him to find that there was at least one matter which the English authorities placed before cricket. A n elaborately attired person, presum­ ably a man, was explaining the game to some overdressed ladies during the Oxford and Cambridge match, and amongst other remarks he made was one during the time that Evans was bowling, and the wicket was a bit dusty. He said, “ I can’t think why they didn’t change the wicket during lunch, as the present one is so dusty ! ” In a recent number of La Revue refer­ ence is made to a remarkable feat of memory on the part of M. de Blowitz, the late famous Times correspondent. It is said that after listening to a great speech by M. Theirs he rushed to the telegraph office, and having got permis­ sion to write in a room by himself, he alternately closed his eyes in order to see the words rising before him, and opened them to commit what he had recalled to paper. The next morning the speech was reproduced in the Times, This was no doubt a wonderful performance, but it is stated on the most reliable authority that a fieldsman who, in a big match a few days ago, stood near to a friend who had just dropped a catch given by a dangerous bat, was able to repeat the subsequent speech verbatim without closing his eyes at all. B y scoring 232 not out in the second innings of the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’s, C. B. Fry has exceeded the highest score previously made in these matches, viz., the 169 by Dr. W. G. Grace in 1875. Thus one by one the Doctor’s records go, but with wickets so vastly improved, it is really a wonderful thing that he has held so many of them for so long. A. C. Maclaren’s score was 168 not out, and as this was only a run below the previous record, he would per­ haps have deferred the declaration a little longer if he had known what was the record. ------ R e a d e r s of “ Gossip” will join with me in expressing deep regret at the news of the death of W. Methven Brownlee, whose share in Dr. W. G. Grace’s famous book is so well known to thousands of cricketers. Everybody in the West of England knew Mr. Brownlee, who in former days played cricket himself, although he was better known as a first- class lawn tennis player. His |book on lawn tennis was one cf the best ever written about the game. His son would have played for Oxford againstCambridge but for his father’s death. F OR SALE.—M.C.C. “ Cricket Scoro and Bio­ graphies ” in 16 volumes from 1746 to 1878, complete, good as new, uniformly bound in crimson cl jth with gilt lettering, with official index by J. B. Payne. Price £l'» 10s. Apply, Robert R. Parke, the Mount, Malton, Yorkshire. G E N T L E M E N v. PLAYERS. AN INNINGS OF 232 NOT OUT BY C. B. FRY. THE MATCH AT LORD’S. Played on July 6, 7 and 8. Drawn. In the absence of the Australian team, Gentlemen v. Players at Lord’s is always the match of the year, and as the days go on it rather seems to be gaining popularity than losing it. It is one of those matches in which the crowd are connoisseurs almost to a man without being fiery partisans of either side; the cricket is the main thing to be enjoyed, the result not being a matter of life or death. As usual, the M.C.C. had got together very strong teams, although this year they were not quite representative, for it cannot possibly be said that the Gentlemen were at their strongest when F. S. Jackson and Jessop were obliged to decline, and when H. K. Foster was not playing. The Players team would have been undoubtedly much improved by the inclusion of Lockwood and Hirst, but the latter, with a weak leg, did not like to risk anything, and so decided to remain aloof. There was a very large crowd to witness the first day’s play, which as it happened, was not as interesting as it might have been. In the first place, the fielding of the Gentlemen, which is usually so brisk and business-like, was often commonplace, though Warner and Bumup greatly distinguished themselves, while the batting of the Players was not very attractive, and the bowling of the Gentlemen somewhat commonplace. The Players, who were captained by Hayward, won the toss, and, although the stand for the first wicket produced 114 in an hour and thirty-five minuteB, the two batsmen found that the bowling was by no means easy to deal with, for the wicket, while it was never really difficult, was not altogether in favour of the batsmen at first, and if any of the Gentlemen had been a Lockwood or an Australian, the chances are that the Players’ innings would have been greatly shortened. As it was, Brearley alone of the amateurbowlers seemed to be likely to get many wickets, for it was certainly not one of Evans’s days, and cf the five other bowlers who were tried, only Dowson met with any success to speak of. Perhaps the first wicket partnership was the most attractive of the day, for both Hayward and Braund played very pretty cricket. At lunch time the score was 127 for Hayward’s wicket, Braund being not out 65, and Tyldesley not out 2. Soon afterwards Braund was caught at mid-off by Maclaren, who, a few minutes later, when Tyldesley was rash enough to run for a hit to the same direction, threw down the wicket. Three wickets for 144. Then followed a long partnership between Denton and Knight, the latter being very anxious at first, and taking half an hour to play himself in before making a run. When he had settled down he gave a fine, but always cautious, exhibition of the game, and was still at the wickets, with 98 to his credit, when stumps were drawn. As it was his first appearance in this match, his debut was oneof themost succassfuleverknown. Denton played a lively, attractive, but some­ what lucky innings, for he was twice rather badly missed. Undoubtedly the innings of J. Gunn afforded more delight to the spectators than that of anyone else during the day, for he made 28 in little more than twenty minutes, making four 4’s off an over from Bosanquet. A minute before the now customary interval for tea the Players were in amost satisfactory position, for with 274 runs on the board they had only lost four wickets. But Brearley