Cricket 1905

394 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. S ept . 7, 1905. James Horner, the honorary treasurer of the county club, has consented to act as treasurer to the fund. I t was a curious coincidence that iu a letter which appeared in the Sportsman on Saturday a correspondent, referring to the fact that Lord Dalmeny had won the toss for Surrey and put Kent in first, gave some details about the finish of the tie match at the Oval between Surrey and Middlesex in 1868. 'Was this an instance of second sight ? R efe r r in g to tie matches in first-class cricket the Daily Telegraph s a y s :— Whether there is anyone still surviving who played in the Surrey v. Kent match in 1847 we cannot say, but all the great men in hoth elevens have long since passed away. There are naturally a good many men still alive who appeared in one or other of the tie games in 1868, among them being E. M. Grace, C. F. Buller, A. J. Wilkinson, George Wootton, and Farrands, of the M.C.C. team ; V. E. Walker, C. E. Green, H. A. Richard­ son, E. Rutter, and W. H. Bentball, of Middlesex ; and of the Surrey players, Pooley, Bristow, James Street, and, we fancy, two or three others. It is rather a painful reflection that, though every member of the Gentlemen’s eleven in 1883 is still living, six of the Players have gone—Ulyett, Shrewsbury, Barnes, Bates, Emmett, and Peate. It was Peate who brought about the tie, going on just at the finish, and clean bowling Hugh Rotherham. T he following comments on Hayward’s methods as a batsman appeared last week in the Evening Standard from tbe pen of Mr. E. H. D.. Sewell, whose sensible and thoughtful criticisms in that paper and the Standard have been one of the most interesting features of the season’s daily work in the Press :— Hayward had made 44 in his usual sound style, and had throughout played the right game in keeping one end up while his partner hit. Some critics I see blamed him for not hitting like Holland did on Monday, but Hayward may, I think, by now be trusted to know which is the proper game to play. Your average critic does not sufficiently realise what it is to field and bowl against Surrey with the discomforting knowledge that Hayward is ‘ still in.’ ” A t Lord’s on Monday the cards of the match between Jockeys and Actors (played on behalf of charity) were sold by well-known actresses. A representa­ tive of the Daily Chronicle, who was evidently a victim, thus describes the methods of these young ladies : — The most successful conspirators were the young ladies who sold the scoring card—they did not seem quite sure of its title. Many grievous things have been done in the name of sweet charity, but it is doubtful if anything more audacious—or more forgive- able—was ever accomplished than that by the fair young women who unblushingly accepted half-a-crown for a bit of cardboard worth a penny. “ It’s for charity, you know,” they said smilingly. ‘ ‘ The price ? Oh, anything you like to give me” ; and as they wore their prettiest frocks and their most insinuating manners, what could weak man do but pay up, and bear up against his loss as best he could ? T h e same writer continues :— A keen sportsman created quite a scene at one of the gates where Miss Agnes Vincent and Miss Lilian Hewitson, of the Apollo Theatre, and Miss Denise Orme, of Daly’s, were deluding everybody with the idea that the cards were really worth “ anything you will give me.” “ First wicket’s down,” panted the sports­ man. “ Oh,” exclaimed the trio, almost simul­ taneously. ‘ ‘ What does that mean ? Does it mean that we mustn’ t sell any more cards P” “ Well, I’m going to sell mine, anyhow, if I can,” said another. It was broken to them as gently as possible that it would not be wrong to continue selling cards, and, much relieved, they pro­ ceeded with their nefarious occupation. A ben efit match is to be played at Mitcham Green on Saturday, September 23rd, on behalf of Tom Sherman, the famous old Surrey cricketer. The title of the match is Croydon Amateurs v. Eleven Young Players of Surrey (cap­ tained by Strudwick). Sherman, who was born on December 1st, 1827, and is therefore nearly eighty years old, is in need of assistance, and any old Surrey cricketers who remember him would be doing a nice thing if they sent the old man a subscription, however small. The address, “ Tom Sherman, Mitcham,” would find him. P rom the Manchester Guardian: — Cricket is ofter described as “ tame” in comparison with football. Though this is doubtless true of the majority of matches and of the greater portion of all matches, there is nothing in football that can approach such a finish as was witnessed at the Oval on Saturday, when the game between Kent nad Surrey ended in a tie. In football the game is all movement, and what is done is done quickly, whereas in cricket the final act unfolds so slowly that spectators are kept in what can only be called a state of the most intense dramatic suspense. As a rule, too, such close finishes come with all the force of a surprise, and this, of course, adds to their dramatic character. U n d e r the title of “ How it’s done,” a correspondent sends us the following true (except for the names) description of an appeal against the light made in a county mated this season. The umpire’ s name is given as William. “ Can y’see, Tom ? ” **No Jack.” “ What d’ye think of it, William ? ” “ Not very good, Jack.” “ We’ll go in, Tom.” “ Right, Jack.” * * * * * * Afterwards, in the dressing room. “ Well played, Jack.” “ Well played, Tom.” S oon after the game between the Aus­ tralians and Essex was resumed at Ley­ ton on Tuesday the numbers on the scoring-board were as follows. It will be noticed that ten l ’s were among them :— 11 — 10 11 12 l n — 10 C a r p e n t e r , the E<sex professional, who has had an excellent season, has again accepted an engagement as coach at Melbourne, and he is d ue to sail shortly to Australia. It is state I that Kermode, the Lancashire- Australian bowler, is about to return to Australia, and that he may not be seen in the Lancashire team next season. I n “ Baily’s Magazine ” for September there are several things which will be of interest to cricketers, viz., some well- written notes on Lord Alverstone, with a first-class portrait, an article on Public School cricket of 1905, a"d a thoughtful review of the Fifth Test Match. I n this review the author gives full credit to the Australians for the great pluck which they showed after losing the toss for the fifth time iu succession, but he makes a point which seems to require consideration. He says :— In a critical and intimate survey of the game, it is only fair to mention that when Tyldesley had scored 20 runs, and when actually the fall of his wicket, coming, as it would have done, on the top of the earlier disasters in the English second innings, might have meant a victory for the Australians, he survived a very confident appeal for a catch at the wicket by Kelly standing back to Cotter. The same bowler appealed very confidently against Mr. Spooner early in his second innings for leg-before-wicket. Probably each of these cases demanded the utmost nicety of j udgment on the part of the umpire, and that each should have been given in favour of the batsmen may have discouraged a team who have, throughout this series of Test Matches, not had the best of luck. T he writer in “ Baily ” is not by any means alone in considering a confident appeal as practically equivalent to a chance. Indeed, one may read almost every day that So-and-so played a splen­ did innings, but with his total at x he survived a confident appeal at the wicket. As a matter of fact, wicket-keepers and fieldsmen alike always appeal in a confi­ dent manner, and when they are excited their confidence—or apparent confidence —is boundless. They nave no desire to influence the umpire—and it would be quite useless if they had such a desire, as far as first-class cricket is concerned— but “ human nature will out.” It is not safe to judge from confident appeals, nor from the pained look of surprise which a wicket-keeper sometimes wears after a “ not out ” decision. T h e Australians have now played the last of their matches against the counties, and can point to quite an extraordinary record in the way of winning the toss in this series. Up to June 28th they were not favoured by fortune, for they had lost the toss five times and only won it