Cricket 1905

132 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M a t 18, 1905. absurd to endeavour to prophesy which of the two sides will achieve most success during the summer. But it may he stated, without fear of contradiction, that, apart from inter-county and test matches, one of the most interesting games of the whole year should he that between Lancashire and the Australians, on the “ sporting” wicket at Manchester, for, even if the absurdly short hours of twelve to six are indulged in, a definite result should nevertheless be obtained. Compiled as in previous years by Mr. Alfred D. Taylor, the Sussex encyclopoedia, the Sussex County Cricket Annual for 1905 has just made its appearance. The publication, now in its fifth year, contains 106 pages of most interesting matter, and is issued at Brighton by the Sussex Evening Times at the extremely low price of a penny instead of double that sum as hitherto. Among the many things chronicled worth making a note of is the fact that the late Robert Hilton, who died in February last, and who was at one time engaged on the ground staff at Hove, was no less than 6ft. 7in. in height. Hilton himself said that when he stood perfectly upright he was 6ft. 9in., but, as he generally stooped, he passed at only (!) 6ft. 7in. Other very tall men who have been associated with first-class cricket are the late Mr. A. W. B. Sclater, of Sussex, who was 6 ft. 6| in. in his stockings, and 6 . J. Bonnor, the Austra­ lian, and Mr. H. R. Kingscote, the old Harrovian and president of the M.C.C. in 1827, each of whom was half an inch less. (According to an old rhyme Mr. Kingscote was but 6 ft. 4 in., whilst in Scores and Biographies his height is given as 6 ft. 5 in. in Vol. i., and as 6 ft. 6 in. in Vol. xiv., but the last account, supplied by Mr. Kingscote himself, is the correct one). Mr. W . Barclay Delacombe, the secretary to the Derbyshire County C.C., was 6 ft. 5 in. when but fifteen years of age, and G. F. Hornby was the same measurement whilst a member of the Winchester XI. of 1880. THE FRIARS’ C.C. With Mr. Arthur Wilson, 30, Ashbourne Road, Derby, as honorary secretary, the Friars have a fine list of matches. The managers of teams are Messrs. G. B. Barring­ ton, J. H. Smith, R. Sale, L. L. Goldie, E. E. Felton, H. F. Wright, G. D. Wilson, G. W Peach, R. G. Tomlinson, F. C. Newton, the Rev. J. C. Wilson and the Rev. J. E. C. Partridge. MAY. 15. Nottingham, v. Nott.’s Amateurs 18. Derby, v. 45th Regimental District 22. Derby, v. Lichfield 23. Eepton, v. Repton School JUNE. L Trent, v. Trent College 5. Lichfield, v. Garrison 8. Lincoln, v. Gentlemen of Lincolnshire* 13. Derby School Ground, v. Derby School 19. Shrewsbury, v. Shrewsbury School* 26. Lichfield,’ v. Lichfield (R) 27. Derby, v. Gentlemen of Lincolnshire (R)* JULY. 4. Derby, v. Trent College (R) 13. Derby, v. Oldfields 18. Derby, v. Nott.’s Amateurs (R) 25. Derby County Ground, v. Derby School (R) 26. Derby, v. Belper Meadows AUGUST. 2. Longford, v. Longford Hall 4. Derby, v. Longford Hall (R) 16. Belper, v. Belper Meadows (R) 24. Uttoxeter, v. Oldfields 25. Derby, v. Lichfield Garrison (R) 29. Derby, v. 45th Regimental District (R) t Horton House, Northants, v. Captain Winter- bottom’s XI. * Two-day matches, f Date not fixed. T H E AU STRA L IANS . THE SURREY MATCH. ( t h ir d o p t h e t o u r ). Played at the Oval on May 11, 12 and 13. Drawn. Of late years the vicissitudes of Surrey cricketers have been so marked that few Surrey men can have ventured to hope that their county would be able to make a good fight against the Australians, who, despite an apparent weakness in bowling, are regarded as a powerful team. But on their first day Surrey quite held their own, and when the second day ended they were in a fairly good position. Lord Dalmeny won the toss for the third time in succes­ sion, and although the majority of the batsmen were disappointing, their shortcomings were to a great extent atoned for by the fine play of Hobbs and Holland. The former, who was making his first appearance against an Australian team, played a wonderfully good innings. Unaccustomed to Aus­ tralian wiles and methods, he at times was not seen quite at his best, but his innings, taken as a whole, left very little to be desired. He played with the coolness and resource of an experienced hand, and left no doubt in the minds of spectators and players alike that with ordinary good fortune he has a great future before him. He and Hayward began the Surrey innings, and although Cotter was able to make the ball bump in a dangerous manner, the two batsmen were seldom in difficulties. The score was taken to 34, when Hayward, who seemed absolutely comfortable with the bowling, played on, after making 22 of the runs. Hayes was missed in the slips off his first ball by Laver, and caught by the same fieldsman off the next. Baker played a careful game, and helped Hobbs to raise the score to 84. Then Holland played one of the best innings of the day, and with Hobbs scoring off every loose ball, as well as off many good ones, the score rose until at lunch time it was 129 for three wickets. But after lunch things went badly for Surrey, for Holland was well caught in the slips, and Hobbs, when within six runs of making his hundred in his first Australian match, was splendidly thrown out by Clement Hill. Hobbs made 94 out of 167, and his innings included thirteen 4’s; he was batting for two hours and a half. He deserved all the loud applause which was accorded to him for his fine effort. From this time the Australian bowlers had the upper hand, although Lord Dalmeny made some excellent hits. The last five wickets fell for 58 runs. The Australians did not distinguish themselves as much as usual in the field, and several catches were missed. Nor did they shine much when they went in to bat, for by the time that stumps were drawn they had lost their four best men for 98—Trumper, Duff, Hill, and Noble. Trumper played fine cricket, and looked like making a large score. On Tuesday, Armstrong (not out 16) and Darling (not out 5) seemed settled for a long partnership, when Darling was finely caught by Knox. Hopkins and Laver did very little, and seven wickets were down for 155, so that Surrey men were very well pleased with themselves. But with an Australian team the last few wickets are often more difficult to take than the first two or three, and long before the innings closed the Surrey total had been passed. Armstrong played a very sound game, and he seems to be the most im­ proved batsman in the team. In McLeod he found a very useful partner, who made runs, although he never was quite at home with the bowling, and before the two men were parted the total was taken to 228 in fifty minutes. Armstrong was then dis­ missed for an excellent innings of 83, which had taken him two hours and a quarter to compile; he hit a five and ten 4’s. Cotter isapparently developing into a good batsman, and in his 30 were some fine strokes. The Australians had a lead of 65, and as they disposed of Hobbs and Hayes for 48 the pros­ pects that Surrey would make a match of it were not great. But Hayward was playing admirable cricket, and Baker remained with him until just before the close of play, the partnership producing 92 in an hour and a half. Both men played the bowling with ease, and Hayward especially was in splendid form. At the close of the day he was not out 60, with the total 144 for three wickets. Thus Surrey, with seven wickets in hand, were 79runs on, a position which could not be regarded as unsatis­ factory. There was a large crowd at the Oval on Saturday, for there was a promise of a full day’s interesting cricket. For a time things went very well for Surrey. Knox sturdily kept up his wicket, while Hayward played a beautiful game, showing all his old form, and making the bowling look very easy. When Knox left Surrey were 104 runs on, with six wickets in hand, and at this stage of the game there were great hopes that they would easily bring about a drawn game. Holland played very well indeed. While he was in with Hayward he made 30 out of 57 runs, and just before he was out the total was 228 for four. At this stage of the game Surrey were 161 runs on, with six wickets in hand, so that their position seemed pretty secure. But when Holland was caught low down in the slips, and Nice was bowled before he had scored, things began to look bad. At lunch time the score was 251 for six wickets, Hayward being not out 116. After lunch the situation changed. Hayward could get no one to stay with him, and carried his bat for 129—one of the best innings he has ever played. He was at the wickets during the entire innings, which lasted for four hours and thirty-five minutes, and his hits in­ cluded a 5 and ten 4’s. But although the Surrey inn­ ings came to an end sooner than was anticipated, it had lasted long enough to give the Australians a very difficult task, for with only two hours and tenminutes to bat they had to make 220 runs. They set about their work with determination, and at five o’clock their score was 103 with only Trumper out. But they were not quite within their time, for 117 runs had to be made within the next hour. At half-past five Armstrong and Cotter were both out, and although the team contained several men who could have “ stonewalled ” if there had been a break-down, the question was not merely whether the runs would be made, but whether Surreymight not just manage to win, for Hill and Kelly were both injured. Although the last half-hour’s play had produced fifty runs, it seemed highly probable that Surrey would in any case prevent their opponents from scoring another 60 in the last half-hour, At 5.40 the total was 175, so that 45 had to be made in the last twenty minutes. In the attempt to make the runs Darling and Noble both sacrificed themselves,but the delay caused while fresh men took their places was fatal, and when stumps were drawn and the match over, the Australians were 20 runs behind, with four wickets in hand. The last stages of the match until a few minutes before time were intensely exciting, but Surrey always seemed to have just a little in hand. S urrey . First innings. Second innings. Hayward, b Cotter ..........22 notout...................129 Hobbs, run out .................94 c Armstrong, b Cotter .......... 1 Hayes, c Laver, b McLeod 1 csub., b Laver... 24 Baker, c and b Armstrong 16 cHill, b Noble... 29 Holland, c Laver, b Cotter 24 c Armstrong, b Laver ..........30 Nice, c Darling, b Hopkins 11 b Laver 0 H. D. G. Leveson-Gower, b Cotter............................... 3 c Hill, b Laver... 12 Lord Dalmeny, c Laver, b McLeod ........................18 b Noble ... 14 Lees, c Darling, b Laver ... 11 b Noble ........... 0 Stedman, c Trumper, b L a ver............................... 6 c Noble, b Laver 0 N. A. Knox, not out .......... 8 b Noble ........... 7 B 9, lb 2 .................11 B 34, lb 4, nb 2 40 Total .................225 A ustralians . Total .......... Second innings. b Lees.................25 b Hobbs ..........64 c Stedman, b Lees................. 1 st Stedman, b Lees.................59 c Dalmeny, b Hayes ..........12 notout.................15 c IIaye8,b Lees... 7 B 3, lb 7, nb 1 11 First innings. V. T. Trumper, lbw, b Lees 31 R. A. Duff,c and b Lees ... 7 C. Hill, b Hayes .................20 M. A. Noble, c and b Lees 15 W. W. Armstrong, b Knox 83 J. Darling, c Knox, b Hayes 17 A. J. Hopkins, run out ... 6 F. Laver, lbw, b Hayes ... 1 C. E. Mcl^eod, c Holland, b Lees ............................... 60 J. J. Kelly, b Hayes .......... 2 A. Cotter, not out ......... 30 B 15, lb 3, nb 2..........20 Total ... S urrey . First innings. O. M. R. W. O. M. R. W. Cotter ................. 25 7 90 3 ........... 17 1 57 1 McLeod .......... 13 3 31 2 ... 23 10 51 0 Armstrong.......... 10 5 18 1 .......... 5 2 4 0 Laver ... ......... 14.1 3 35 2 ........... 28 8 61 5 Noble ................. 3 0 9 0 .......... 18 2 54 4 Duff ................. 1 1 0 0 ............ Hopkins .......... 9 2 31 1 .......... 10 5 19 0 Cotter delivered two no-balls. A ustralians . First innings. Second innings. O. M. R. W. O. M. R. W. Knox ................. 15 1 74 1 .......... 6 0 32 0 Lees ................ 27.2 1124 4 .......... 15 1 83 4 Hayes ................. 18 1 56 4 .......... 11 1 40 1 Nice ................. 5 0 18 0 .......... 3 0 20 0 Hobbs ... 2 0 13 1 Lees delivered three no-balls. ..292 Total (6 wkts) 19g Second innings. C RICKET Report Sheets, lOd. per dozen, post free. Order of Going-in Cards, 7d. per dozen, post free; Cricket Score Books, 6d. and Is. each; postage 2d. extra—To be obtained at the Offices of “ Cricket,” 168, Upper Thames Street, London, E.O.