Cricket 1904

282 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. J u ly 21, 1904. the D octor made 2,346 runs during the season, the first thousand being made in May. N ot for long was Hayes allowed to enjoy the honour of holding the record for the highest score of the season. H is 273 not out for Surrey v. Derbyshire at the beginning of July has now been re­ placed b y the 343 not out made b y Percy Perrin against the same county for Essex at Chesterfield. On the first day of the match (Monday last) Perrin was n ot out 295 when stumps were drawn, and his hits then included no fewer than 60 fours. Perrin’ s record seems likely to stand, but if the hot weather lasts much longer the bowlers w ill become more and more slack, and anything in the way of large scores may happen. G. L . J essop , who has been quiet for some time, made 206 on M onday for Gloucestershire against Notts at Trent Bridge in tw o hours and twenty minutes, j In 1903 he made 286 against Sussex in a little less than three hours, while among other scores of his which were made very rapidly are 101 in 1896 against Yorkshire (40 minutes), and 104 against Australia at the Oval in 1902 (75 minutes). So greatly impressed were the spec­ tators at the Oval b y the remarkable bow ling of Nice on M onday for Surrey against Yorkshire that a collection, which was made on the ground for him, realised over £44. On a good wicket Nice bow led 27 overs and 5 balls, 8 maidens for 83 runs and 8 wickets— in some ways this is the most remarkable feat of the season. O n Monday, at Trent Bridge, G louces­ tershire scored 591 for nine wickets, and on the same day Essex made 524 for eight wickets at Chesterfield against Derbyshire. It will be remembered that Surrey made 611 for nine wickets against Derbyshire at Derby at the beginning of July. In the course of their Devonshire Tour the N otts Magdala C.C. played at Sidmouth against the town club. Sid- mouth made 222 and Notts Magdala replied with 219 for five wickets, a state of affairs which the Devon and Exeter Gazette, evidently m indful of the saying that a game is never lost until it is won, described as “ a draw, slightly in favour of the visitors.” A t L ord ’s on M onday the M .C.C. committee discussed the subject of the alleged tampering with the wicket at Harrogate in the match between Y ork­ shire and Kent. They decided that the question was within the jurisdiction of the umpires under the laws of cricket, and that the captains were quite justified in abandoning the match. T h e r e was some remarkable cricket at the Oval on the first day of the match between Yorkshire and Surrey. Y ork ­ shire won the toss and went in on a wicket which was apparently perfect, but they gave a display which reminded one of their batting at the Oval in 1898, when, after Surrey had made 536, their batting broke down fo badly on a good wicket before the bow ling of Richardson and Lockwood that they were all out for 78 and 186 (F. S. Jackson was unable to bat in either innings on account of an injury). T h is week high scores made b y indi­ viduals have been so plentiful that a mere hundred almost escaped notice. Perrin’s 295 not out of Monday ran to 343 not out on Tuesday. There was also Jessop’s 206 on Monday. Then on Tuesday L. J. Tancred brought his over­ night score of 157 not out to 250, and, greatest surprise of all, C. A. Ollivierre was so littWimpressed by the huge total made by Essex against his county that he scored 229. I t was a little cruel of Dr. Grace to bring his score of 61 not out on his fifty-sixth birthday to 166 on the next day, for it must have considerably damped the enthusiasm of cricketers who aver that batting in the Doctor’s younger d a js could not possibly have been as good as it is now. But it stands to reason that if a veteran of fifty-six, who can only run between the wickets with difficulty, can make a score of 166 in a first-class match, he would be likely to astonish the world, even more than he has done already, if he could get back his youth again. Dr. Grace’s 166 is his 126th hundred in first-class cricket, and his 208th in all matches. T h e score of 343 not out b y Percy Perrin for Essex against Derbyshire is not only the highest individual score of the season, but the fifth on record in first-class cricket. A. C. Maclaren’s 424, made ia 1895 for Lancashire against Somerset, still holds the first place, and is likely to remain, for it was made before the rule about declaring an innings came into force. The second score is 365 not out b y Clement H ill for South Australia v. New South Wales in 1900 ; the third Abel’s 357 not out for Surrey v. Somerset in 1899, and the fourth Dr. Grace’s 344 for M .C.C. v. Kent in 1876. T h e other scores of 300 in first-class matches are as follow s :— 388 W . W . Bead (Surrey v. O xford).................1888 321 W . L. Murdoch (N.S.W. v. Victoria) ... 188*2 818* W. G. Orace (Gloucester v. Yorkshire) ... 1876 316* Hayward (Surrey v. Lancashire) ..........1898 311 Brown, J. T. (Yorkshire v. Sufsex ..........1897 304 Major Poore (Hampshire v. 8 jmerset) ...1899 Sol W . G. Grace (Gloucester v. bussex)..........1896 300* V. Trumper (Australians v. 8ussex)..........1899 30.) Brown, J. T. (Yorkshire v. Dereyshire) ...1898 * Signifies not out. T h e victory of Derbyshire over Essex is decidedly one of the most remarkable events in the history of the game. If ever a side seemed safe after its first innings was completed it was Essex, for who could possibly dream that a total of 597 was not enough ? What captain would not have gladly declared, if his side had made as many rung at lunch time on the second day, or before lunch if he were permitted to do so ? Y et against this huge score Derbyshire put up 543, got Essex out in the second innings for 97, and won the match b y nine wickets. Such a victory ought to ensure their appearance among the first-class counties for years to come, even if they do ever so bsdly. No first-class team has ever been beaten before after making such a large total as Essex in the first innings. I n the match at the Oval on July 16th between East and West in the competition of the South London School Cricket Association, there was some remarkable scoring. C. Bispham and A. Evans went in first for the East. Bispham took the first over, and scored 33 runs in six minutes; he was out second at the total of 34, having obtained the whole of the runs. Evans then began to hit, and scored 102 runs in thirty-tw o minutes, making 119 in all in fifty minutes. The total of the innings, 238, was made in ninety-five miuutes. The bow ling and fielding of the boys on both sides were very good. C r ic k e t e r s will find several articles which will interest them in the August number of C. B. F ry’s magazine which has just been issued. E. H . D . Sewell writes on the “ Art of Catching,” and his remarks are illustrated b y excellent reproductions of photographs of himself ; K . S. Ranjitsinhji has an article entitled “ M y Lion Hunt in In d ia ” ; D . L. A. Jephson has some verses on “ The Oval on Bank H oliday ” ; George Brann writes on “ Golf-Cricket ” ; and T. Paw ley on “ The Kent Nursery at Ton­ bridge ” ; and the magazine contains in addition photographs of cricketers and various comments about them. Indeed the number m ight well be called a “ Cricket Number.” F rom George Brann’s article in the above magazine I take the follow ing, at the same time stating that his tale of the first g olf match between W . G. and W . L . Murdoch is almost worth the price of the magazine. When Mr. Jessop starts golf—and he assuredly will start—what a terrible restraint he will have to put upon those quick bouncing legs of his. By the bye, he has played, and already holds a record stroke, which almost killed a caddie who was standing well behind the tee box. This occurred at the Toronto golf links, where the members of K. S. Kanjitsinhji’s American team spent a most delightful three days as the guests of the golf club. Banji himself played, but refused to take the game up seriously, unless hansoms were stationed at each tee to convey the player to where his ball had been driven. The long walk was too monotonous for him, although it must be confessed that on one occasion only was he compelled to walk any appreciable distance to play his second. So many people believe, when they see a statement in a daily paper, that “ there must be something in it,” that it is important to call attention to a sugges­ tion which appeared in one of our