Cricket 1905

C R IC K E T , A W E E K LY RECO RD OF T H E GAME- AUG. 3, 1905. i t >8— * = ------- “- f c I A “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No 6 9 9 . VOL. X X IV . A CHAT ABOUT C. E. MoLEOD. There are few Australians of note who have had a more chequered career as cricketers than C. E. McLeod, who, some­ what to the surprise of the critics, was chosen to accompany the Australian team of 1899 to England. He was not an unknown or an untried man, but on the other hand he was not a striking personality in the cricketworld. In England he for some time seemed likely to be a failure, and although he raised hopes now and then that his bowling would be effective, he drifted into the position of being one of the odd men whose services were only occasionally called upon. It was not until August that he found his form. He was playing in the match against Warwick­ shire, and when put on to bowl found that owing to the holes made by other bowlers he could not get a foothold over the wicket. Accordingly he tried the effect of bowling round the wicket, with the result that the ball went with his arm and considerably puzzled the batsmen, several wickets falling to him for a few runs. Then followed a brief period of great success, but he ended the tour as he began it—without glory. When he returned to Aus­ tralia he made useful scores in the inter-colonial matches, besides occasionally doing a ood thing with the ball, ut when it became a ques­ tion of selecting the Aus­ tralian team for 1902 his claims were not considered sufficiently good to justify his inclusion in the team. He was accordingly passed by, and there was hardly an Australian critic who ventured to say that a mistake had been made in leaving him out of the team. Still McLeod played on with about the same measure of success in the important matches. But his great suc­ cesses were so infrequent that in the THURSDAY, AUG. 3, 1905. lists which were drawn up in the news­ papers of men who certainly ought to have a place in the team of 1905 his name very seldom appeared. Thus when it was announced that he had received favour at the hands of the selection committee, the cricket public was so taken by surprise, that in the excitement caused by the heated discussion about the merits of Cotter, E. P. Waddy and others, he escaped with but few comments on the wisdom of his inclusion in the team. Since he has been in England this year McLeod has distinctly been worth his place in the team, and although he cannot point to many startling or even fine performances, either with the bat or the ball, he may reasonably urge that he FB ICE Sd* is not by any means alone among Aus­ tralians in that respect. McLeod ought to be a great bowler, for he seems to have all the requisites which go to make a bowler famous. He has enough break to beat the bat, and the ball occasionally “ does things” of an unexpected kind, but he falls just short of the very highest class. Put him on against a not very strong batting team, on a wicket which he likes, and he will make his opponents look as if they were merely club cricketers. On occasions this year, when his side has been playing for a draw, he has been useful in helping to keep down the runs by bowling with great accuracy wide of the off stump, thus making an admirable contrast to Arm­ strong and his leg breaks. Like all Australian bowlers, McLeod possesses a remark­ able command over the ball, and, when he chooses, he can be almost as accurate as a machine. There are times when he seems to an onlooker to be one of the greatest bowlers Australia has ever produced; there are times when one wonders how he ever managed to gain a place in an Australian eleven, however weak in bowling it might be. But it cannot be doubted that, on the whole, his bowling is a valuable asset to his side. As a batsman, McLeod is neither attractive nor un­ attractive. He makes runs in a steady way, in a style which is common to many cricketers who are most useful men to have in a team. He is not a man who is ever likely to arouse the enthusiasm of a crowd, but, on the other hand, he is likely to give trouble to the bowlers when his side is in difficulties. A glance at McLeod’s record in Aus­ tralia for the past two seasons gives somewhat unexpected results, and shows dearly that the selectors of Australian