Cricket 1904

A ug . 11, 1904. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME 323 99 BUSSEY’S “DEMON DRIVERS. < C C B « GEO, G. BUSSEY & CO Desire to inform Cricketers all over the world who may experience a difficulty in ob­ taining “ Demon Drivers ” that this difficulty arises in consequence of the ever-increas­ ing demand exceeding the supply. Readers of G e o . G . B u s s e y & Co.’s pamphlet, entitled “ Evolution of the Demon Driver,” are aware that a fea­ ture of the success of the “Demon Driver ” is due to a special process, occupying a long period, that the bats under­ go before leaving the works, and although there are always a large number o f Bats under this treatment which could be placed on the market, G e o . G . B u s s e y & Co., in the interest of cricketers and their own repu­ tation, will not deviate from the system that has made the The Finest Bat the World produces. GEO.G.BDSSEY & CO, 36 & 38, QUEENVICTORIASTREET, E.C. Manufactory— PECKHAM, 8.E. Timber Mill*—ELM8WELL SUFFOLK. AGENT8 ALL OVER THE WORLD. A T TH E SIGN OF TH E W IC K E T . By F . S. A shley -C oopbb . The second match of the Canterbury week provided some capital cricket. Hayward, as usual, proved the leviathan of the side, his aggregate of 212 just exceeding that of Fry at Brighton against the weaker bowling of Hampshire. Hayward’s performances dur­ ing the past five or six weeks would have been extraordinary even if accomplished for a side which seldom had to play an uphill game, hut, considering that they were achieved for an eleven which more often than not has to struggle hard to escape defeat, they must be regarded as altogether remark­ able. How dependent the Surrey side is at the present time upon the efforts of Hayward a perusal of the scores of the last few county matches in which he has participated will show. One of his most meritorious perform­ ances was accomplished in the recent match against Kent, in the second innings of which he went in first and carried out his bat for 188, the next highest scores in the completed innings being 38, 34 and 18. This feat was curiously similar to that of Fry against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge three years ago,except that Hayward made his runs at a time when they were sorely needed whilst Fry’s 170 was hit for Sussex after the side had gained a useful lead on the first innings. Hayward comes altogether of a cricketing family. Both his grand­ father (horn at Mitcham, August 25th, 1808 ; died at Cambridge, May 29th, 1852), and father (born at Chatteris, near Cambridge, October 19th, 1832) appeared for Surrey, whilst his famous uncle; Tom Hayward (born at Chatteris, March 21st, 1835: died at Cambridge, July 21st, 1876), was at one time the finest player in England, and for some years the mainstay of the Players in their matches against the Gentlemen. Yet another member of the family, a brother of the present-day “ crack,” is a prominent player in the Cambridgeshire eleven. Hayward’s father is still living, despite the fact that fifty years have passed since he played for Surrey, and takes the greatest interest in everything which concerns the game of which so many members of the family have been such capable exponents. He has been, since 1869, “ mine host ” of the Prince Regent Inn, near Parker’s Piece, at Cam­ bridge. Good judges declare that Mr. J. N. Craw­ ford, who played his first match for Surrey on Thursday last, bids fair to develop into an all-round player of more than usual ability. Despite the fact that he is still only seventeen years of age, he has for the past three or four years been regarded as a bowler of quite exceptional promise. He is a younger brother of V. F. S. and B. T. Crawford, of Leicester­ shire, but, unlike them, was bom in Surrey. Being a member of such a well- known cricket­ ing family, it was only natural that he should take keenly to the game. His grandfather, still alive, at one time appeared for tho Gentlemen of Sussex, and still follows first- class cricket closely; his father, the Rev. J. C. Crawford, has rendered good service to the game in Kent, Leicestershire, Hereford­ shire, Surrey and Sussex ; an uncle, the late Major F. F. Crawford, participated in county cricket with successtw o brothers (V. F. S. and B. T.) are in the Leicestershire X I., and a sister, Miss Leslie Crawford (now married), once scored 106 notout for Woodmansterce v. Caterham. Altogether there are four genera­ tions of tho Crawfords above the turf at the present time. J. N .’s debut against Kent was attended with success, seeing that he made the highest score in the first innings and obtained three wickets. He bowls slightly above medium-pace, and, as a batsman, possesses many strokes and a sound defence. Like Killick, of Sussex, he is a cricketer who plays in spectacles, but this should not prevent him eventually reaching a very high position among the exponents of the game. At Repton this year he scored 148 v. Incog- niti and 127 v. Northern Nomads, whilst a fortnight ago he played an innings of 162 for Old Beptonians v. Fettesian - Lorettonians. A t Kenley three years ago, for St. Wilfred’s School (Kenley) v. St. Anne’s School (Bedhill), he scored 117 and took nine of the ten wickets of his opponents for no runs, being then but fourteen years of age. Like his brother, V. F. S., he was aged only 17 when he appeared first for Surrey. W . W . F. PulleD, however, played for Somersetshire v. Hampshire, at South­ ampton, in 1881, at the age of 16, whilst T. Warsop, the famous Notl ingham bowler, from whom the great WiUiam Clarke said he learnt a great deal, was but eleven or twelve when he appeared for Nottingham v. Marylebone, at Nottingham, in 1791. William Denison, Surrey’s first Hon. Secretary, declared that he represented Surrey against Middlesex at Bichmond in 1813, when only twelve years of age, but the match to which he referred was probably a third or fourth-rate affair, which his school-boy eyes magnified into an inter-county contest. E. Stanley, when he represented Harrow against Eton, at Lord’s, in 1805, was but thirteen years old. The Bev. H. M. Aitken, of Eton and Oxford, was invited to appear for Surrey at the age of fifteen, whilst the late Mr. G. F. Grace played in two grand matches in the Canter­ bury Week of 1866 —for South of Thames v. North of Thames and Gentlemen of South v. I Zingari—at the same youthful age. At the present time Gloucestershire must be regarded as one of the most interesting teams in the country. Their displays against Sussex, Middlesex and Kent during the last ten days stimp them as a side of wonderful possibilities, and recall the palmy days of the county when the Graces were in their prime. They rely too much on Huggins and Dennett to obtain them their wickets for the eleven to be looked upon as a well-balanced one; but if only Townsend and Roberts could bowl as successfully as in past years, the side would prove a very hard one to defeat. It is unfortunate that many of its best players are not available during the whole season, for otherwise the team could be depended upon to occupy a very high position among the counties at the end of the season. It must be a pleasant reflection for Gloucester­ shire supporters that the majority of the most talented members of the team are still com­ paratively young men. Board, born in 1867, and Wrathall, in 1869, are the veterans of the side, but of the others Jessop and Sewell were bom in 1874, Townsend in 1876, Huggins, Brown andOh^mpainin 1877,Langdon in 1879, and Brownlee and Spry in 1882, whilst Dennett and Thomas are both young men. So the outlook for the county is certainly bright. Roberfs, who broke down during the winter, was born in 1862, but as he headed the Gloucestershire averages last season, it would not be surprising to see him display much of his old skill next year, providing he quite recovers. Mr. Philip Norman, in his most interesting “ Annals of the West Kent Cricket Club,” mentions the extraordinary fact that the late Mr. Herbert Jenner-Fust never made it his business to see Mr. W . G. Grace play. This