Cricket 1905

C R IC K E T , A W E E KLY REOORD OP T H E GAM E. MAY 25, 1905. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. wo. 689. v o l. x x iv . THURSDAY , M AY 25, 1905. p b ic e ad. THE MANAGER OP THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM. Last winter when every cricketer in Australia was hotly discussing the merits and demerits of every player who had a chance of being included in the team which was so soon to visit England, the name of P. Laver was occasionally seen in the newspapers, to be pushed aside with some contempt. It does not seem to have occurred to a single c r i t i c o r w e ll- k n o w n player in Australia to sug­ gest seriously that Laver should go to England with the team as a player, al­ though when the announce­ ment was made that he had been chosen as manager it was tardily recognised that his services as a player might occasionally be use­ ful to the team when two or three man required rest during the less important matches. But Laver has met with such remarkable success with the ball in the present tour that the attitude on the part of critics and players alike cannot easily be explained. The new bower’s success seems to be just as much of a surprise to Aus­ tralians as would be that of R. P. Keigwin—a very capable all-round player whom no one would dream of naming for an England eleven on public form—if he went to Australia as manager of an M.C.O. team, and suddenly appeared as by far the best bowler on the side. Yet Laver has not had by any means a poor record, and hardly a season has gone by in which he has not done some notable performances. It will be re­ membered he came to England with the Australian team of 1899—six years ago—and met with what is known as a “ qualified success ” as a bowler, al­ though he did quite well with the bat, having an average of 30'67, thanks largely to ten not out innings. As a bowler he was generally unsuccessful, and on many occasions during the tour he was only put on at the end of the second innings of a match. Twice he had a fine analysis, and “ Wisden” says of him, “ His best work was done on the last day of the England match at Lord’s when, with tempting half volleys pitched wide of the off stump, he got rid of Hayward, Tyldesley and Jessop in a few overs and destroyed England’s last chance of avoiding defeat.” His analysis in that innings was 16 overs, 4 maidens, 36 runs, 3 wickets. In the following match (against Oxford University Past and Present at Portsmouth) he bowled 12 overs in the second innings for 27 runs and 4 wickets. On returning to Aus­ tralia he did pretty well in the next season (1899-1900). He was nineteenth in the batting averages in first-class matches with 28,25, but with an average of 33 per wicket he was last but three in the bowling. In 1900-1 his batting average fell to 14 and he only took 10 wickets. His only good performance with the ball was for Victoria against South Australia on a terribly bad wicket. Victoria had made 76, and South Aus­ tralia were doing pretty well when, going on last he bowled 11 overs, 4 balls, 5 maidens for 10 runs and 4 wickets. In 1901-2 he began the season in most promising fashion by scoring 105 not out and 40 not out against South Australia, and it was largely due to his efforts that Victoria won by five wickets. In the first match against New South Wales he bowled uncom­ monly well in both innings, his analysis being 12 overs, 4 maidens, 22 runs and 3 wickets, and 22 overs, 4 balls, 6 maidens, 41 runs, 5 wickets. If he had done well against Maclaren’s team which was in Australia during this season he would doubtless have been chosen to go to England with the Australians in 1902. But luck was against him. He only played in one of the test matches, making ‘ 6 runs, and taking 2 wickets. He met with a fair amount of success both with the bat and with the ball in 1902-3, and he might possibly have been chosen for an Aus­ tralian eleven if a test match had been played. In 1903-4 he again did moderately well, but failed completely in the only test match (against the M.C.O. Australian team) for which he was chosen, taking a wicket for 163 runs, and making two scores of 6 and 4. Still, in the other matches which he played againBt the Englishmen he bowled with considerable success. In the last Australian season he was