Cricket 1905

J une 8, 1905. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 179 GEO. G. BDSSEY &CO, 36 & 38 , QUEEN VICTORIA STREET , E .G. M a n u f a c t o r y— PECKHAM, 8.E. TIMBER MILLS— ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK, AGENTS A L L OVER THE WORLD, AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. By F. S. A s h lb y - C o o p e r . Although Essex have not achieved much success this season, supporters of the side should by no means feel pessimistic. The great majority of the eleven are still young men, judged from the modern standpoint, and, as they have accomplished many meri­ torious feats during the past few seasons, it is only natural to suppose that they will again perform well before the summer is far advanced. In the match with Surrey, at Leyton, they showed some excellent cricket, and, although they suffered defeat to the extent of five wickets, did not allow their opponents to claim all the honours of the game. The success of Beeves as a batsman must have rejoiced the heart of Essex enthu­ siasts, for he obtained his runs in a bright, vigorous manner, and credited himself with his first three-figure innings in important cricket. Last season, in all first - class matches, he scored only 433 runs in 27 completed inn­ ings, with an a v e r a g e o f 16*03, his high­ est effort being 57 n o t o u t against Lanca­ shire, at Ley­ ton. In the historic game w i t h Derby­ shire, at Ches­ terfield, where­ in 1,391 runs were made for thirty wickets, he had the un­ fortunate e x ­ p e r i e n c e of b e i n g c l e a n bowled by the first ball he re­ ceived in each innings— from Warren in the first, and from L e s t w i c k i n the second. So far as one can judge, E s s e x s h o u l d find little difficulty i n obtaining runs this year, but the side needs another g o o d - c l a s s bowler for the team to be regarded as a match-winning one. If only Mead would consent to again assist the side regularly, Essex might have the most successful season they have had for some years. Perhaps another trial will be given to W . Cooper, the hard­ hitting batsman of Beckton, who recently obtained many wickets cheaply against a strong Walthamstow side. Cooper is cer­ tainly one of the most promising men Essex have tried for some time, for he is an all­ round player of far more than average ability. He first came into note as far back as May, 1900, by scoring forty-six runs from two consecutive overs for Beckton against Lord­ ship Park, on the Beckton ground. The first of the overs in question yielded five 4’s and a 2 ; the next resulted in six boundary strokes. In 0. Wallace, of Walthamstow, is one of the best medium-paced bowlers in the South of England who have not participated in important cricket. He is now, perhaps, a trifle pass* to participate regularly in inter­ county matches, but should the Essex authori­ ties desire to include another bowler in the side they might do very muoh worse than to ask the player mentioned—an amateur—to assist in a few matohes. Mr. C. E. Green, this year’s president of the M.C.C., has always been so generous a supporter of Essex cricket that for his sake alone one hopes the side will win several matohes during the summer. Like A. G. Steel, W . H. Patterson and F. S. Jackson — to mention only three cricketers—Captain Greig is obviously a player who can return to first-class oricket after a long absence and at once meet with success. His two three-figure scores, made recently for Hampshire at the expense of Worcestershire, were compiled immediately upon his return from India, and it is of interest to know that during neither innings did he give a single ohanoe which was un­ accepted. It is remarkable how many great Hampshire run-getters have been Army men. During recent years one can recall, without diving at all deeply into the matter, s u c h namesasSpens, Poore, Greig, Wynyard,Bar­ ton and Sprot, whilst Hedley, Bradford and Bethune have g e n e r a l l y proved mo r e s e r v i c e a b l e with the ball than with the bat. Of earlier date was Sir F r e d e r i c k Bathurst, pro­ bably the finest amateurbowler we have ever had, and a hard hitter of whom it was said that p e r h a p s no other batsman had so often h it o u t o f L o r d ’s. S i r F r e d e r i c k retained h is skill until well advanced i n life, and on his twentieth ap­ pearance f o r the Gentlemen succeeded in bowling unchanged through both completed innings of the Players, in company with the late Mathew Kempson, who was making his debut for the Gentlemen. One of the greatest of all Army batsmen__ the late Captain John Dunn, of the Harrow X I. of 1879 and 1880—was not a Hamp­ shire man, inasmuch as he was born at Hobart Town, in Tasmania, in 1862, and afterwards assisted Surrey on a few occasions. Had he been able to participate regularly in great matches he would undoubtedly have made a name for himself, for in minor cricket he was a most prolific scorer. When in Ireland in 1886 he made 2,975 runs in 45 completed innings, average 66 - 1 1 , and ob­ tained 81 wickets. Whilst stationed at Hong-Kong he gained for himself the title of “ The Grace of the East,” and it is of inter­ est to know that the highest individual score ever made in China still stands to his credit. His end was a melancholy one. He was drowned at the shipwreck oi the “ Bokhara” ESSEX CRICKET CLUB, For the Y E A R 1790, W ILL BE HELD AT THE GREEN-MAN, at Navestock, On the following Days, Monday May June 3d. 17 th. 3 i A 14 th. 28 th. Monday July ------ Auguyt 12 th. 26 th. 9 th. 23 d.