Cricket 1904

S ept . 22, 1904. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. might aswell stop at home. They have no batsmanto compare withhim. ClemHill is going off, and newmen seldomdo well in their first seasonoverhere. They will have tobringat least five newmen, soif Trumper isanabsenteetheirprospectsarepoorindeed.’’ A c c o r d i n g to the Irish F ield W. Har­ rington, since his first match for Co. Kildare in 1887, has taken no fewer than 1,165 wickets for the county alone. T h e first reference that I have seen to the expected visit of an Australian team next summer comes fromthe Melbourne papers just to hand. At a meeting of the executive of the New South Wales Association, held on August 16th, it was agreed to communicate with tbe Vic­ torian and South Australian Associations asking that a selector from each State shouldbe appointed to select the teamto come to England. At a meeting of the Victorian Association, held the same week, the circular fromMr. F. E. Lacey, dated July 6th, was read. W. Bruce, theoldinternational cricketer,inreferring tothe difficulty experienced in the selec­ tion of a team, considered that the selection should be left to some recog­ nised authority. It was eventually decided that the matter shouldbe further discussed when a communication had been received from the New SouthWales Association. A p r o p o s of the coming Australian Teameveryone will be sorry to hear that there are grave doubts as to Major Wardill accompanying the party as manager. At the time the Australian mail left he was not in particularly good health. His numerous friends here will heartily wishhima speedy and complete recovery. H u n d r e d s are not as yet too plentiful in Canada, but at the end of August two were made on the same day at Toronto. For Toronto against the Hamilton C.C. a batsman named Lownsbrough scored 124. His innings (according to the M ail and Em pire) including “ 14 four-run drives ” ; while for the Hurons C.C. against St. George’s C. Thomson made 12 and 104 not out. A t the beginning of September W. Marsdentookeightwicketsfor fiveruns at Toronto for the GracechurchC.C. against Albion C.C., dismissing three men with successive balls. He has nowdone the hat trick three times this season. A l t h o u g h Hayward did not succeed in beating Abel’s record of 3,309 for a season, he brought his total to 3,170, which beat all other “ three thousand ” records. K. S. Ranjitsinbji’s 3,159 in 1899 is now third on the list, Fry’s 3,147 in 1901 is fourth, Ranjitsinbji’s 3,065 in 1900 is fifth, and J. T. Tyldesley’s 3,041 in 1901 is sixth. L a s t year C. B. Fry and K. S. Ranjit­ sinhji headed the batting averages, the former with 81-30, the latter with 56'58 —awide difference. This year the same two men are at the top of the list, but Ranjitsinhji is first with 74-17, and Fry second with 70-60. B. J a y a r a m , the Indian cricketer, has returned to his native country, after a long stay in England, where he did not meet with much success in first-class cricket. On August 25th he made his re-appearance, at Bangalore, in Indian cricket, and scored 128 for Bangalore Gymkhana against the Essex Regiment. C r i t i c i s i n g the play in the recent match in which the Bombay Presidency ElevenwasseverelybeatenbytheParades, anIndiannewspaper—apparentlyanxious to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, says:— “ When thelast wordhasbeensaidbyway of criticism, it cannot bearguedthat a single available player of conspicuous ability was left out, or that anyone was excluded from theteamwhose presence would havemadea material difference tothe result.................. The constitution of the team needs to be radically recast for the return match at Poona.” A c c o r d i n g to the Melbourne corre­ spondent of the D a ily Chronicle the Australian cricket associations are busy preparing for the dispatch of the 1905 Australian Eleven, whichwill leave this country for London in March or April next, at latest. By the last mail from England the formal invitation from the secretaryof the Marylebone Cricket Club reached the Selection Committee. The outlook for the next teamof Australians is not of the happiest, owing to the scarcity of bowlers and the number of retirements fromfirst-class cricket during the past six months. Of the fourteen Australians who went “ home” in 1902, E. Junes, H. Trumble, and J. Darling have retired, and J. V. Saunders, H. Carter, S. E. Gregory, and W. P. Howell are not able to join the 1905 contingent. T h e Melbourne correspondent con­ tinues as follows:— Thosewhoremain, however, formapretty reliable set—R. A. Duff, V. Trumper, A. J. Hopkins, M. A. Noble, C. Hill, W. W. Armstrong and J. J. Kelly. They will pro­ bably be joined (providedthe performances duringthe comingAustralian summer donot show any lowering of form, by two Victor­ ians, 0. E. McLeod and F. Laver, and by A. Cotter (N.S.W.) and N. H. Claxton (S.A.), who did splendid bowling work last season. Cotter is afine fast bowler and his companions are clever. There is some talk of taking in T. J. Byne, a Brisbane left­ hander, whotook fivewickets for 74 against theEnglishmen, and H. R. Griffith, another Queenslander who took five for 92 in the samegame. Victoriais lookinganxiouslyto seehowayoungartillerymannamedShaw, a fast left-hander, shapes. Indeed, the search for bowlers is so keenthat it will be a won- derful thing if, within the next sixmonths, five good ones are not unearthed. With a fresh infusion of “ bowling blood” Austra­ lians thinktheywill give a goodaccount of themselves at Lord’s next year. E. H. K i l l i c k , of the Sussex County cricket eleven, sails for SouthAfrica next Saturday to undertake a five months’ engagement as coach to the Green Point Club and South African College, at Capetown. M r . F. H. C l a r k e , a member of the Belmont C.C. (Philadelphia), has been appointededitorof th e Am erican Cricketer, by the Associated Cricket Clubs of Phila­ delphia. The new editor is well known to cricketers in Philadelphia, and has played the game for several years. He is President of the Standard Engraving Co. It is hoped thatwith his long experience, Mr. Clarke will be able to infuse new life into what has always been a very useful little journal. A n incident in connection with the match between Tom Richardson’s XII. andW. G. East’s XII. inaid of the funds of the Royal Hospital, Richmond, was the eale of a bat presented by Tom Hayward. All the players who tookpart in the match betweenLancashire and the Rest of England had signed their names upon the bat, which was bought for £10 by Mr. W. Hillier. F o r Mr. H. D. Leveson-Gower’s team against the Reigate Priory, R. H. Spooner, the Lancashire amateur, scored 191 not out on Saturday. Mr. Gower’s side scored 322 against 216. On the same dayHayes, theSurreycricketer, played for Honor Oak against Townley Park, at EastDulwich, and scored126out of a total of 187. I n the London Magazine forSeptember, K. S. Ranjitsinbji is responsible for an article entitled “ Princely Marriages in India.” His article seems to give the impressionthat eachbridegroomhasonly one bride, but I fancy that this is not quite the universal customamong princes in India. As the outcome of the match between T. Richardson’s XI. v. W. G. East’s Eighteen, on the Richmond Athletio Ground last Friday, the funds of the Richmond Royal Hospital will receive a substantial benefit to the extent of nearly £70. The King’s Bargemaster has done good active service in this way to one of Richmond’s most deserving institutions for some years now. In the great Surrey bowler he has latterly found an active and intelligent lieutenant. F r o m a trustworthy source I learnthat arrangements are already in progress for a visit of English amateur cricketers to the West Indies during the coming winter. According to my informant, Mr. P. F. Warner is getting up the side, though it is not certain that he will be able to go himself. Several well-known amateurs have already received invi­ tations.