Cricket 1903

CRICKET, NOV. 26, 1903. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron, mo. «48. v o l . x x i i . THURSDAY, NOV. 26, 1903. p r i c e aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. MR. A. M. WOOD. One of the moat useful members of the Gentlemen of Philadelphia team which toured in England this season, Mr. Wood has had a long experience of cricket. He was born in Derbyshire in 1861, and before he went to the United States he played two or three matches for the county. He made his first cricket visit to England as an American citizen in the tour of 1897, but if it had not been that he was not a born American, he would have come over with all the pro­ ceeding teams, for his quali­ fication as a batsman would have entitled him to a place in any one of them. He is oneof the very fewAmericins who have made a hundred in Philadelphia in international cricket, the occasion being his first appearance against All Canada. During the past tour of the Gentlemen of Philadelphia he fielded at point with the greatest suc­ cess. He stood much nearer the wicket than most English points of modern days, and made many brilliant catches which would have been out of his reach if he had stood farther back. Of his early cricket in EnglandMr. Wood said: “ My earliest cricket of all was played in Derbyshire with the Biddings Club. My father was manager of one of the Oakes’ collieries, and I used to play with the em­ ployees when they were at practice. Then I went to the High School at Nottingham, and, in course of time, J. A. Dixon, one or two others, and I, started the Forest Amateurs Cricket Club, which is still in existence. At sixteen years of age I first played for the Notts Colts, making, I think, 10 and 17. The next year I was again tried for the Colts, and made 37, the top score. In about the year 1878 the County gave me a trial against Leicestershire, but I was young and, I suppose, foolish, and thought I ought to have played more frequently. The up­ shot of it was that in the following year I played by the birth qualification in two matches for Derbyshire against Notts and Yorkshire, doing fairly well. Then I left for the States.” “ Did you play cricket when first you arrived there?” “ I went first to Denver and afterwards to Leadville, where there is no cricket, but I went to Philadelphia in 1881, and have played for the Belmont club ever since. As soon as I arrived there, I began at once to play for the first eleven. When the first team of Gentlemen of Philadelphia came over to England it was at first talked of including me in it, but there was a strong feeling, at that time, that only native American players should take part in the tour, and so for ten years I took no part in International matches, though to all intents and purposes I had become an American. But this feeling gradually wore away, so that I came over here with the team of 1897, and was one of the two or three who took part in every match during the tour. TJntil the recent tour I had always fielded at short slip, but I was born in 1861, and they didn’t think at my time of life I should be able to do the running which is sometimes required in that position, with the result that I was placed at point. I hardly expect to play in International matches after this trip, for besides getting older, I am pretty keenly engaged in business; but I hope to continue to play cricket for many years to come.” “ Have you noticed any changes in English cricket since you were over here last ? ” “ It has struck me that cricket here is just a little slower than it used to be, and that batsmen take a longer time to play them­ selves in. Perhaps it may be that I am accustomed to the much faster play in America. I admit that we ourselves have been guilty of slow play, but you must remember that all the bowl­ ing was Btrange to us, and that the leg break bowlers especially bothered us. Our team felt that a successful tour would mean so much to cricket in America that we were bound to follow the example set us by nearly all English players, and exercise the greatest caution. But slow play must have an effect on the gates. Another thing that I noticed during the tour was that although our bowlers were able to do as much with the ball ag