Cricket 1903

THE FINEST BAT THE WORLD PRODUCES. A pril 9, 1903. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 51 BUSSEY’S BUSSEY’S AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. B y F . 8 . A sh ley -O oop »h . FEATS, FACTS AND FIGURES OF 1902. (Continued from page 86). Mead, W. 3 for 58 and 6 for 55 and scores of 47 and 4, Essex v. Derbyshire, at Derby. M. A. Noble. 5 for 51 and 6 for 52 and scores of 47 and 8, Australia v. England, at Sheffield. 6 for 83 and 1 for 21 and score of 113, Australians v. Hampshire, at Southampton. Tate, F. W. 4 for 50 and 5 for 55 and score of 52*,'Sussex y . Worcs., at Brighton. Trott, A. E. 5 for 63 and 4 for 116 and' scores of 17 and 103, Middlesex v. Somerset, at Lord’s. 4 for 63 and 5 for 88 and score of 67, M.C.C. and G. y . Cambridge Univ., at Lord’s. H. Trumble. 8 for 65 and 4 for 108 and scores of 64* and 7*, Aus­ tralia v. England, at the Oval. C.M. Wells. 6 for 99 and 8 for 45 and scores of 0 and 105, Middle­ sex y . Essex, at Leyton. R. A. Williams. 3 for 75 and 5 for 30 and scores of 4 and 51*, Oxford University v. Surrey, at Oxford. • Signifies not out. T ablb No. 30.—TABLE SHOWING THE NUM­ BER OP PLAYER8 WHO SCORED 1,000 OR MORE RUNS AND OBTAINED 100 OR M O R E W IC K E T S IN F IR S T -C L A S S MATCHES DURING THE SEASON. Player. Runs. Wicket*. Arnold, E.................... 1,067 ........................ 118 Braund, L.C ................ 1.432 ........................ 172 MEMORABILIA. Leg-before- Wicket. The following great matches were played during 1902 with the proposed new l.b.w. law in force :— M.C.C. and G-. v. Yorkshire at Lord’s. M.C.C. and G. v. Lancashire at Lord’s. M.C.C. and G. v. London County at Lord’s. M.C.C. and G. v. Kent at Lord’s. M.C.C and G. v. Notts at Lord’s. M.C.C. and G. v. Derbyshire at Lord's. M.C.C. and G. v. Leicestershire at Lord’s. The same law was used in the matches played in the Second - class County Champion­ ship Competition, and at the end of the season it was universally recognised by those best qualified to speak on the matter, viz., the captains, secretaries, and players of those counties whose matches had been played with the proposed alteration in force—that it would be a mistake to make any change in the wording of Law X X IV . Interpretation of the Zaws. Prior to the commencement of the season, the Marylebone Club published a pamphlet entitled “ The Laws of Cricket with De­ cisions and Interpretations authorised by the M.C.C.” ; price, threepence. The Bowling Crease. At the conclusion of the ordinary business at the 115th Annual Meeting of the M.C.C. at Lord’s on May 7th, 1902, the meeting was made special for the purpose of placing before it the following .suggested alteration to Law V II., which read :— THE BOW LING CREASE. L aw V II.—The Bowling Crease shall be in a line with the stumps: six feet eight inches in length; the stumps in the centre ; with a Return Crease at each end at right angles behind the wicket. The proposed alteration required the substitu­ tion of the word eight for six. There was only one dissentient, the Rev. J. C. Craw­ ford, who failed to find a seconder to his amendment. The proposal was then passed unanimously. Waste of Time. During the season a notice was posted up at Lord’s requesting the in-going batsman to pass the out-goer at the pavilion gate in order that Law XLV . might not be broken. Instructions to Umpires. In June the following additional instruc­ tions to umpires were issued by the M.C.C. Committee:— fa ) . —Umpires are not justified in deciding the ground unfit for play merely because the grass is wet, and the ball would in conse­ quence be slippery. (b ) . —In order to facilitate play at the earliest possible moment in wet weather, the umpires shall see that the foot-holes made by the bowlers and batsmen are cleaned out dried, and filled up with sawdust at any time during the match, though the game is not actually in progress. London County v. Surrey, at the Crystal Palace, April 24th, 25th and 26th. In the second innings of the former, L. Walker and Vine (J.) added 48 runs for the ninth wicket, of which number Walker claimed 46. From an over delivered by Smith (W . C.) he made 22 runs (4, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4). Surrey v. London County, at the Oval, April 28th, 29th and 30th. In the first innings of Surrey V. F. S. Crawford (97) drove a ball from Braund (L. C.) out of the ground. The wickets, however, were not pitched in the centre of the playing arena. Braund commenced the bowling for London County, and was not changed until the Surrey score had reached 273. M.C.C. and Ground v. Yorkshire, at Lord s, May 5th and 6th. In the first innings of the M.C.C. the first seven wickets fell for 12 runs, the total eventually reaching 27. This was the first of seven great matches played during the year with the propcsed new l.b.w. rule in force. (For a complete list of the matches see above.) London County v. Australians at the Crystal Palace, May 5th, 6th and 7th. G. L. Jessop (47) and Braund, L. C. (104) added 40 runs in ten minutes at one time during their partnership. Notts v. Australians at Nottingham, May 8th, 9th and 10th. Of the first 51 runs scored by the County A. O. Jones claimed 45. M.C.C. and Ground v. Lancashire, at Lord’s, May 8th, 9th and 10th. After delivering 17 balls for Lancashire, Barnes (S. F.) hadto retire from the game (his knee having given way), and the captains mutually agreed that his place in the team should be taken by Broughton (J. J.). In the second innings of M.C.C., W. G. Grace (61 not out) made a hit off Hallows (J.) to leg, over the grand stand, and out of the ground into an adjuining garden. Essex v. Yorkshire, at Leyton, May 8th, 9th and 10th. The Hon. F. S. Jackson made 101 not out for Yorkshire. His scores in his two previous first-class matches were 4 and 101 for Yorkshire v. C. I. Thornton's X I., at Scarborough, in 1899, and 134 and 42 for Gentlemen v. Flayers, at Scarborough in 1900. Surrey v. Australians, at the Oval, May 12th, 13th, and 14th. On the second day of the match the ground was visited by the Prince of Wales and his brother-in-law, Prince Charles of Denmark. They reached the ground about 4.30, and remained just over an hour. They saw the close of the Australians’ innings and a { art of the first venture of Surrey,