Cricket 1903

290 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J uly 23, 1903. less, who has just taken his medical degree, was a Haverford boy who went on to the University of Pennsylvania.” “ Has the average boy in the States the same sort of chances of improving his cricket as in England ? ” “ To a limited extent he has. But it so often happens that he begins his career as a baseball player, and does not get a chance of taking up cricket until he leaves college. As a matter of fact really scientific baseball is entirely in the hands ot professionals, for an amateur always drops the game as soon as he leaves college. The reason for this is simply t lat baseball in clubs is not played in at all the same spirit as in colleges. There is so much trickery and so much un­ pleasantness that an amateur will have nothing to do with it. And, of course, it is very diffioult—iu fact, impossible—to keep the tiickery of the professional game entirely out of the schools, so that in my opinion baseball is not at all a good game for -boys. That is why it is such a hopeful sign in America that the schools are everywhere beginning to take up cricket. Of course there is a good side to baseball as well as a bad one, and it often happens that a boy who has been a fine baseball player at school becomes a fine cricketer by reason of the preliminary training which he has re­ ceived at baseball. Thus, Scattergood was a ‘ catcher ’ at school, and when he gave up baseball we soon found that he would make a fine wicket-keeper. Yery often, too, a pitcher, accustomed to throw a curve, becomes a bowler who can curve either way, although it is much eisier to curve at baseball than at ciicket, because the ball itself is lighter.” “ One often hears it said by Eaglish critics that cricketers ought to be ashamed of themselves at not bsing as brilliant in the fisld as baseball players. Do you think that this is justified by facts ? ” “ The critics overlook one or two im­ portant considerations. In the first place, a baseball player has a lighter b ill to deal with, and, iu the second place, everybody wears gloves. A catcher has a huge glove. All the outfields have smaller gloves, not much thicker than those worn by wicket-keepers in England. A right-handed man wears his glove on his left hand to leave the right hand free for throwing. He receives the ball on the glove and then claps the other hand over it instead of catching with both hands at once as at cricket. Of course, this makes all the difference in the world. At the same time, a baseball player must be a brilliant field and fine thrower if he is to play in a good club, and a man who is a very brilliant fielder and thrower and only a fair bat will have a much better chance than a man who is a good bat, but only a fair fielder. I may add that some of the wicket- keepers iu the States have had their gloves made on the same lines as those used by baseball catchers. They are thicker than the gloves used by ordinary wicket-keepers, and more clumsy, and can hardly be considered a Naturally enough men who have been baseball players at school are very much at sea when they first take up cricket at college. “ I remember,” said Dr. Lester, “ a freshmen’s match in which a bats­ man who made a hit ran without calling his partner, who met him half- way. He turned, and both of them ran like hares to the other end. The ball was thrown at the batsman’s wicket and missed. They both made for that end as hard as they could go. The ball was thrown to the other end, and again missed the wicket; they both ran back to that end, and eventually the batsman ran back to his own wicket, where he arrived breath­ less and in triumph. As the wicket had never been put down, neither batsman was out, but when it came to the question of how many—if any—runs had been made, there was an animated discussion. I quite forget how it was decided, but as they both ran parallel to each other each time, they cannot have crossed, so that I suppose no runs could be counted.” “ Have you noticed any changes in English cricket since you were here in 1897?” “ Well, assuming that our attack is no better than it was in 1897—personally I think it is a good deal better—English batting is not quite as good as it was. I have such vivid recollections of fielding out in match after match to three and four hundred runs, that the batting of that day greatly impressed me. Men like Jessop, N. F. Druce, and F. G. J. Ford o u ld do anything they liked with us, and could and did hit our bawling all over the field. So fir this year we have not met men like that, and on the whole it has seemed to me that English batsmen at large are not as aggressive as they used to be. Of course certain men have vastly improved, notably J. Gunn, who is quite a different c’ ass from what he was iu 1897.” “ But do you not think your pr.sant team is stronger than the last one ? ” “ I think our fielding is a little better; at any rate it is not quite as bad as it was, and no doubt that makes a very great difference to the strength of the team, for a few additional missed chances mean a very great deal. For all that our fielding is not as good as we should like; it cast us the Cambridge match, and it was very bad at Taunton. I make a point of keeping a list of all the catches which are missed, and I assure you that this has a chastening efiect on a !1 of us, for none of us can afford to feel conceited over his fielding. In the first innings of Somerset we missed no fewer than eleven citchts, and two in the second, but in nearly every case they were very difficult. In another match it may easily happen that every catch is very easy, for ia the long run luck seems to even up very beautifully in cricket.” Englishmen can hardly realise the great distances travelled by American club3on their annual tours. “ I don’t know any­ thing much about the actual distances between one town and another,” said Dr. Lester, “ but on some of our annual tours we are travelling straight on end for a couple of days or so. We have very pleasant matches in Canada—at Toronto, Ottawa, etc., and also at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where, if the garrison happens to contain some good cricketers, or if there are several ships iu the harbour, we get some very keen matches. The wickets there are sometimes very good indeed. Once I had a delightful week in Cali­ fornia, down by the seaside, where the weather is ideal for cricket. They have a sort of cricket county championship in Southern California, and although I don’t know what was my qualification, I found myself taking part iu the matches. The wicket was of matting, and as I had been accustomed to the indoor matting wicket at Haverford, I was quite comfortable on it. In some ways a good matting wicket on board is the bast possible thing for a young player to learn upon, for although the ball comes along very fast, it never gets up and fiightens the bats­ man. At Haverford matting is stretched over clay, carefully- rolled and set, with a little dressing of earth on the top. Then felt is put down and ^finally the matting. This arrangement seems to suit admirably, but under certain condi­ tions the felt makes the ball break far too muoh.” W. A. B jxraawjHTU. I.VCOGNI1I v. HENLEY.-Playel at Henley on July 17. I ncooniti . G.G.M. Bennett,cBan­ ning, b Sim ion 0 M«j irFldning.c Ban­ ning, b I'oitenham.. 68 J.W.JardiLe,oTotten- h-tm .......................12 B.i'il Haris.c Blakir, b Tottenham ... ... 6 W. (i. Heasraan, c B., b M. Molloy ....42 E.E. Felton,cB.Yolloy, b Tottenham.........31 L. G. Wilkinson, run out ........................ 1 C.F.Gordon, lba-,b M. Molloy .......... 17 Bernard Pares, not out 10 E. W.Lake.bM. Molloy 3 A. N. Other, a sent... 0 H enley . Total ...193 F. G. Oliver, c Wilkin- son, b Jardine ... 21 T. Luce, not out ... 2 U. K. Hlaber,bJardine 0 B 6 , lb 3 .......... 9 Total (7 wkts*) 386 B.Molloy,cneasman,b Flemii g .................55 M. Molloy, c Ba>il Pares, b Fleming .. 23 H D.Banui jg,bFtltm228 H. L. T. Tottenham, c Jardine.b Wilkinson 37 H . A. Cram^r-Ro’Derts, c Heasman, b Basil Parcs...................... 11 W. L. Samson, W. LuJinin aad E. H. Fox did not bat. HV.MPSTEAD v. WANDERERS.—Played at Hampstead oa July 15. HAMP3TSAD. E E Barnett,b 1) ma'd 3) H. Ureig, c & b Doaald 14 M. de Lissa. b Donald 0 E L Maisden, c and J. C. Toller, b I) maid 12 C. D. Dray&oa, b Barker ................. 2 A. A. ‘iarron,cDamian, b Barker................. 4 Edwards, not out ... 0 Byes .................12 b Donald.................12 A. R. Trimen, b Donald ................ 0 C. C. Bracchi, c and b D maid ................. 2 T otal...................9> C. D Mc\fillin, st ivatham, b Dontld .. Fecmd in n in js E E. Barnett, c Latham, b D im ii", 65; E L. Marsden, not out, 7; C. C. bracchi, c Wyatt, b Damian. 21; C. D. McJiillin, b Fischer, 10 : Bye.* 12.- Total (3 wkts) 115. W a n d e r e r s . “ Turner D o n a ld b Mir.«den ................... 21 A .E. Damian, lbw, b Marsd* n ................. 4 A. M. Latham, lb«r, b barron................... 10 K. E. M. Barker, b Bairon ................ 9 E. H Fisher, b Barron 6 M. Baker, not out 113 E. A. Beldam, b Bar­ ron ........................ 5 H. D. Wyatt, b Mars­ den *....................... J 4 J. D. Gillespie, c Trimen. b Birr-m .. 66 N. A. Damian, b Barron ................n E. K. Fisher, b Mars­ den ........................ o B 81, lb l ......... 82 Total ... .. 291