Cricket 1903

298 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J uly 23, 1903. expenses only to amateurs who may go with their team, but this seems unlikely to be true, for it must be as clear to the M.C.C. as to the rest of the world that it is not the cheapest but the best team which is wanted just now. But on Mon­ day C. B. Fry, who, as he seems to have been asked to accompany the lent), ought to know what he is talking about, makes a definite note about this in the Daily Express. He says : " With regard to the amateurs, whenever an English side has gone to Australia under private conduct there has been a shiiek about sham amateurism. The M.C.C. are paying their amateurs out-of-pocket expenses only.” ------- M e . F r y then explains sensibly enough that every amateur who goes will be about £100 out of pocket by reason of unavoidable expenses which are not reckoned as out-of-pocket, and that he loses six months’ income, and if he has a house and other institutions in England he has to pay rent and taxes and up-keep even while he is himself away across the sea. It does not in the least follow that aa amateur who can afford to play all the summer iu England can afford to play all the winter in Australia as well, and even a i amateur who is of independent means, but not exactly rich, may find the expense of the trip greater than he cares to incur. A l l this is undoubtedly true, and the odd tbiog about it is that large numbers of well-meaning cricketers, who only played half-a-dozen matches in a season in their time, and could therefore easily afford the expense, cannot see that they could not have played thirty or forty matches a year under the same conditions unless they were very wealthy. And yet while they object so strongly to the modern amateur making anything what­ ever out of cricket, they are often mem­ bers of some flourishing county or social cricket club which rakes in the shekels by the heap. They would not dream for a moment of condemning Yorkshire, Surrey, Lancashire, or the M.C.C. for making as much money out of cricket as possible, but they would and do condemn any individual who tries, in ever so humble a way, to do the same thiog, provided that he is an amateur. F rom the Bombay Gazette :— The cricket season in Bombay this year gives promise of being unusually interesting by reason of the number of new players who are making their debut. In Lieutenant Lang- horn, Royal Garrison Artillery, and Lieuten­ ant Armes, North Staffordshire Regiment, the Gymkhana has secured two batsmenmuch above the average of recruits during the last few seasons. Their styles differ, Lieutenant Langhom being a batsman of the steady order, while Lieutenant Armes adopts Jes- sopian methods, but both have profoundly impressed the critics by the form they have shown in the first few matches of the season. I t is stated that the Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia have authorised Dr. Lester to try to arrange for the M.C.C. team to visit the United States on the way to Australia. But up to last evening the M.C.C. had not been approached on the subject. A t Oxford, on Monday, a verdict of accidental death was returned in the case of the death of Bupert Paget, aged 11, son of Sir John Paget'. The evidence showed that while playing cricket at Summerfield School on Friday, he was struck on the head by the b ill when bat­ ting, and that death ensued on Saturday. F. B. L ovE IT T , who made 110 for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire in the return match at Edgbaston on Mon­ day, had previously played for tbe county without meeting with much success until, after serving in the South African war as a volunteer, he re-appeared in the team on July 10th against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. He then scored 0 and 19, following this up by making 54 not out against Essex and 25 and not out 62 against Gloucestershire at Bristol. He was very well known as a Bugby Union three-quarter in the best days of the Coventry club. A l t h o u g h the stand of 136 for the last wicket of London County against M.C.C. on Tuesday at the Crystal Palace by Banjitsiuhji and P. B. May is not a record, it was made under extraordinary circumstances. On a very difficult wicket London County had lost nipe men for 68, and when the innings closed the total was 204. Banjitsinhji made nearly all the runs during this wonderful partner­ ship. The record for the last wicket in a first-class match is 230, by B. W. Nicholls and Boche for Middlesex v. Kent, at Lord’s, June 1899. Next to this is the 173 by Briggs and Pilling at Liverpool, for Lancashire v. Surrey, in July, 1885. O nce more a benefit match played on behalf of a popular professional has been almost completely ruined by rain. Woodcock is the latest viclioa. There was no play until three o’clock on the first day at Leicester between Leicester­ shire and Essex, and although it was fine on the followiog day, not a ball could be bowled on Saturday. M id d l e s e x have still an unbeaten record with 100 per cent, in the county championship, but they were possibly not very disappointed when on Friday, being 155 runs behind the Kent total, they were not made to follow-on. By going in again in such unsettled weather themselves, Kent, to all intents and pur­ poses laid themselves out for a drawn game. It might have been worth their while to risk something. No one can ever reilly blame a captain for not sending the other tide in first when he wins the toss, for almost all authorities are of opinion that the manoeuvre is attended with great risk. But, as the game went between Notts and Yorkshire at Trent Bridge in June, there is not much room for doubt that if Notts had sent Yorkshire in first they would have had a good chance of winning the match. Possibly Mr. Jones had this in his mind when he won the toss against Yorkshire at Leeds on Monday, for with the wicket apparently difficult, he put Yorkshire in first. But the result was not very satisfactory, for Yorkshire made 339 runs, and won with very great ease. L ord H a w k e has always been known as a thorough sportsman, and no one could have been surprised that he should declare on Saturday in the Worc9stershire match when the Yorkshire total was only 76 for one wicket, against the Worcester­ shire total of 21. It must be remembered that there were two hours left for play, and a brilliant performance by H. K. Foster might possibly have made things very lively for Yorkshire. But, after all, it was worth the risk. T h e five wickets for 4 runs for York­ shire againBt Worcestershire at Leeds is not absolutely the best performance of Khodes on piper. For in 1901 he took six for the same number of runs against Notts. Among his other fine analyses the best are as follows :— Wkts. Buna. 1899—5 for 11, Yorkshire v. Somerset, at Bath. 1899 |g g® |Yorkshire v. Gloucester, at Bristol. 1899—9 for 28, Yorkshire v. Essex, at Leyton. 1899—9 for 24, C. X. Thornton’s XI. v. Australians, at Scarborough. 1900—8 for 23, Yorkshire v. Hampshire, at Hull. 1901—7 for 20, Yorkshire v. Gloucestershire, at Hull. 1902-6 for 16, Yorkshire v. M.C.C , at Lord’s. 1902 j g j” Jg JEngland v. Australia, at Edgbaston. 1902—8 for 26, Yorkshire v. Kent, at Catford. O n Monday, A. C. Maclaren made a statement that while he had not definitely declined the M.C.C. iuvitation he had finally resolved not to go to Australia under Warner’s captaincy. His attitude was not based on any personal grounds, but is being taken by him as a matter of cricket etiquette. I t is possible that Mr. Maclaren will reconsider his decision, for there are dozens and dozens of precedents to show that a man who has been captain of a team may play iu it under another cap­ tain. Even this year George Giffen, so long the captain of South Australia, played under Clement Hill. At Harrow,