Cricket 1903

372 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OP THE GAME. A u g . 27, 1903. them would by some people be considered frivolous, but there was a great deal of real wit and much comicality which first saw the light in the pages of the Nunquam Dormio oracle. The effusions of the genial anl witty “ Bob ” Fitzgerald, for many years the secretary at Lord’s, were masterpieces of fun and jocularity, which would have made even sober-sided Nestor cackle with laugh­ ter. The editor himself must have had a keen sense of humour, judging from the manner in which he used the blue pencil. An instance of the kind of matter occasion­ ally to be found in Bell may be cited. Early in 1852, in a match at the Oval, stumps were drawn at seven o’clock on the first day, instead of at seven-thirty as was customary. There was some discussion among cricketers at the time on the matter, and people with a too great amount of leisure wrote to the papers condemning everything and every­ body concerned. On the following Sunday morning the late Mr. John Burrup, then Hon. Sec. to the Surrey Club, upon opening his Bell's Life (before going to church) must have read the following lines with consider­ able amusement:— ’Twas a beautiful light, and deliciously bright, And the sun sailed high in the heaven; Flocks of people surrounded the whole of the ground, Yet the stumps they were pulled up at seven 1 No wonder that this should make people hiss ; Now listen, friend * * * * * * to me : The course you’re pursuing will lead to the ruin Of yourself and your famed county. A N orthman . How many present-day papers, I wonder, would have printed the above had it been sent to their offices, and if it had referred to Sur­ rey’s worthy secretary of to-day ? Not one ! Yet fifty years ago one was not surprised to see it in Bell , and everybody was amused and nobody offended. But we of the twentieth century possess a different temperament from that of the generality of men of but half-a- century ago. ¥ e are a cold, unbending pack of individuals nowadays, who button up our pockets and try to look severe if anybody attempts to indulge in a little harmless chaff at our expense. The death of Lord Salisbury, whilst re­ moving from our midst one of the best and greatest figures of the Victorian era, does not create a gap in the world of cricket, for his lordship never identified himself with the game, although he always regarded it with a favouring eye. The Cecils have never been really great supporters of cricket, probably because they had affairs of more importance with which to concern themselves. Perhaps the greatest enthusiast of the family was James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1666- 1694), who was president of the St. Albans’ cricket club—the earliest club, by-the-way, of which we have any record—at the latter end of the seventeenth century. The Hatfield club, which was formed in 1800, and re­ formed in 1852, numbered various members of the Cecil family among its patrons, as was, perhaps, only to be expected. The father-in law of the late peer, Baron Alderson, ad­ dressed the grand jury of the County of Suffolk in the following words, at Ipswich, in August, 1844 :—“ In aneighbouringcounty which I passed through on the circuit this time, I had what I am afraid I shall not have here—a day of rest; and I went out into the country, and had the pleasure of seeing a match at cricket, in which a noble earl, the lord-lieutenantofhis county, wasplaying with the tradesmen, the labourers, and all around him, and I believe he lost no respect from that course—they loved him better, but they did not respect him less. I believe that if they themselves associated more with the f lower classes of society, the kingdom o England would be in a far safer, and society in a far sounder, condition. I wish I could put it to the mind of all to think so, because I think it is true.” The Baron onmore than one other occasion spoke publicly in praise of the game, and on sending his son to Eton advised him to play cricket. The only occa­ sion upon which I find a Cecil engaged in a contest of any note is in a match at Bruges, in Belgium, on June 8th, 1852, between Ostend and Bruges. The scores were Ostend 60 and 5 for one wicket, and Bruges 27 and 36, and Lord B. Cecil, playing for the former side, scored five. The recent wretched weather has played havoc with the game, and statistics go to prove that never before have cricketers ex­ perienced so wet and dreary an August as in this year. The August of 1879 was a very rainy month, almost, in fact, as bad as the present, and other seasons in which matches were seriously interfered with by Jupiter Pluvius were those of 1821, 1830, 1843, 1845, 1853, 1856, 1860, 1878, 1879, 1888 and 1902. At Lord’s this year there has been compara­ tively little cricket, so far as first-class matches are concerned, for on seven days in May, six in June and seven in August no play has been possible owing to the condition of the ground. A friend who makes a study of the weather informs me that we shall have little more rain for some time to come and that “ the rainy season ” is now a thing of the past, but on the other hand, Sir Norman Lockyer, basing his opinion on the increase of sun-spots, states that the present weather may be expected to last for another twelve months ! If the latter should prove correct we may next year expect to witness displays of water-cricket—such a match was actually played in 1762—in which event there should be a rush of enthusiasts to see W. G. disport­ ing himself in the large tank at the Crystal Palace! HANDICAPPED CRICKETERS. In an article on “ Handicapped Sports­ men ” in the Evening Standard of Tues­ day, the folio wing references to cricketers occu r:— “ In the Australian cricket season of 1900-1 a Melbourne youth, aged nineteen, who had had his left arm amputated, on going in first withstood the efforts of half-a-dozen bowlers to dislodge him, and eventually carried out his bat for 55 out of a total of 119. This is not the only instance of a handicapped player performing well in the cricket field, for, in addition to J. W. Sharpe— who, notwithstanding the fact that he possessed but one eye, played for England, and furnished Surrey with one of its finest bowlers a few years ago—a one- arm cricketer in the early nineties played regularly for the Liverpool Stanley Club, and scored boundaries with delightful nonchalance. One of the most remark­ able cricket matches of late years, how­ ever, between handicapped players, took place at Brighton in 1899 in aid of the local Lifeboat Fund, when eleven one- armed men played a team that boasted but eleven legs between them. Although the difficulty of getting a man out lbw who possesses but one leg is somewhat increased, and a one-armed man is un­ doubtedly prejudiced when a difficult catch comes his way, it was believed before the match began that the one­ armed team would just about win, owing to the ability of its members to nuke and save runs. When the match was in progress, however, it was soon discovered that the one-armed eleven had not much opportunity as batsmen to display their agility between the wickets, for a one- legged man, named Browning, bowled with such surprising success that the wh >le team was out for 62, six wickets falling to the redoubtable Browning for 21 runs. When the one-legged team took its turn at the wickets, runs came with considerable frequency, and 77 being scored for the loss of but five wickets, an easy victory was gained by the one-legged Eleven, which was chiefly recruited, as indeed were the one-armed players, from men who had been, and in many instances were still, em­ ployed on the railway. In the first-class cricket field the one-armed or one-legged player has yet to make his appearance. That it is not impossible, however, for a player using but one arm to keep his wicket intact for some time was proved by Lord Harris some years ago, when, owing to injuries, he took his place at the crease in a sorely handicapped con­ dition. It was at the Oval in 1885 that, in order to tide over a crisis in the affairs of Kent, he bitted for thirty-five minutes, using his left hand only, his right hand, in which a small bone had been broken early in his innings, resting in a sling. As Kent attained its object by drawing the ma‘ch, the plucky Peer had the satis­ faction of knowing that his efforts were crowned with success. THE FIRST-CLASS CRICKET RECORD AT LORD’S, 1903. The following table, which shows at a glance, in the most convincing manner, what a miserably wet season this has been, was compiled by “ Wanderer ” for the Sportsman: — MAY. 6—M.C.O. v. Notts. No play. 7—M.C.C. v. Notts. No play. 8 -M.C.C. v. Notts. No play. 11—M.C.C. and G. v. Yorkshire. No play. 12 —M.C.C. and G. v. Yorkshire. Noplay. 13—M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire. Play on practice g;round. AUGUST. 17—Middlesex v. Lancashire. No Play. 18—Middlesex v. Lancs. Play after lunch. 19—Middlesex v. Lancashire. No play. 20—Middlesex v. Sussex. No play. 21 —Middlesex v. Sussex. No play. 22—Middlesex v. Sussex. Play after 1 p.m. 24—Middlesex v. Kent. No play. 25—Middlesex v. Kent. No play. 26—Middlesex v. Kent. No play. There was another little period in mid- June which may also bear reproduction. JUNE. 10—M.C.C. v. Leicestershire. No play. 11—Middlesex v. Notts. No play. 12 —Middlesex v. Notts. No play. 13 —Middlesex v. Notts. Play for 1| hours. 15—Middlesex v. Essex. No play. 16—Middlesex v. Essex. No play. 17—Middlesex v. Essex. No play. 18 —Vacant. 19—M.C.C. v. Middlesex Colts. No play. 20—M.C.O, v. Middlesex Colts. No play.