Cricket 1905

i Jan. 26, 1905. CRICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 15 Hill also took four wickets in the second innings of A.E.E. v. Cambridge University, wherein no analysis was kept. His full total of wickets was actually therefore 105. For A.E.E. v. XIV. of Oxford University he also delivered 80 overs and 3 balls, 29 maidens, for 116 runs and 13 wickets, but, query, can these figures be included in first- class statistics? His average “ For York­ shire” is taken from “ Wisden” of 1875 which, however, did not record or reckon in the matches v. A.E.E. and United South. The scores of these two matches, as well as of A.E.E. v. Cambridge University I have taken from “ Scores and Analyses.” In the two Lillywhite’s and Grace’s books Hill is only credited with 89 wickets for 983 runs ! Can anyone explain ? These are but a very few instances of endless omissions and errors in the yearly tables. P O ID E V IN AN D PRECEDENT . From the Sydney Mail, Decamber 14th, by “ Shortslip ” :— The vacancy in the New South Wales twelve will be filled by G. L. Garnsey. It rested between him and L. O. S. Poidevin, who a few months ago was playing for Lancashire, and for whom a place is being kept in that county team. Some years ago —perhaps twenty-three— a good deal of interest departed from intercolonial cricket because of the migratory trips of some of Australia’s principal players. For instance, Spof- forth went over to Victoria, and so did Bonnor. Then they came back to New South Wales. One season they would be playing for and the next against the mother colony, and to stop a repetition thereof an understanding was arrived at by the New South Wales and the Victorian Cricket Associations fixing a residential qualification, either three or six months. However, since the agreement was arrived at there has been no necessity to enforce it, unless it be in the case of Poidevin, who has been absent in England for two years. Poidevin’s is, however, quite a different case to those above quoted. He has played for but one Australian State, and if the other cases had been similar to his the necessity for a residential qualification would never have occurred to the governing bodies. It would, no doubt, at this remote period, be difficult to trace any record of such agreement between the two associa­ tions. It was the visit to Melbourne in 1879 that got Bonnor into the Aus­ tralian Eleven of 1880. It may seem strange, yet it is a fact that the great hitter was without honour in his own country. He played with the Albert Club in 1878 : then he went to Mel­ bourne, got into the inter-colonial team, and was chosen for England in the combination managed by George Alex­ ander. If Poidevin had been sent over and had been successful, and again on the return to Sydney, the question as to his appointment as a member of the Australian team would be a nice one to settle. There are precedents, notably the case of the late William Midwinter, but it would be advisable, if such were considered, not to form a precedent. There was a time when Albert Trott would have strengthened theAll-England Eleven against the Australians, but because he came from the land of the kangaroo he was not chosen. The inclusion of the Red Rose amateur would undoubtedly make the Aus­ tralian side stronger than it would be without him, but wouldn’ t it seem uncricketlike to have a man playing one season for a first-class county where the qualification is two years, and the follow­ ing year representing Australia against Eugland P Poidevin would almost for a certainty have been a member of the 1902 Australian Eleven bat for an acci­ dent to his hand. He travelled all round with the New South Wales team on the Southern tour, but did not get a game. In his absence Duff was tried in the inter-state fixture,in Melbourne, and did w ell; then he performed the extra­ ordinary feat of registering three figures in his initial test match engagement, and thus he made himself a certainty for England, and Poidevin was left lament­ ing his ill-luck. H IN TS FOR YOUNG P L A Y E R S . The following “ Dont’s,” by Lord Harris, appear in The Mangalore Maga­ zine (India), but whether they were given by Lord Harris to members of the Mangalore College when he was India, we do not know. In any case the “ Dont’s ” are worthy of the attention of all young cricketers, and even of some older ones:— TO THE BATSMAN. Don’t, when your turn comes to go in, keep the field waiting because you have not taken the trouble to put your pads on when the batsman before you went in. Don’t come back when you are half way to the wickets because you find one of your gloves wants a button. Don’t, when you are at the wicket, go through a variety of attitudes to show how you could play an imaginary pitched up or short ball, but be content with playing it correctly when it is bowled. Don’t think you ought to get a fourer off the first ball; rather be content if you can stay at the wicket without getting a run in the first half hour. Don’t tell your partner to run when it is his call, and don’t refuse to run when he can see best where the ball has gone. As a rule a striker should call for hits in front of the wicket, the non-striker for those behind the striker’s wicket. Don’t run down on the middle of the pitch, run well to the side of it. Don’t rub your elbow when the ball has hit you on the .hand; it is unfair and ungentlemanly. Don’t talk to the wicket-keeper, and don’t encourage him to talk to you ; con­ versation is distracting. Don’t, when you are bowled out, say it was the worst ball ever bowled; it detracts from your own merits. Don’t say it was bad luck when you are out, but try to make out where the fault in your own play lay. TO THF. BOWLER. Don’ t cultivate a low action, get your hand as high as you can. Don’t be satisfied with bowling straight and on a good pitch; try to vary the pace without showing the batsman what you are trying to do. It is the highest art of bowling. On a perfect wicket, direction and pitch are useful but un­ successful. Don’ t appeal to the umpire unless you are satisfied that your appeal is justifi­ able. You may think the batsman is nearly anyhow out, but that does not justify an appeal. Don’t turn sulky because after bowling five consecutive maidens you are taken off. If the captain is mistaken in doing so it is his fault, not yours. THE EIELD IN EVERT POSITION. Don’t think you know better than the captain, go where he puts you, but don’t stand in your place rigidly; watch the ball as it is bowled and try to anticipate the hit that is to follow. Don’t run in when a ball is hit in the air, rather run back; if you have mis­ judged the distance you can run faster forwards than backwards. Don’t hold the ball when you have picked it up, try to throw it straight to the wicket, but throw it in anyhow rather than hold it. Don’t think that one hand is enough to field a ball with ; you have been given two, use them. Don’ t, when you miss a catch, think to gain sympathy of the audience by tearing your hair or grovelling ia the du st; save another run by throwing the ball in as quickly as possible, and aoase yourself iu your own estimation as much as you please afterwards. Don’t go to sleep. TO THE CAPTAIN. Don’t consider the reputation or the feelings of your best bowler, you are playing to win the match, not to support his reputation; so take him off when you think best. Don’t be satisfied with telling off each man to his proper place; see that each is on the exact spot you think suitable. Don’t blame the unsuccessful fields­ man, sympathise with him and his efforts will be encouraged. Don’t allow any sharp practice on the other side, and don’t try to obtain a point by it yourself. D jn ’t go in a place where you cannot judge how the bowlers are doing. Better place a worse man in your favourite place than form a false estimate of the chances of success in the bowlers. TO AXL. Don’ t play for yourself, play for your side. The AMERICAN CRICKETER. F ounded 1877. Published by F. H. Clarke for The Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia. An Illustrated Journal of Cricket, Tennis, Golf, and Kindred Pastimes. No. 632, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. price 10/- per annum, post paid anywhere. Specimen copies mailed on request.