Cricket 1904

S ept . 15, 1904. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME 403 BUSSEY’ “ 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 “ D em o n D r i v e r s ’ that this difficulty arises in consequence of the ever-increas­ ing demand exceeding the supply. Readers of G eo . G . B ussey & Co.’s pamphlet, entitled “ Evolution of the Demon Driver,” are aware that a fea­ ture of the success of the “ D em o n D r iv e r ” 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 of Bats under this treatment which could be placed on the market, G eo . G . B ussey & Co., in the interest of cricketers and their own repu­ tation, will not deviate from the system that has made the TheFinest Bat theWorld produces. GEO.G.BUSSEY I CO., 36 & 38, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET , E .G. Manufactory— PECKHAM, S.E. Timber Mill*—ELMSWELL SUFFOLK. AT THE SIGN OF THE W ICKET . By F. S. A s h l e y -C o o p e b . AGENT8 ALL OYER THE WORLD. The Hastings Festival, as was the case in 1903, was seriously interfered with by rain, and it is small consolation for those who visited the town for the express purpose of witnessing the cricket to know that the weather has since heen brilliantly fine. To so great an extent was play impossible that the reserve fund will be largely drawn upon, if not absorbed; there is, however, small likelihood of the guarantors being called upon, despite the heavy loss incurred on the week’s working. The match between Sussex and Kent on the same ground a fortnight ago was doubtless in a measure responsible for the somewhat small attend­ ances during the Week, for however greatly the fact may be deplored, it is obvious that the popular taste nowadays is almost wholly for inter-county cricket. It is possible that next year the matches played during the Festival will be a county contest and a meeting between the Australians and the South of England. The recent match at Hastings between Sussex and Kent proved a great attraction, for the ground was much more accessible to Kent folk than Hove would have been, whilst so far as Sussex enthu­ siasts were concerned few, if any, places in the county could have been more easily reached. Should an inter-county match be included in the programme in next year’s Festival, Kent will probably, for the reason mentioned, be the visiting team. Apart from Jessop’s great innings of 159 not out, pre­ viously referred to in this column, the Hastings Week of 1904 will be chiefly re­ membered on account of the absence of “ W . G.,” who, for the first time since the Festival was inaugurated, did not play. His non-appearance was much regretted by a great many followers of the game, and to those who have regularly attended the Week the Festival must have seemed like Hamlet minus the Prince of Denmark. The Doctor may be getting old (cricketally), but he is still worth playing on almost any side in the world, for he is one who can do himself justice on great occasions, which many players are unable to do. Mr. William Carless again superintended matters in connection with the Week, which is tantamount to saying that everything passed off without a hitch of any kind. Several of the enthusiasts, to whose efforts the inauguration of the Festival was due, were present at the recent matches, the most, noticeable being Messrs. Pickering, the old Etonian, and F. G. Harding. The Right Hon. James Lowther, M.P., who died at Wilton Castle, Redcar, on Monday last, at the age of sixty-three, although never actively identified with the game, nevertheless recognised that cricket was a great factor for good, and frequently referred to it in terms of the highest praise. One of the last occasions upon which he alluded to the game in public was in Septem­ ber, 1901, when, at the seventieth annual meeting of the Penrith C.C., he made some novel suggestions. The county of Cumber­ land, he said, was not what they might call a cricketing county. Ih e configuration of the soil did not lend itself very favourably to very level cricket pitches, and the state of the atmosphere did not conduce to very rapid grounds on which big scoring could be achieved. First-class cricket and ordinary provincial cricket stood on different footings. There was nothing duller than to witness first-class cricket as played by professionals. What they wanted was a race of Jessops, He suggested that the time should be divided into two equal portions. Suppose they were playing a one day match of six hours. Divide it into three hours each, and the captain who won the toss would take his choice of ends. Whichever side scored most in the three hours would be the winner. In first-class cricket each day would be divided, one team taking one half and the other the other. Mr. Lowther was related to the Hon. Colonel Henry Cecil Lowther (born 1790 : died 1867), whom students of the game will recall as a prominent member of the M.C.C. about one hundred years ago. Col. Lowther appeared in many matches of note, and in 1819 and 1820 assisted the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’s. Many communications have reached me concerning the feat of Cyril Bashford in obtaining all twenty wickets in a match, the full score of which appeared in a recent issue of Cricket . Such a performance is extremely rare, but not unique. F. R. Spofforth, in a match played in Australia in December, 1881, bowled down all twenty wickets of his opponents, a feat performed six years later by J. Bryant, in Melbourne, when playing for Erskine v. Deaf Mutes. In May, 1883, a bowler named Martin obtained the whole twenty wickets when appearing for Stockbridge v. Abbott’s Ann, at Stockbridge, but not all clean bowled. Several players have taken nineteen wickets out of twenty, the most interesting instances being by F. Parris, the famous old Sussex bowler, for Newick v. Chailey, when he threw down the other wicket, and by L. O. S. Poidevin, who performed the feat when but eleven years old in a school match, in which he also scored 271 not out. A genuine curiosity comes from a village near Eastbourne, where, on Saturday last, play in a local match was seriously interfered with by two swans, who strolled on to the wicket and could not be persuaded to move to other quarters. The enforced cessation of play had lasted thirty-five minutes before the cricketers and spectators succeeded in en­ veloping the two trespass3rs in large blankets and depositing them in a pond in a neigh­ bouring field. Matches have at various times been interrupted by dogs, mice, locusts, bees, sparrows, bulls, runaway horses, rabbits, kangaroos, pigs, cats, etc., and the writer was once a nimble spectator when play was suspended owing to the embarrassing interest taken in the game by a prowling zebra. SUTTON v. YOUNG SURREY AMATEURS.— Played at Sutton on September 7. A m ateurs . C. Thornhill, c Dagg, b Roberts.................28 R. C. Firke, c Roberts, b B ell....................... 5 T. Bowring, b Roberts 10 G. Wormold, run out 8 E.Criske.b G.R.Blades 0 J. Wormold, c R. Bell, b G. R. Blades .. 11 W . Graburn, c and b G. R. Blades .......... 7 P. Nesbitt, c Blades, b Roberts.................22 B. Matchson, run out 7 W. Limpscombe, b R.M . Bell ..........20 B. Johnson, not out... 2 Extras................. 3 Total . 123 S utton . A. W . Rutty, b Thorn­ hill ........................20 C. F. Reiner, c J.Wor­ mold, b Thornhill 49 H. M. Forster, b J. W orm old................39 C. C. Roterts,b Thorn­ hill ........................35 R. M. Bell, c Match- son. b Limpscombe 5 J. G. M. Bell, c John­ son, bJ. Wormold... 7 E. G. Bradley, c and b J. Wormold ... 17 N. J. Strachan, o Limpscombe,bBow­ ring ........................11 F. B. Blades, c Nes­ bitt, b Bowring ... 3 G. R. Blades, not out 7 A. R. D.igg, not out... 4 Extras.................15 Total ...212