Cricket 1904

86 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A pril 28, 1904. D IN N E R TO T H E M .C .C . A U S T R A L I A N T E A M . On Friday last a dinner was given by the M .C.C. to the members of their team which had returned victorious from Aus­ tralia. L ord Alverstone, the president of the club, was in the chair, and the company numbered more than two hundred. Among the well-known old cricketers who were present were Messrs. A. G. Steel, K.C., A. E. Stoddart, F. R. Spofforth, A. J. Webbe, F. E . Lacey, H . W . Bainbridge, Col. Kingscote, Dr. Russell Bencraft, F . G. J. Ford, G. Brann, L . C. Docker, S. S. Pawling, A. W . Ridley, Denzil OnBlow, F . Mar- chant, and W . B. Pattisson. Sir George Newnes and Sir A. Conan Doyle were also among the guests. The menu card was designed by Mr. G. H illyard- Swiustead, the well-known cricketer- artist. In proposing the health of the M.C,C. Australian team, Lord Alverstone said he was not goin g to say that the team that had just returned was the finest team that could be collected in Great Britain, because they would not believe him if he did. (Laughter.) They had more than justified the choice of the Selection Com­ mittee. The real secret of the success was that they were, as Mr. Swinstead had depicted, an all-round team. Every man had worked for the good of his side and not for himself. As to the first Test match at Sydney, he noticed on entering the Temple at half-past nine in the morn­ ing, that the half-penny papers were com ­ manding a rapid sale. That was R. E. Foster’s match with his grand 287, but that i f itself would have been of little service without the 102 from Braund, or R elf’s 31 and Rhodes’ 40. They had met gallant opponents, and the 185 from the bat of Trumper would not readily be forgotten. He said that the first chance which Laver had failed to accept from Hirst m ight have greatly changed the course of the game, and then referred to the brilliant bow ling in the later Test matches of Rhodes with fifteen wickets for 104, and of Bosanquet, who sometimes bowled as well as it was possible to do, and sometimes as badly. (Laughter.) He was, however, the bowler who wins matches. He was especially gratified at the success of the team, because it had been sent out under the auspices of the M.C.C. Everyone who had studied E n g­ lish cricket knew full well that we could not hope to get a fully representative side, and this time there were five or six amateurs who were asked but could not through business, fam ily ties, etc., accept. It was in the highest degree important that the selection should rest with the M .C.C., a body independent of any county interest and far more representa­ tive than any other club in the world. As regards the loes sustained, they did not grieve because the financial result had not been profitable. Like Stoddart’s team in 1894-a, they had won three out of five Test games, but they had also beaten New South Wales twice. Lord Alverstone paid a hearty tribute to “ P lum ” Warner, whose anxieties had first begun when he collected the laggards, who, like Tom Hayward, had feared to face the Bay of Biscay. (Laughter.) His duties [were not con­ fined to the field, for he had entered into their life and happiness off as well as on, and had made friends wherever he went. He had shown infinite tact and discretion. He heartily congratulated Warner be­ cause he and the rest of the team had always played the Jgame and maintained in the highest degree the honour of the Old Country, creating fresh bonds of union b y the many friends made. In reply, Mr. Warner said that he had seen a cartoon in which he was repre­ sented as a lion without a mane, and the Kangaroo had found their Lion without a mane—a fact which, standing there that evening, he could not possibly deny. (Laughter.) It had been made to appear that he and A . C. Maclaren were at daggers drawn, but such was not the case. They were friends, and Maclaren was missed, not only as the prince of batsmen on Australian wickets, but because of his[excellent judgment. With reference to the “ barracking” he thought that some allowance should be made. H e was afraid that they thought a trifle too much of county cricket nowadays, instead of regarding it as only the means to assist the pursuit and development of cricket generally, and he should have liked to see a disposition to waive matches in favour of those who had worked hard for the honour of English cricket. The Test matches ought to be played out, and, if necessary, even a game like Middlesex v. Yorkshire—and he spoke as a member of the champion county team of last season—ought to give way. In this, like a certain states­ man, he thought Imperially, and no sacrifice was too great for an Internationl contest. Noble, who was a prince of sportsmen, had remarked that it was ludicrous to travel 13,000 miles, as in 1899, play five Test matches, and only arrive at a definite conclusion in one instance. It was no rubber at all. As to the missed catches during the recent tour, the cables were not always quite correct. They said in one match that Trumble let eight chances escape. Well, he thought an “ 8 ” had been substituted for a “ 3.” (Laughter.) They expected to be criticised, and had no right to complain if it was properly directed. It was a proud moment for him that night — it was very likely his cricket days might be practically over (“ No, n o ” ) —and he should always treasure the recaption that he had met with that evening as one of the greatest honours that could be possi­ bly bestowed upon him. No doubt some of the criticism which had been passed upon the team before they went out had had a great deal to do with the success of the tour. It was said that they could not bat and they cauld not bow l, and every man was consequently put upon his mettle. He was sorry that he had not been able to play Strudwick as a wicket-keeper in any of the Test matches, but as he recognised that the Surrey man would be England’s future stumper, he was sure that he would become so blase o f keeping wicket in Test matches that he would excuse him for the omission. A P IC T U R E S Q U E C R IT IC IS M . Some word painting of a kind which one does not often meet with in connec­ tion with the game of cricket will be found in the follow ing description of Australian cricket and cricketers. The article, which is from the pen of A. E. Knight, the Leicestershire cricketer, appeared in the Daily M a il: — When, contrary to precedent, it was an­ nounced that the distinction between amateur and professional was to some extent to be ignored on the recent trip, and that the whole team would stay together at the same hotels, the statement aroused something like enthusiasm iu Australia, and Mr. Warner is to be heartily congratulated upon the grati­ fying success which followed the new policy. We English people, with an age-long history behind us, can never, however, approach the complete democracy of Australia. The absolute social equality of Australian cricketers is most striking to an English observer, and presents an ideal in this re­ spect. Whether it be the porter who carries your luggage, the gardener who mows the public lawn, the lawyer who settles your will, or the dentist who probes your teeth, if they are Australian cricketers—and such men are and have been, for the cases are not hypothetical—they are familiar in a most unique degree on and off the field; and whether you be of the patrician order or a common carpenter, if you play cricket for England you are treated by them in precisely the same way. Apart from the actual cricket itself, it is the one thing which English cricketers were compelled to notice and, within limits, to admire. Of the seven bowlers who went out, Arnold and Bosanquet most distinctly added to their reputation. Of Ehodes, one would say rather that he confirmed the accepted truth that he is the greatest living left-hand bowler, and Hirst has long been a name to conjure with at home as out there. But except, perhaps, among cricketers themselves, scarcely Arnold, and certainly not Bosanquet, were regarded as bowlers of international order. Taking all wickets, Arnold was a great bowler indeed. He could make the ball rear as no one else could, and many a time won the tribute of an astonished look from the greatest of Australian batsmen. When well and strong his bowling was full of fire and sting ; the most perfect of wickets did not daunt him, and it was the Australian “ giants,” the men who carried the remainder of the side upon their backs, who fell to his prowess—tempted to late cut and beaten by the pace from the pitch, or l.b.w., to a deceptive swerver, or maybe, clean bowled. One can never think that Bosanquet was dreaded quite so much by the premier bats­ men, but he frequently proved unplayable to the majority of the side. Towards the end of the tour the Middlesex player habitually bowled a more accurate length, and so quickly did the ball come from the pitch, and so much did it turn, that his leg-break became an exceedingly difficult ball to play. Conse­ quently, he did not depend so much upon his unique ability to bowl the off-break with apparently the same action. The dread of this latter ball frequently upset the Aus-