Cricket 1903

A u g . 27, 1903. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 371 BUSEY’S “DEMON DRIVERS. <CCB « GEO, G. BUSSEY & GO Desire to inform Cricketers all over the world who may experience a difficulty in ob­ taining “ Demon Drivers” that this difficulty arises in consequence oftheever-increas­ ing demand exceeding the supply. Readers of 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 of the success of the “Demon Driver ” is due to a special process, occupying a long period,that thebatsunder­ go before leaving the works, and although there are always a large number of 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 fromthe system that has made the The Finest Bat the World produces. GEO.G.BUSSEY & CO, 3 6 & 3 8 , QUEENVICTORIASTREET, E.C. Manufactory—PECKHAM, S.E. Timber Mills—ELHSWELL SUFFOLK. A6ENT8 A L I OVER THE WORLD. AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. B y F . S. A sh le y -C o o fh b . The fifty-seventh meeting of Kent and Yorkshire, at Canterbury last week, must have provided many anxious moments for followers of the northern shire. On a pitch which favoured him, Blythe proved terribly destructive, as his record for the match of thirteen wickets for 61 runs testifies. After performing so well it was cruel luck not to be able to pull the match off for his side : had play lasted a few more minutes a definite result might have been arrived at. Not for a very long time had Yorkshire experienced so inglorious a day as was their lot on Saturday. It must be borne in mind, hewever, that the wicket was at its worst when they went in to bat. Canterbury, which can boaBt a very respectable cricketing antiquity, has been the scene of many of Kent’s greatest triumphs, andalthough thefamous old county—“ fertile in pheasants, cherries, hops, yeomen, cod­ lings and cricketers” —could not claim a victory on the classic sward last week, their display on that occasion must nevertheless rank as one of the best they have ever accom­ plished. Matches between Kent and York­ shire date from 1849, the first meeting.taking place that year at Sheffield—not on Bramall Lane, so well known to all present-day followers of the game, but at Hyde Park, which in former times was a famous cricket­ ing resort, and which was the scene of the very first match played by Yorkshire as a county—against Norfolk in 1833. The Hyde Park Ground, of which a print is probably in the possession of every collector, was opened by Sir. William Henry Woolhouse, who re­ sided there, and who was also responsible for the formation of the well-known Darnell Ground. Mr. Woolhouse was a capital cricketer, his batting average for the county being as high as 19—an exceptional feat in the pre-billiard-table-wicket era Of the 22 players who participated in that match of 1849, all save two (it is believed) have passed away, the survivors being Messrs. W. South Norton and G. C. Dickins, both of Kent. The former is still deeply interested in cricket, and so long as he continues to reside with Mr. Fred Gale (“ The Old Buffer” ) he will not possess the slightest chance of deserting the grand old game in order to take to golf, even if he had a mind to do so. The names of many of the greatest players of a past generation are found in the score of that old match. On the Kent side we find Tom Adams, “ Granny” Martingell, Fuller Pilch of immortal memory, “ Felix ” (N. Wanostrocht, Esq.), musician, schoolmaster, painter, cricketer, and the best of good company, the glorious Alfred Mynn, Mr. W. S. Norton (a very fine bat forty or fifty years ago), W. Pilch, Martin, Clifford, and “ Ted” Hinkly, whilst representing Yorkshire were Mr. M. J. Ellison, Tom Hunt, Coates, John Berry, H. Wright, H. Sampson, G. Chatterton, Sam Baldwinson, and Messrs. B. Wake, T. It. Barker, and R. F. Skelton. Is any pictorial memento in existence of that match, I wonder ? The occasion and the celebrity of the players were sufficiently great to merit such a distinction. The match was won by Kent by 66 runs, and, considering what a fine game it proved, it is surprising that no return took place on Kentish soil. As a matter of fact, the two sides did not meet again until 1862, and the matches have only been played regularly since 1879. The earlier contests took place thus : one in 1849, two in 1862, one in 1864, two in 1865, two in 1870, and then no more until 1879. It would be tedious to deal with all the matches in detail, so a table showing the results must suffice. SYNOPSIS OF RESULTS OF MATCHES BE­ TWEEN KENT AND YORKSHIRE, 1849-1903. Date of Won Won First by by Ground. Match. Yorks. Kent. Dr’wn. T’t’l. Blackheath . . 1893 1 . . __ ... — .. 1 Bradford... . . 1881 .. 3 . , — , — .. 3 Canterbury . . 1895 .. 4 . 1 . 3 .. 8 Catford ... . . 1900 .. 2 . . — — .. 2 Cranbrook . 1862 .. — . 1 — .. 1 Dewsbury . 1870 .. 2 . . — .. 1 .. 3 Gravesend ... 1865 .. 3 . . 1 .. 1 .. 5 Halifax ... . . 1897 .. 1 . , — . __ .. 1 Huddersfield. . 1880 ... — . , — ... 2 .. 2 Leeds ... . . 1891 .. 3 . — ... 2 .. 5 Maidstone . 1879 .. 2 . . 5 .. 2 .. 9 Middlesboro’ . 1864 .. 1 . — . — .. 1 Sheffield:— Bramall Lane 1862 ... 8 .. 3 ... 1 .. 12 Hyde Park. . 1819 .. — . .. 1 ... — .. 1 Tonbridge . 1896 ... 1 . 1 .. — .. 2 York............... . 189) ... 1 . • — ... - .. 1 Totals . 1849 ... 32 .. 13 ... 12 ... 57 The most extraordinary fact disclosed by the above table is that Kent and Yorkshire have faced each other on as many as sixteen different grounds! A correspondent hailing from Eastbourne requests me to give in this column particulars of all individual scores of three hundred or more. As there are considerably over sixty such innings recorded, space will only allow the bare scores and the names of the batsmen to be given. The following is the list, the names in italics signifying the innings played in first-class cricket:— A. E J. Collins.. .. .•628 R .W . McLeod.. . . 324 C. J. E a d y .............. . 566 F. E. Lacey ..........*323 A. E. Stoddart... . . 485 H. A. Mitchell........ 322 A. G. Maclaren ... . . 4*24 W. L. Murdoch 321 J. S. Carriek .. ...*419 W. G. Grace ..........*318 J. Worrall.................*417 C. B. Cochrane........ . 317 W . N. Roe.............. *415 T. Hayward ......... *315 E. F. S. Tylecote . .*404 H. S. Bush ......... *314 T. W a rn e.............. . 402 Capt. W. C. Oates . .*313 W. G. Grace ... . .*400 E. J. Diver ......... .*312 G. F. Wells-Cole . . 387 G. B. N ichols..........*311 Col. J. 6pens ... . . 386 H. Stewart ... . . 311 K. E. Burn.............. .*365 J. T. Brown ... . . 311 O. Hill ..................... *365 R. W. Frank ... . . 309 F. M. Atkins ... . . 364 G. H. A. Arlington. 809 — Carrington ... . . 352 H. Donnan ... . . £08 C. Hill..................... *360 E. I. M. Barrett . 308 W . Hvman ......... .*359 Rev. F. W. Wright..*307 R. Abel ... ... . *357 R. A. A. Beresford. .*207 F. Laver .............. .*352 S. R. Walford... . . 307 W. G. Grace ... . . 344 P. A. Fryer ... . . 306 F. Laver .............. . 341 J. Shuter............... .*304 W. E. W . Collins . .*338 Major R. M. Poore . . 304 T. A. Fison ... . *338 W. F. Holms ... . . 303 A. H Trevor ... . . 338 A. H oare.............. . 302 W. W. Read ... . . 338 F. M. Lucas ... . . 302 Y. Trumper ... . . 335 D. L. A. Jephson . .*301 H. Renny-Tailyour. *331 J. H. Sinclair ... . .*301 C. B arnes.............. .*331 W. G. Grace ... . . 301 W. F. Forbes ... ... 331 C. Howard............. .*300 W . B ru ce .............. *328 L. W. Pye.............. .•300 E. M. Grace ... *327 V. Tn/mper ... . .*300 Lieut. H. N. DumV. F. S. Crawford . . 300 bleton .............. .. 325 J. T. Brown ... . . 300 * Denotes a not out ionings. Of the sixty-seven scores, thirteen were made in matches recognised as first-class. It is a remarkable fact that of the cricketers mentioned above all save one are still alive, the exception being Mr. F. M. Lucas, who died sixteen years ago. Any additions to the above list will be welcomed. What an interesting volume the collected poems and verses on cricket would make! The thought came to me on Tuesday last when, despairing of being able to witness any play owing to the fearful state of the weather, I took down a volume of Bell's Life wherewith to pass a few hours. There is no more pleasant way for a student of the game to while away a wet day than by glancing through the columns of old Bell, and so re­ newing acquaintance with the cricketers of a past generation. There is a flavour about these old volumes which one does not meet with in the sporting papers of the present time. Much of the information contained in