Cricket 1904

CRICKET, A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. MAY 12, 1904. -Jti e( e JSjlVN if i 'M- » /Mi' "<] $ w** —T «r» I i © ft A Hr m H ® ! “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. mo . 657 . v o l . x x i i i . THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1904. p r i c e 2d. THE COMING OF HAYERFORD . In a month or so Haverford College will be sending another team—the third —across the " b i g d rin k ” to test its strength against the pick of our public schools. Ten years ago American cricket had hardly developed suffi­ ciently to justify a belief in the possibility of such an important undertaking being satisfactorily carried o u t within such a short space of time. The experience of the first tour, which was in 1896, however, showed that the authorities at Haverford lacked neither the energy nor the organisation requisite to make such an ambitious venture a complete success. As a matter of fact Haver- ford’s visit to England eight years ago marked a new era in the history of English school cricket. It was a plucky venture, and the hearty welcome the young Americans received wherever they played was only a fit­ ting tribute to the sports­ manlike way in which they played the game from first to last. Fifteen matches within the short space of six weeksrepresented an arduous p r o g r a m m e , particularly with the heavy amount of travelling thrown in. In the result, four matches were won and the same number lost, with seven games un­ finished, not by any means a bad record considering that the circumstances under which they played were necessarily very trying. In one respect the tour left a particularly favourable im­ pression on the best judges over here. The consistently fine batting of J. A. Lester was a revelation to English cricketers. A finished batsman with an attractive style, he was quite up to the best standard of English form. H is all-round cricket was indeed quite the predominant feature of Haverford’s first tour. Four years |later the Haverfordians repeated their visit, with equally happy results. This time Lester was not of the party, and there was no bright particular star to outshine the rest, Still, the Eleven ME C. 0. MORRIS. Capfain o f Haverford College Eleven . were a good level side, and one which did justice to the best traditions of the School they represented, and of American cricket. H ow the third team will compare with its predecessors re­ mains to be seen. In its captain, C. C. Morris, it will at all events have an all­ round cricketer who has already proved his capacity on English grounds. His brilliant score of 164 for the Gentlemen of Philadelphia against Notts in the early part of the programme last summer, w a s n o t only the highest but quite the best innings of the tour. A taking batsman with plenty of strokes as well as a good field, he has perhaps yet to be seen at his best. At Haverford his record has been especially brilliant, hardly inferior indeed to that of J. A. Lester. Last summer the Haverford sea­ son was practically advanced considerably in time to enable him to get through early enough to accompany the Gentlemen of Phila­ delphia to England. He showed his appreciation forcibly by takiDg the Cope bat for the highest average in the first eleven with an aggregate of 455 runs for nine innings, and an average o f 50'56. A t Haverford cricket is essentially the premier sport, and the hearty interest its alumni have taken and are taking in the game will ensure for the com ing team the warm appreciation of English cricketers. That they have won the respect of their English opponents is shown by the fact that they are com ing this year in response to a cordial invitation, through the medium of Lord Harris, from twelve of our leading public schools. In any case, one can heartily wish them good weather and good luck. W inter cricket practice is a regular institution at Haver­ ford, so that the players it will send over early next month to repre­ sent it on English soil should have had plenty of opportunities for getting into trim for the thirteen or fourteen matches they will have to get through between the middle of June and the end of July.