Cricket 1905

C R IC K E T , AWEEKLY REOORDOPTHE QAMB. AUG. 31, 1905. i S E S M U l m B l I I 8 '/ ? £ C O A l 5 * 1 t ’4 “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. No 703 . v o l . x x iv . THURSDAY , AUG . 3 1 , 1 9 0 5 . p r i c e aa. This year, through the kindness of Mr. Lacey, Lord Harris, and Mr. Alcock, a team came over in July, and I am pleased to say that the captain, Mr. Mann, told me that the wicket was all that could be desired. “ How are you situated at Philadelphia as regards the communication between the cricket grounds and the city itself ? ” “ The means of com­ munication are excellent in every way. There are very frequent trains and trolleys, and all the cricket grounds, which, roughly speaking, may be said to lie in a circle round the city, are within half an hour of the centre of Philadelphia. No one would ever dream of driving as you do here when you want to get to Lord’s or the Oval. The Haverford College ground is within two minutes of that of the Merion Club, andthe Penn­ sylvania University ground is in the city itself. The only other Universities where cricket is played much are Harvard and Cornell, but the former is near Boston and the latter in New York State.” “ What do you think of the future of the game in the States ? ” “ I am sure that cricket is on a sounder basis now than ever it was. It is true that the crowds are not as large as they'used to be when it was the fashionable thing in ‘ society ’ to attend a cricket match. Of recent years the fashionable games are polo and football, and crick e t has tem p o ra rily taken a back place. But more men play cricket than ever, and the younger generation is taking up the game with enthusiasm. The drawback is that cricket can only be played on Saturday afternoons, for the ‘ leisured class ’ which is so much spoken of in England, does not seem to be increasing in Philadelphia, and the vast majority of men who are eligible as cricketers are CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. Mr. Young, “ there has always been a great drawback. Visiting teams have always told us that they think it is a great mistake for us to spend so much money over our club buildings and so little on our cricket grounds. We have never succeeded in making them clearly understand how it is that our grounds seem so bad in September. The fact is ME. SYDNEY YOUNG. (From a photo by S. Ward, 147 , Strand, Lohdon.) that we are afflicted with what is known in America as ‘ fa ll’ grass. It is a grass which only comes at the end of the summer, and spreads along the ground instead of growing upwards. Added to this the dews in September are very heavy. So it has always been our ambition to get a good team over in July, when the season is at its height. gfaHT {M R / SYDNEY YOUNG. A V I S I T O R FROM A M E R IC A . For the last three years Mr. Young has been the honorary secretary of the Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia, an organisation which is practically the M.C.C. of America. Eng­ lish cricketers have never been able to understand how it is that a single city in America, with only five clubs of the highest stand­ ing, should be able to turn out a team which can hold its own with our counties. It will be remembered that the Gentlemen of Philadel­ phia soundly beat one of the strongest Australian teams which ever visited England. “ The five chief clubs in Philadelphia,” said Mr. Young, “ are Philadelphia, Germantown, Merion, Bel­ mont, and Frankford. The first two of them celebrated their fiftieth anniversary last year, so that we are begin­ ning to leave our infancy behind. There are five other good American clubs, and about a dozen for English residents, most of whom are engaged in the factories. The worst of having so few clubs is that there is bound to be monotony. Good cricketers in Philadelphia are not so numerous that an accident to one of the best players can be regarded with unconcern by the rest, and it was a blow to cricketers in Philadelphia this year when J. B. King, who may be bracketed equal with Lester as the best all-round player in America, slipped on his arm when running a short run, and damaged the muscles so badly that for a couple of months he was unable to bowl. He has taken to bowling again now, but cannot use his fast ball.” “ In connection with previous visits of international teams to America,” said