Cricket 1903

Nov. 26, 1903. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 455 expenses, and if the growing demands were not checked the game would be placed in jpopirdy. At the present moment the Essex Club was solvent, for they could sell their ground, pay off the mortgages, and also the debts, amounting to £1,600. He might say that the com­ mittee were prepared with a resolution which he would submit to the meeting if necessary. After some discussion, in which the committee were accused of too frequently holding resolutions up their sleeve, Mr. Green stated that the resolution he referred to was to the effect that if the £1,500 was not forthcoming by Dec. 31, the ground at Leyton should be sold. Mr. T. Wakelyn Saint moved that a committee be formed of members for the purpose of consulting with the General Committee with a view to avoiding a crisis, and to enable the club to continue. This was seconded by Mr. Butler. Mr. A. Cornish said the reduced membership was due to the guinea entrance fee now imposed, in addition to the guinea annual subscription. Col. Lockwood, M.P., said that the question of salaries was not to the point at all. The real point was that they wanted £1,500, and they had to get it. (Applause.) He hop ad they would hesi­ tate a very long time before closing the county ground after all the help Mr. Green and others had given them in the past. He thought they could safely assume that the entrance fee would be abolished or lowered, and they should go away from the meeting with that idea and with the determination to get more members. They now had 1,500 members, and they wanted 2,500. In the end, Mr. Saint’s proposition was carried, and the following nine gentle­ men were elected to form the committee of memoers to confer with the General Committee, viz., Messrs. B. Bailey (Ilford), M. Tosetti (Chigwell), F. Butler (Forest Gate), A. Cornish (Leyton), T. W. Saint (Tottenham), R. L. Whittaker (Chelmsford), J. Baskett (Chadwell Heath), R. B. Johnson (Snaresbrook), and J. H. Douglas (Wanstead). It was subsequently agreed to open a subscription list, nearly £300 being sub­ scribed or promised before the meeting broke up. CRICKET IN INDIA. BANGALORE GYMKHANA y. GARRI­ SON OLASS. Played on October 29. Gymkhana won by 31 runs. G ymkhana . Gen. Nixon, b Ridpath 16 Wagstaff, b Yatea ... 0 Capt.Tufnell,c Davies, b Middlemas ......... 84 Capt. Standage, b Kidpath ................. 0 Pattison, c Fuller, b Middlemas ......... 22 Capt. Copeland, c (iarsia, b Middlemas 20 Capt. Robertson, c .Bowen,b Middlemas Major Hayes, not out Han»on, b Yates Lynch, b Yates.......... Capt. Peel, c watney, b Kidpath................ Extras ................. Total... ...181 G abbisox Cuss. Watney, b Nixon ...38 Yate% c Hanson, b Nixon ... ... 36 Ridpith, c Robertson, b Copeland ............29 Fuller, c and b Cope­ land ........................ 2 Senior, b Copeland ... 3 Bowen, not o u t............11 Trouson, c Lynch, b Copeland................. 6 Middlemas, b Cope­ land . ................. 0 Garsia, b 8tandage ... 6 Davies, b 8tandage ... 0 K. Piilai, c Tufnell, b Copeland ..........18 Total ..150 OBITUARY. G eorge N ash . It is not a little strange that within two months of one another two contem­ porary Lancashire bowlers should have passed away. Nash too, after Crossland, was perhaps the most “ suspect ” bowler of his time. Indeed, the era (1879-1885) during which Nash and Crossland flourished furnished several other bowlers of doubtful action, to wit, A. H. Evans, of Oxford; A. Motley and J. Frank, of Yorkshire; and W. F. Forbes, the old Etonian. It is worth recording that in a local match at Sutton-in-Ashfield, in 1884, Crossland was no-balled for throwing, but Nash, whose delivery was especially banned by Lord Harris, was throughout his career allowed to pass muster. “ Jolly Nash,” to give him a familiar soubriquet, was born at Oving, near Aylesbury, in Bucks, on April 1st, 1850 ; his height was 5ft. 7in., and weight 12st. lOibs. An engagement at Accring­ ton in 1877, as bad been the case with Crosslaud, gave him a qualification for Lancashire by the summer of 1879, and he made his bow at Trent Bridge against the Notts eleven on May 26th. Singu­ larly enough, the lat9 John Briggs made his debut in the same match, though (unlike Nash) he was but seventeen years of age. Nash made a distinctly hopeful start, obtaining five wickets, including those of Daft, Shrewsbury, Selby, and Flowers, in 60 overs for 86 runs. In the second innings he sent down 47 overs for 59 runs and 2 wickets, his contribution in his one innings with the bat amounting to 12. His only other match that year was against Yorkshire, when his two wickets cost 88 runs. In 1880 he received a better trial, taking part in seven matches and obtaining 37 wickets in 333 overs for 412 runs. McIntyre’s retirement gave him a better opening, and already we find Lillywhite remarking of Nash : “ From this bowler much is to be hoped.” Probably his best performances were his 42 overs for 32 runs and 6 wickets against Yorkshire, and his 65 overs for 79 runs and 8 wickets in the first innings of Surrey at the Oval. It will be remembered that in 1881 Lancashire had a brilliantly successful season, being undefeated in County matches, and winning the championship. Not only did the county average more runs with the bat, but she also dismissed her opponents at a cheaper rate thau any other shire. Barlow, Watson, Nash, and Mr. A. G. Steel between them obtained 224 wickets in fifteen matches, Nash claiming 52 wickets in 456 ovars for 556 runs. Suffice it to recill that against Derbyshire he took 4 wickets for 9 runs, and no less thau 12 for 47 against Kent at Mote Park. Less sensational but more valuable was his 4 for 26 runs against Yorkshire at Sheffield, when his slow bowling after a thunderstorm turned the scale and won the match. The game was most crucial, both counties having won the five matches they had played up to that point. In 1882, although he occasionally stood down for Mr. A. G. Steel, Nash further improved his figures, obtaining 62 wickets for Lancashire in 409 overs at a cost of 656 runs. In the first two or three matches he did not come off, but against Somerset he took 4 wickets iu 4 balls, securing 8 for 14 in one innings. Having regard to the calibre of the batsmen opposed to him, his 6 for 36 and 6 for 63 against Middlesex strikes one as his best performance of the year. The Middlesex team included the brothers Studd, Hon. A. Lyttelton, C. F .H . Leslie, I. D. Walker, A. J. Webbe, and G. F. Vernon. In 1883 Nash did considerably less bowling for Lancashire. The wet seasons had at length given way to a cycle of dry summers which 1883 may be said to have ushered in. Indeed, the bloated scoring of to-day more or less dates back with graduations to that yeir. Dry grounds were not to the liking of Nash, who in county cricket obtained but 33 wickets at 14 runs each. For the first time, however, he took part in extraneous matches, which brought his first-class bowling figures for the year up to 51 wickets at 15 runs apiece. For England against Notts and Yorkshire, at Bradford, he obtained 5 for 79 in a total of 255, and 9 for 72 in two innings for Barlow’s Eleven against Emmett’s Eleven, at Holbeck. Here his first-class career may be said to have terminated, for he only played four more matches for Lancashire up to the end of 1885. The advent of dry wickets, and the increased feeling on the subject of doubtful deliveries, no doubt combined to close his career. For many seasons subsequently, however, he did yeoman service for Bucks. Nash was, on a soft wicket, one of the most difficult of bowlers, delivering slow left hand with any amount of work on the ball. The writer remembers fielding to him at short slip in a minor match in 1882, and receiving an object lesson in break bowling such as he will never forget. Nash had a wicket such as he could only have pictured in dreams, and was remarking : “ Oh that I had ‘ W. G.’ to bowl at to-day.” One particular ball that pitched outside the off stump curled slowly up into the air and dropped per­ pendicularly on to the bails, which it just removed. Had they remained fast, so fine a ball would hive had hard lines indeed. The victim was H. C. John, who was tried for Lancashire in 1881. Everyone with whom he came into contact Cirried away golden opinions of poor Nash. J. B. P.