Cricket 1905

444 CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. O ct 26, 1905. A LECTURE B Y TH E HON . F. S. JACKSON . On October 9th the Hon. F. 8 . Jack­ son gave a lecture at Leeds under the title of “ Cricketers I have met, and Cricket as it should be played.” In the course of his lecture, Mr. Jackson said that it was one thing to have a know­ ledge of the game and another to impart it to others. There were a great many cricketers to-day who found it very much easier to write about cricket than play it, yet he found it a great deal easier to play cricket than write and talk about it. He naturally thought cricket was the finest of all games. He had played football, tennis, rackets, and golf, but he thought he could honestly say that none of these games impressed him as cricket did. For cricket was not only a good healthy exercise, but it was a wonderful test of character also. Many men of great experience in cricket could tell what class of man one was after see­ ing him play in three or four first-class matches. Indeed, the head master of a great public school once told him that in forming an opinion of a boy he preferred to judge his character at play just as much as at work. In cricket a person had to have patience, pluck, nerve, and confidence. He knew he had the repu­ tation among cricketers of having a superabundance of confidence. He did not want to be egotistical; at the same time, confidence did and ought to play a great part in any one who wanted to assist in great matches. Yet one could play too carelessly. He had suffered from carelessness himself. He had played the ball in a casual manner, and had got one that he did not expect, and had had to go. The headmaster of the private school to which he went in Hertfordshire used to come out at lunch with two or three cases of ginger-beer, and offer a bottle to any one who could bowl him. He (Mr. Jackson) should never forget bowling him eighteen times in one day, getting eighteen bottles of ginger-beer, and being extremely popular with eighteen boys in the school. And he should never forget the headmaster saying at the time “ That is the future captain of the English Eleven.” At Harrow he earned the most unenviable reputation of being paid by the number of runs he made. There was a tale told about him that he had a most generous parent, who in a rash moment offered him a shilling a run and a pound a wicket. ‘ •Well,” said Mr. Jackson, “ I believe I took eleven wickets, and about 80 runs. I will give him credit by saying that the money was paid up on the spot; but unfortunately his generosity ceased with that match.” In 1893, when he was at Cambridge, he played in his first Test Match at the Oval, and assisted Shrewsbury in a long partnership. Throughout that stand the Notts player was always teaohing him lessons. He would walk down the wicket between the overs, and tell him how he might have improved on a certain stroke. Shrewsbury had taught him more during that partnership than he had ever learned since. While he was at Cambridge, Yorkshire were of considerable assistance to him in getting his Blue. He remembered getting eleven wickets against them one yew, and thirteen the next. “ Bobby ” Peel had, however, clean bowled him the first innings, and he was feeling glum. “ Why are you looking so blue ? ” Woods asked. “ Well,” he replied, “ I have to go in directly.” Take my advice,” said Woods, “ and don’ t behave like a baby. You can have your blue now if you like.” On that occasion he (Mr. Jackson) made 7 runs, although Peel said he was clean leg-before first ball. At Cambridge he met two of the most wonderful cricketers this generation had produced - Ranjifc- sinhji and Charles Fry. He had heard of the reputation of “ Ratiji” when he was captain of the eleven in 1892, and it was his habit to sneak up to College matches and see what went on. One day he went when “ Ranji” was p la y iD g , but whether someone had told the players that he was watching, he did not know. In any case, although “ Ranji ” was run out once and stumped twice, he did not leave the wicket. He saw him, too, make the most outrageous strokes, and came away with a very poor opinion of his play. But one day “ Ranji ” was asked to field as substitute, and he should never forget an extraordinary catch he made. He was accused of having deliberately kept Ranji out of the team because he was not of the same colour as we were, but that was perfectly ridiculous; Ranjitsinhji was nervous and did not do himself justice at first. The man who impressed him as the greatest captain was Harry Trott, the Australian, who had most extraordinary pluck and quick decision. Speaking of his anxiety as captain of the England Eleven, Mr. Jackson said he tried his best to get out of it, and still thought there was a man who could have cap­ tained the team better. Luck, he knew, came his way in extraordinary fashion. When b o w iiD g in the later matches he handed over ttie captaincy to his school­ fellow, Archie Maclaren, to whom he owed a debt of gratitude for the way iu which he assisted him. With reference to the recent test matches, it was the custom, he said, for the home captain to toss and the visiting captain to call, but at Nottingham Darling tossed up the coin and said, “ You call.” “ I looked with astonish­ ment,” said Mr. Jackson, “ but I called head. And head it was. I went into the pavilion, and said to Maclaren, ‘ Archie, Darling ought not to have tossed.’ ” He replied, “ N o ” ; and I said it would be an extraordinary thing if Darling never won the toss in any of the Test Matches of the tour. Maclaren reminded me of this incident during the last Test Match. Cricketers in Yorkshire were extremely fortunate in having a leader who set such a wonderful example as Lord Hawke. His lordship was one of those captains who realised that there were lessons to be taught off the field as well as on. He inspired confidence in’ himself as a man as well as a cricketer, aud it was to that circumstance that his success and influence for good were due. Cricket should always be played by the individual with the knowledge that he was one of an eleven. All jealousy, too, should be avoided. “ Whatever happens,” said Mr. Jackson, “ the indi­ vidual should never believe that he is indispensable to any particular side.” During a long experience he had found out two things which were disadvan­ tageous to a cricketer—-smoking and alcohol. “ I won’ t say do not smoke,” he continued. “ I have always smoked, but I have discovered most decidedly that smoking seriously affects me. If you are keen and want to make runs, and want to do a big thing, you will find it much better to put smoking off until you have finished your innings.” Lastly, Mr. Jackson urged his hearers always to play the game in the proper spirit, telling them in the words of the motto of the old Zingari Club to “ Keep your promises, keep your tempers, and keep your wickets up.” EDDINGTON HOUSE TEAM. S e ason 1905. Matches played, 13; won, 9; drawn, 4. BATTING AVERAGES. Five or more innings— T. Dilnot L. Lovell W .H . Golds... R. Pembrook J. A. Lovell ... H. M. Smith... A. Christmas O.H. Ware ... H. Admans ... E. Gann.......... H. L in e.......... R. J. Wacher N. T u ff.......... O. Lovell A. Holliday ... 0. N.Barratt... The following also played:—R. Mellor, C. H' Mountain, G. Roberts, P. Burnham, Dr. Senior' O. E. Mason, O. Perry, I’. A. Knott, W. Homersham* P. Bryant, G. A. Medcalfe, A. Dyer, N. Hitchcock, A. Husbands, S. Deacons, J. Arnold, O. A. Carlisle, S. Briggs, B. Barratt, T. O. Cooper, P. Tenton, 0. Wacher, S. Ingleton, G. Goble, R. Admans, A. Orore, P. A. Line, L. Swann, H. Boese, C. Storey, K. Robin­ son. “ CENTURY” FOR. C. H. Mountain, v. Faversham Alliance O.C. ...*100 * Signifies not out. BOWLING AVERAGES. Overs. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. No. Times Most of not Total in an inns. out. runs. inns. Aver. . 6 ... 3 ... 144 ... 45 ... 48-00 . 17 ... 2 ... 312 ... 74 ... 20-8 . 5 ... 0 ... 96 ... 61 .. . 19-2 .. 5 ... 0 .. . 95 ... 64 ... 19-00 ,. 11 ... 1 ... 173 ... 51 .. . 17-3 .. 15 ... 0 .. . 203 ... 55 ... 1353 . 6 ... 2 ... 45 ... 20 .. . 1125 .. 5 ... 0 ... 54 ... 25 ... 10-8 . 5 ... 0 .. . 53 ... 22 ... 10-6 .. 10 ... 1 ... 95 ... 29 .. . 10-55 ,. 13 ... 1 .. . Ill ... 34 .. . 9-25 . 5 ... 0 .. . 45 . .. 13 .. . 9-00 . 5 ... 0 ... . 37 ... 29 ... 7-4 . 13 ... 4 .. . 42 ... 12 .... 4-66 .. 8 ... 2 .. . 15 ... 8 ... 2-5 . 5 ... 0 .. . 9 ... 4 .... 1*8 K. Robinson ... ... 41.4.. . 13 .. 87 ... 20 ... 4*35 L. Lovell .......... ... 80 ... 10 ... 302 ... 40 ... 7*55 T. Dilnot .......... ... 49 ... 7 .... 170 .... 19 ... 8-94 J. A. Lovell ... 72.2.. . 18 ... 213 ... 21 .. . 10-14 R. Pembrook ... ... 42.2.. . 4 ... 160 ... 15 .. . 10 66 The following also h o w le d C . H. Mountain, H, Line, O. E. Mason, P. Carlisle, A Christmas, L: Swann, B. Admans, R. Mellor, R. J. Wacher, W. Homersham, A Holliday, H. M. Smith, G. A. Met­ calf, P. Tenten, G. Goh;e.