Cricket 1903

S ept . 1?, 1903. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 425 was then declared closed. Directly afterwards there was a thunderstorm, and the game was abandoned for the day. On Saturday there was no play until half-past two, and the whole time available was two hours and a half. T h e following extract from a lccal paper refers to an incident somewhat similar to that mentioned by Dr. J. A. Lester in an interview which recently appeared in Cricket :— A and B are in together. A strikes a ball, and calls for a run. B hesitates, and then says “ No.” In the meantime A has got half-way up the pitch, stops, and then tries to get back to his original wicket. B, un­ known to A, attempts the run, and overtakes A. So both A and B are making for the same wicket. That same wicket is thrown down, and neither of the batsmen had reached the crease, and the ball goes to the boundary. They were exactly the same distance from the crease when the wicket was broken. The umpire said, “ Out,” and was then asked which batsman was to go. He said he was watching the crease, and that both batsmen were the same distance out. The umpire at the bowler’s wicket said it was impossible for him to decide. What was to happen, then? E. J. D iv e r , the old Surrey and War­ wickshire professional, who has repre­ sented both the Gentlemen and Players, heads the batting averages of Newport C.C., Mon., for whom he played as a professional during the past season. His average is 5064 for twenty-one innings. The special correspondent of the Evening Standard is responsible for an article which appeared last Saturday on the subject of “ Hastings.” It is only a Bpeeial correspondent who can coin up such vivid phrases as “ the green amphi­ theatre,” and “ the furious arm” of a bowler who, by no stretch of imagination, can be called fast. But in applying the words “ glorious uncertainty” to the weather the Standard special correspond­ ent is distinctly infringing on the pre­ rogatives of cricket correspondents, who have, from time immemorial, claimed the phrase as their own private property. In his article he says This is “ Hastings week.” Everybody who loves cricket knows what that means. It is an event of social and sporting interest which marks the beginning of the Autumn season and draws to the South Coast a host of people in search of health and amusement. For six days the green amphitheatre under the shadow of the ruined walls of the old Castle is almost as attractive as Lord’s. Hither come keen cricketers from all parts of the country. Years abate not their enthu­ siasm, and the sight of Dr. Grace—a tre­ mendous favourite here—facing “ the furious arm ’ ’ of Rhodes brings back the golden days of youth. The crowds that look on from ring, pavilion, tents and stands are hardly less critical, and certainly not less eager, and they are large enough to make Mr. Carless, the Honorary Secretary, forget the labour and anxieties of preparing for this popular Festival................... A common re­ proach against Englishmen is that they talk of nothing but their sports and their weather. At Hastings there has been reason, for the glorious uncertainties of the weather have not been greater than the surprises of the game, and it is surely a curious and interest­ ing phenomenon to have the cricket ground wrecked by a hurricane. But incidents of this sort do not disturb the equanimity of Hastings. They are rare enough to be looked upon as excitements. As I have pointed out before in “ Gossip,” the names of native cricketers in India appear very remarkable to Englishmen who are not familiar with the East, although to those who know it they are doubtless commonplace. Thus, in a recent match in Madras, the follow­ ing natives played : Messrs. Authecasa- valu, Bungara Babu, Thirumalraj, Poorushotham, and Balahrishnamudaliar. As was anticipated, no batsmen except 0. B. Pry and Hajward have succeeded in scoring two thousand runs this season, but in Monday’ s averages six men were all between eighteen and nineteen hun­ dred, only 44 runs separating the first of them from the last. The scores were : Maclaren, 1,886; Ranjitsinbji, 1,870; Tyldesley, 1,851; Hayes, 1,848; Kiight, 1,834; and Denton, 1,832. When the season closed yesterday Tyldesley only required 45 runs to complete his two thousand, having made 104 in the two iniings against Middlesex. A m on g the letters which have recently appeared in the Daily Mail on the sub­ ject of “ The Deterioration of Women” is one from “ A Girl of the Pericd,” who says:— I am a girl of nineteen, tall and well developed, neither flat-chested nor gaunt; in fact, I am considered quite plump, and yet I have always indulged in plenty of vigorous exercise, including cricket, hockey, tennis, football, cycling, gymnastics, and walking. I am a living and substantial contradiction of Mr. Marriott-Watson’s letter, and my own observation would lead me to form a totally opposite opinion to the one expressed by him. The fact is that the present-day girl has raised the standard of her “ ideal man,” and a girl would rather support herself than marry one of the morally deteriorated young men of the present day. Women have advanced with the times, and men are getting left behind. T h e following note about the King as a cricketer, from the Daily Chronicle of Monday last, ought to be of interest to cricket statisticians, who, I fancy, have never come across the records to which our contemporary refers:— Though the King’s interest in cricket is again shown by his order for the laying out of a ground and building of a pavilion for the Household Club at Windsor, His Majesty has never been much of a player himself. There are records of the games he played at Grasmere on his first visit to the Lakes when fifteen years old. Late in the fifties, Bell, the Eton College professional and a cricketer of note, used to be summoned to Windsor to bowl to the young Princes, but with unsatis­ factory results. Once on his return he an­ nounced with a doleful shake of the head that he “ couldn’t make a job of themat all.” In 1865, however, the King was elected a member of the famous I Zingari, and for them made almost his only appearance in a formal match. It was in 1866 at Sandring­ ham against the Gentlemen of Norfolk. His Majesty was bowled first ball. On another occasion against the Household Brigade he stayed at the wickets for one over before being bowled. A loyal reporter thus chronicled the event: “ Owing to the intense heat his Royal Highness df emed it prudent to retire after a somewhat lengthy stay at the wicket with a masterly played three to his name.” T h e Corinthians,who have beenmaking a football tour in South Africa, played a cricket match on August 18tb, at Gra­ hamstown against the local club. In their first innings the home team made 77, Wreford-Brown (who only missed his Blue at the University owing to an injury to his hand just before the ’Varsity match) taking three wickets with success- sive balls. The Corinthians made 80 for six wickets, four of their men being stumped by Williams. P. P. K e l l y , the secretary of the Metropolitan District Cricket League (New York) and of the New Jersey Cricket Club did the “ hat trick ” on August 22nd for the eleventh time in his career as a cricketer, which must be something like a record. A table of the matches in which he has done the “ hat trick ” is given below :— 3885—Penzance v. Camborne. 1886—Commercial v. Boyal 1898—Chicago v. Wanderers. 1892—Phoenix v. Laundale. 1893—Chicago Cricket A seociation v. Chicago Scots. 1893—Wanderers v. Pullman. 1898—New Jersey A C. v. New York. *1899—Knickerbocker A.C. v. Haverford College. 1100—Knickerloeker A.C. v. Montclair A C. *i902—Knickerbocker A.C. v. Ntlton Lodge. 19C3—New Jersey C.C. v. Paterson. * Four wickets with consecutive balls. K e l l y ' s complete bowling figures in matches played in America up to August 22nd are as follows :— Years. Balls. Mdns. Buns. Wkts. 1889-1902 .,.. 23 022 ... 1,156 ... 8,939 ... 1,154 1903 703 . 26 . 298 . 42 23,725 1,181 9,237 1,196 T h e first innings of a hundred recorded in Australian cricket this season is 168, by S. March, for Brucefield v. Pine Forest, Adelaide. March, in addition, took six wickets for 9 runs. C b ic k e t e r s will be very glad to hear that Mr. C. W. Alee ck, the secretary of the Surrey County C.C., is making very satis­ factory progress towards complete re­ covery, with good prospect of being able to resume his duties at the Oval in a few weeks. He only requires rest to be thoroughly well. Meanwhile Mr. C. A. Stein, who, at the request of the Com­ mittee, has been kindly acting as hon. secretary during Mr. Alcock’s illness, is arranging Surrey matches for next season, and communications on the subject should be made to him. T h e weather has kept up its reputation for fickleness up to the very last, and the long looked for match between tie Champion County and the Rest of England took place to all intents and