Cricket 1905

98 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ay 4, 1905. can get a foothold on any sort of turf, and follows through his delivery in such a way as to get a maximum of body work into his action. He is, perhaps, not as fast all through the piece as Ernie Jones was, but his pace is deceptive, and he has a habit of slipping in one of ‘ Jonah’s ’ expresses every now and then. Already his fast yorker has gained considerable notoriety as a stump-breaker.” Another fine judge of the game, “ Not Out,” of the Sydney Referee (Mr. J. 0. Davis), says “ Cotter, Hopkins, and Armstrong are the only men likely to stand the regular work of bowling in two matches a week, and, though Cotter is likely to improve, and become a great fast bowler, not one of them is at present by any means a great bowler.” The same critic says, “ Cotter bowled very fast, maintained his pace, and showed grit in coming at Trumper, after the latter had glided the ball from the sticks to the fence a few times in his inimitable way. The yorker which bowled Trumper was one of the sort which upset the Victorians and also sent T. Hayward’s stump flying last season.” Another Australian critic says of h im :—“ Cotter is the fastest bowler in New South Wales, young, powerful, active, with unimpeachable delivery. He has improved much all round within the past twelve months, and is likely to continue to improve. A little coaching, encouragement, and experience will bring him on. His pace astonished not only the Victorian batsmen, but some of his own side, who had not seen him bowl for some considerable time. For a fast bowler to win a permanent position in high-grade cricket on our Australian wickets he has to master length and direction, and this necessitates serious and regular practice with concentration ofth em in d on the work. Ernest Jones found it so, and he eventually became the greatest of fast bowlers. Already a good bowler, Cotter will, one believes, improve, though in first-class cricket he cannot be expected to break up the batting of many elevens as he crinkled the Victorians. His yorkers were yorkers indeed.” P. F. Warner also has some­ thing to say about him : “ In build he is not unlike G. L. Jessop, though not so thick about the thighs and shoulders, and for half-a-dozen steps in the middle of his run he reminds me of the Gloucestershire captain. He is not a liichardson or a Lockwood, but he is very fast, with an action very similar to that of Wilson of Worcestershire, but though his arm is a trifle low he can make the ball bump, while he keeps his feet on a wet wicket better than any fast bow er I have ever seen. He is often very erratic—two short balls past your nose, and then a yorker on the leg ft imp.” Here, again, is one of the latest criticisms of Cotter’s bowling, by a player who encountered him in New Zea'and: “ Cotter is perhaps not as fast as Jones, the Adelaide “ express,” but has a particular striking delivery, both easy and e'egint. Erratic both in length and direction, his pace protects him from punishment, and on a hard wicket he would be extremely dangerous to any but a first-class batsman. No one in Auckland played him at all confidently, and he clean bowled all his victims except one. His ‘ yorker’ is deadly, and the ball he got most of his wickets with.” Lastly, A. E. Knight says: “ Strongly and sturdily built, the move­ ment and swing of his delivery absolutely beyond suspicion have an easy, graceful naturalness, which suggests entire freedom, and the absence of strained effort. He bowls, indeed, as comfortably and with the same ease as Wilson of Worcestershire, although his arm and shoulder are kept somewhat higher than those of the Englishman, without getting quite straight over, his delivery being a sort of blend between that of the South African Kotze and of Wilson. His preliminary canter is long, but restrained, and he follows through his action so that the strength of body as well as of arm seems to be embodied in the resultant delivery. His pace twelve months ago was not to be compared with that of Jones, but the probability is that it would be capable of great acceleration with experience and natural develop­ ment. He always seemed to bowl so well within his powers that the occasional extra fast one which he sent down was scarcely a surprise, the possi­ bility of the exception becoming the normal being so evident.” The same difference of opinion seems to prevail as to Cotter’s ability as a bats­ man. Thus, L. O. S. Poidevin says : “ It were better to draw a veil over his batting. I remember him as a fearless player, with but one stroke—up in the air.” On the other hand, P. F. Warner says: “ He is not to be despised as a batsman, for he is quick on his feet and can hit hard.” The Sydney Referee says : “ In the first match of the tour A. Cotter, by making 52 after going in last, establishes a small record that may not be eclipsed during the rest of the tour. A writer in Adelaide a few weeks back stated that Cotter is the only member of the team who possesses no ability whatever as batsman. But he does not quite know Cotter's ability. The average follower of cricket in Sydney will be immensely surprised if, at the end of the tour, Cotter occupies last position in the batting averages. With improve­ ment in judgment, which should come with experience, Cotter promises to develop into a very dangerous hard­ hitting batsman against any class of bowling.” Since the arrival of the Australian team various opinions as to Cotter’s bowling have been expressed by the players to representatives of the Press. Thus Mr. Murdoch says in the Daily Mail'. “ The whole team think that in him they have got a very likely match- winner, and Noble’s candid opinion was that on his day he can win a match himself. To those who have never seen Cotter send his expresses along he will probably be a source of surprise. He may be a little erratic at times, it is true, but he has got a very good yorker that gets him lots of wickets, and, like Hirst, he gets in an occasional swerver.” Again, Victor Trumper said to a representative of the Daily Chronicle: “ As to Cotter, he has so far done very well. As you know, he has tremendous pace, and, what is more, he can bowl on any wicket; perhaps he is the only fast bowler who can do that.” To “ Wanderer,” of the Sportsman, J. Darling said that Cotter might not have the exceptional stamina of Ernest Jones, and that like most fast bowlers at the early period of their career, he was inclined to be erratic; but so was Jones when he first came over, though the batsmen opposed to him soon found a marked improvement. In conclusion it may be added that in the past season’s inter-state matches in Australia, Noble and Hopkins each had a bowling average of 16, while Cotter, who came next, had an average of 23. Now, if, after reading these numerous and varied criticisms, any reader of Cricket can form an accurate opinion as to whether Cotter is another Spofforth, or only a good average fast bowler, he is to be envied. W. A. B e ttesw o b th . AN INTEREST ING MATCH WEST AU S TR A L IA . IN ST. PETER’S COLLEGE v. PRINCE ALFRED ( OLLEGE (OLD BOYS) (West Australia). Played at Perth on March 24. Won by six wickets by St. Peters. There was an exciting and somewhat extra­ ordinary finish to this match, of which the following account appeared in the Perth Morning Herald :— It was not until about a quarter to four that Coonibe, the Prince Alfred captain, declared his innings closed with the fine score of 321 for the loss of nine wickets. Play was not resumed until 4.30 p.m., for in the interval afternoon tea was served, and photographs taken. It therefore looked an absolute impossibility for St. Peter’s to score the runs in the two hours left them for play. Thirty-one runs were scored for the first wicket. Kelsey then joined Parker, and then the struggle began. The batsmen collared the bowling, the total mounted up with great rapidity, and there seemed an outside chance that St. Peter’s would be able to get the runs. The batsmen were together for about an hour and a quarter, and in that time they scored no fewer than 201 runs. With the total at 233 Kelsey was clean bowled, having played a very useful innings for 58. Edwards came next, and quickly rattled up 39 in good, plucky style, and this practically finished the match, for at 6.25 p.m., amid very great excitement, the total of Prince Alfred's was passed, and St. Peter's won in brilliant style. The match was con­ tinued for another five minutes, and during that time Parker passed the second hundred, and carried out his bat for 204. The total number of runs scored in actual playing time for the day was 663 rnns in five hours and three-quarters. P rince A lfred C ollege . C. Atkins, b Kelsey ... 8 Rossiter, b Kelsey ... 96 Coombe, c Kelsey, b Blackburn ..........80 Fry, c King, b Ed­ wards........................69 Smith, c Richardson, b Blackburn ... ... 5 Boas, b Kelsey ... ... 0 Farrar, b Kelsey ... 7 Hummiston, b Black­ burn ........................ 0 Wilson, not out..........21 H. Atkins, b Parker... 7 C. Osborne, not out... 10 Extras........ . ... 18 Total (9 wkts.)*321 Innings declared closed. S t . P eter ’ s C oli . eoe . Parker, not out ... Oussen, b Rossiter Kelsey, b Smith... Edwards, st Boas, Rossiter ......... ...201 ... 20 .. 58 b ... 39 Blackburn, b Fry King, not out ... Extras.......... 8 1 12 Total (4 wkts.) 342