Cricket 1904

50 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A pril 14, 1904. most desperate finishes that I ever re­ member. r' The last time I saw Mr. Ford bat was for M .C.C. against Leicestershire, at a time when Woodcock was bow ling uncommonly fast and well. The few spectators were electrified b y the brilliancy of F ord’s hit­ ting ; there was really something uncanny about it. H e treated Woodcock exactly as if he were one of the slowest bowlers in the world instead of one of the fastest, and it seemed almost extraordinary that the bat did not fly into fragments at each stroke. So rapidly did the ball travel from the bowler’s hand to the bat, and again from the bat to the boundary, that many of those who were looking on could not see it at all, and were looking all round the ground after a stroke, won­ dering where the ball was to be found. One of his huge drives in the air was loudly applauded b y those who saw where the ball went, and it was very amusing to see those who missed that pleasure anxiously asking their friends to describe the hit. I believe that it was in this match that Mr. Ford strained a muscle, and that be never played again, bub I have no books to refer to at the moment. B y his friends the loss of Mr. Ford will be felt very deeply. He will be greatly missed even by mere acquaintances, who must one and all have derived much pleasure from his society, so full was he of good humour and of good nature. In his manner of telling a good cricket story he was quite illimitable, and his hearty laugh at the end of it was infectious; he also had the rare gift of being a good listener, and no man appreciated other men’s cricket stories more than he. W . A. B e t t e s w o r t h . The follow ing notes about Mr. Ford’s cricket career are by J. B. Payne : — The news of Mr. W . J. Ford’s death, which occurred on Ea 9 ter Sunday, came as a great shock to the cricketing world. Only a few days previously he ha I been going about as usual, and had been present at the University sports. An a tia ci cf influenza on which pueumonia supor- vened rapidly developed serious symp­ toms, and after an illness of but a few days he passed away. A giant in stature and proportion —he s to o l fix feet three inches in height— Mr. Ford was the eldest of several brothers, all of them men of inches. Of these, “ A. F. J .” and “ F. G. J .” each played four years for Cambridge as well as assis ing Middlesex. The subject of this notice was born in London on November 7th, 1853, and, like his brothers, received his school education at Repton, where he formed one of the eleven in 1871 and 1872. Before he was eighteen his li.va of “ having a go ” was evidenced in Liilywhite’s Com­ panion for 1871, where he is described as “ rather too fond of a sensation hit.” His average for the school that year was 25, and in the fallow ing year he captained the eleven with happy results so far t s he was personally concerned, among his efforts for Repton being an innings of 78, while with his slow round bowling he captured 66 wickets at a fraction over nine runs each. In 1873 he was at St. John’s, Cambiidge, and though he took no part in the Freshmen’s mate1!, he was c'losen to represent the Sixteen against the Eleven. In the second innings he made things decidedly warm and, re­ ceiving useful help from the last man, ran up 55, his ultimate partner’s share being 7 not out. Playing on the side of An England Eleven (a match not recorded in “ W isden” ) against his Uni­ versity, he put together 36 and made 16 in a similar fixture a week later. Still he had received no trial in the eleven, when to his great delight, as he himself tells of it, he was the recipient of a telegram on the Friday before the Oxford match awarding him his “ Blue.” Thus his maiden appearance for Cambridge was in the big match itself. Right well did he justify his selection, his finely hit 51 not out being the highest score for Cambridge in the match, and obtained against the good bowling of Butler, Francis, and Boyle. It is worth pointing out, perhaps, that in the last few years J. L. Dauiell made a solitary appearance for Cambridge in the big match of the year, though his case misses an exact parallel in that he had pre­ viously played against Oxford. In 1874 Mr. Ford was all out of form, and did not appear against Oxford, while in 1875 a'ld 1876 he took no part in the important matches of his University. Meantime, however, some good form shown with the M.C.C. in some of its lesser engigements secured him a trial with Middlesex in 1879, when his scores in his two matches for the county were 0 and 28 v. Notts, and a tremendously-hit 74 against Gloucestershire in a heavy scoring match. It was observed on the latter occasion that mid-off appeared very loth to interfere with the passage of his drives on their way to the boundary. In 1880 he failed completely, and five years elapse before we agaia find him assisting Middlesex, though in the interim he at times helped Wiltshire. His one appear­ ance in 1885 was for Middlesex v. Kent at Maidstone, when in his first innings he thrashed the Kent bowling to the tuue of 44 made in seventeen minutes, and in his second actually made 75 out of 90 during the three-quarters of an hour he spent at the wicket. His 44 included a 6 and seven 4’s, and his 75 a 6 and fourteen 4’s. These two wonderful samples of hitting were executed off the bow ling of Staulsy Cnristopherson, Wootton, and Alec Hearne. Scholastic work greatly limited Mr. Ford’s first-class cricket, but in 1889 he hit up 64 for M.C.C. against his old University, though he was not again seen in the Middlesex ranks till 1894, when he played for the last time agairst Gloucestershire at Lord’s. Of his many big innings in the lesser M.C.C. games, his 250 against Uxbridge in 1881 was his highest. It is told of one of his hitting displays for the Incogniti that when he had broken three bats a wag in the ring shouted, “ Fetch him a tree.” Certain it is that for massive hitting Mr, Ford very closely approached C. I. Thornton. As a writer, too, he will greatly be missed. The history of the Cambri Ige University C.C. is the most delightful produot of his p jn and, like wis 3 , a history of the Middle­ sex C.C. and “ A Cricketer on Cricket ” are his handiwork, not to mention his regular contributions to magazines and the sportiDg papers, and his annual chapter on ’ ‘ Public School C ricket” (a pet hobby of bis) in “ Wisden.” As a practical exponent and theorist combined Mr. Ford will long be remembered by English cricketers. CRICKET AT BUENOS AIRES. NORTH v. SOUTH OF ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. ( thirteen th ann u al m atch ). Played at Hurlingham on February 14, 15 and 16, and ended in a very creditable win for the North by 28 runs, inasmuch as the South played the strongest batting team they have ever put in the field, besides being very strong in the bowling department. No cricket was played on the first day, rain putting a stop to it, and a start was not made on the second day till 12.30 p.m. There were present representatives of the British community from every part of the Argentine Republic, and the ground and stands pre­ sented a very pretty and animated appearance. With their win this year the North are one ahead, having won seven times and the South six. N orth . First innings. Second in n iD gj. H. J. J. Bury, c J. O. Ander- cR. E. H. Ander­ son, b Doming................. 4 son, b Freston 6 A. H. Knight,Ibff, b D jrn- io g ..................................... 5 lbw, b Doming .. 2) H. O. Foster, b Doming ... 0 b D om ing...........10 A. T. Spens, c Bingham, b Freston ........................ 5 c Kerr,bCampbell 15 F. Leach, st R. E. H. Anderson, b Doming ...11 lbw, b Freston ... 59 J. K. Garrod, b Campbell .. 60 run out............... 2 F. Francis, b Campbell ... 0 bBruxby .......... 13 M. O. Wells, c Bruxby, b Campbell ........................ 8 not out.....................10 J. H. Webster, lbw, b Doming .......... ......... 0 b Bruxby ........... 0 E. Traill, c Fair, b Doming 0 b Bruxby ......... 0 H. E. Moffat, not out.......... 4 b D orn iog........15 ....................... 8 Leg-bjes ... 2 Total ...105 Total S outh . First innings. E. L. Ruwboll, b Foster ... 3 J. A. Campbell, c Bury, b Foater............................... 3 J. St. J. Fair, b Traill ... 2 J. O. Anderson, b Traill ... 36 H. Bruxby, b Traill .......... 2 K. E. 11. Anderson, b Traill 0 Hon. L. E. binghim, c Moffit, b l'raill ..........IS B. Kerr, c Traill, b Foster H. Doming, st Moffat, b Foster............................... H. A. Cowes, c Knight, b Foster...................... . ... C. Freston, not out .......... Byes.............................. Second innings, b Traill................ 3 lbw, b Traill ... 0 b Traill ......... 40 c Garro 1, b Spens 1 1 c Leach, b Garrod 5 b Spens................ 1 c and b Garrod... 0 b Spens ..........38 0 b Spens Total ... 73 not ou t................. 4 b Spens ........... 5 t> a, ib 4 ............. 12 Total ...........128 N o r th . First innings. Second innings. „ _ . u. M. R. W. O. M. n.W . H. Dormag ... 21 5 51 6 .......... 25 8 49 3 C. Freston.........12 5 z3 1 .......... 15 2 38 2 J. A. Campbell... W I 23 3 ......... 4 0 8 1 B. Kerr........ 1 0 5 0 H. Bruxby ... 5.3 1203 S jo th . First innings. Seoond innings. H. C. Foster ... 16 8 16 5 ........... 9 1 29 0 E. Traill .......... 17 3 43 5 ........... 15 3 89 3 J. H. Webster ... 1 0 6 0 ......... A. T. ripens ... 134 8 26 6 J. R, Girrod ... 7 2 20 2