Cricket 1903

A u g . 13, 1903. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 339 BUSSEY’S “DEMON DRIVERS. <C C B-« GEO, G. BUSSEY & CO Desire to inform Cricketers all over the world who may experience a difficulty in ob­ taining “ D em o n D r iv e r s ” that this difficulty arises in consequence o f the ever-increas­ ing demand exceeding the supply. Readers o f G e o . G . B u s s e y & Co.’s pamphlet, entitled “ Evolution of the Demon Driver,” are aware that a fea­ ture o f the success o f the “ D em o n D r iY e r ” is due to a special process, occupying a long period, that the bats under­ go before leaving the works, and although there are always a large number o f Bats under this treatment which could be placed on the market, G e o . G . B u s s e y & Co., in the interest of cricketers and their own repu­ tation, will not deviate from the system that has made the & c The Finest Bat theWorld produces. GEO.G.BUSSEY&CO, 36 & 38, QUEENVICTORIASTREET, E.G. Manufactory—PECKHAM, S.E. Timber Mills—ELMSWELL SUFFOLK. AGENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD. TH E GENTLEMEN OF P H IL A ­ D E L PH IA . To Englishmen it has always seemed a very remarkable thing that a single city in America can turn out a team strong enough to contend with the first-class counties and to meet with a fair amount of success. It is true that the population of Philadelphia is rather larger than that of Manchester and Liverpool combined, but on the other hand these two cities possess a far greater number of active cricketers. At the begining of the present tour the usual experiment was tried of putting weak teams in the field against the visitors, but this had very soon to be given up. For the rest of the tour the counties got together the strongest teams they could, and although in some cases these did not absolutely represent the full strength of the county, it must be remembered that almost every county, f jr one reason or another, has to play two or three matches during a season with a greatly weakened team. That the present American team is a strong combination cannot be gainsaid. It is not strong enough to be able to take on a repre­ sentative England eleven on anything like even terms, but this is only natural, but more unlikely things have happened than for an American team of the future to hold itsown against ourpickedstrength. For many years to come this is hardly to be looked for. Possibly the time may never come when America is strong enough to challenge England. It all depends on whether cricket eventually becomes the national game over there, and there are many indications that such a thing may happen. Hitherto the Gentlemen of Philadelphia have been fairly strong in batting, but weak in bowling. This year the bowling has made a great advance, and there are very few counties who have a better pair than K ing and Clark, both of them fast, both having some sort of a swerve, and both understanding the art of variation and concealment of pace. There is not a county eleven which could afford to dis­ pense with the services of either of them if they were qualified to play, even if neither of them could bat. Of the other bowlers, Lester knows pretty well what he is about, and he exercises considerable judgment. Cregar is also a very useful man to have on the side. It was not found necessary to try any of the other men much, and it is hardly possible to form an opinion as to their merits. Suf­ fice it to say that the bow ling was as good as that of most counties, to say the least of it. It must not be forgotten that our visitors have nearly all through the summer been playing under conditions to which they are n ot accustomed. In the first place, in Philadelphia they only play on Saturday afternoons, except on the rare occasions of a visit from a team from England, when at intervals they play a few three-day matches—a very different thing from goin g on for weeks with hardly a break. Again, the weather and the wickets have been not at all in their favour, for they live in a land where wickets, if they are not always particu­ larly good, are generally hard, while the weather is pleasant on the whole, not to say exceedingly hot. But, like the Aus­ tralians, they have adapted themselves to slow wickets with very great cleverness, and although they themselves are inclined to think that their bowlers would have shown to greater advantage if the season had been dry, they might perhaps have found that we have so many line batsmen who are brilliant players on hard wickets that the bowling, however good it m ight have been, would have appeared harmless. Be that as it may, the American bowlers distinguished themselves. They have evidently learned a great deal since the last tour, and it may reasonably be expected that, if they can find a successor to King, they will give a still better account of themselves when a team visits England again. As regards the batting Dr. Lester heads the list of averages, and he is unquestion ably the best batsman in the team. He has plenty of strokes and a sound knowledge of the gam e; he can hit when the occasion requires, or he can play a strong defen­ sive game. Altogether he is an exceed- ingly good man, and with constant practice in the highest company would be a great cricketer. Almost the same thing may be said of K ing, who, while he is not quite such a good bat under all sorts of conditions as his captain, is better as an all-round man. If he and Lester were living in England it would indeed be a surprising thing if they were not asked to play at Lord’s for the Gentlemen. Nor would it be surprising if Clark was asked to play as a bow ler if he were available. In addition to Dr. Lester and K ing the Americans have several other batsmen who are quite up to first-class county form . Graves and Bohlen are both sound batsmen, who, with constant practice, would be at least fifty per cent, better even than they are now, while Sharpless has such a strong defence that, like the villain in the play, he has often aroused the wrath o f the crowd and the Press, pro­ bably a good deal to his amusement. Other American teams have suffered from the want of such a man as he. F or some reason or other he seems to have attracted more attention than other stickers and to have excited more indignation. But he ought to take this as a compliment. On all sides it is admitted that a sticker is an invaluable man to have, and nearly every county possesses at least one man of this kind who goes in very early and often saves the game. W ood is a good all­ round batsman who may generally be relied on to make a useful score in emer­ gencies. Morris played one brilliant long innings, but afterwards failed to keep up his form . He w ill probably be a very much better player if he comes to Eng­ land with the next team. Several other men are likely to train on into really fine cricketers. As to the fielding it is not possible to speak in the terms of the highest praise I t may be described as “ variable ” But