Cricket 1905

462 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. Nov. 30, 1905, BOWLING AVERAGES. Overs. Mdns Runs. Wkts. Aver. L. Lovell .......... 9 0 ..,. 10 ... 19 ... 6 ... 316 S. Constanduros 150 .. . 00 ... 38 ... 5 ... 7 60 N. Whitley......... 213 ..,. 3-3 ... 76 .... 9 ... 8-44 J. Maxwell........ . 261 ... 31 ... 112 .... 12 ... 9-33 W. J. Benge .... 164 4 ... 32 3 ... 535 .... 42 ... 1273 E. T. G a le ......... 102 ... 00 ... 53 ... 4 .. . 13-25 L. M. Simmons... 2501 ... 361 ... 771 ... 57 ... 13-52 A. V. Russell ... 1330 ... 18*2 ... 472 ... 32 .... 14-75 W. A. Mitchell ... 113 4 ... 22 0 ... 518 ..,. 33 ... 15-70 C. H. Biggs 591 ... 8-1 ... 253 ... 16 ..,. 15-81 E. A. Brymer ... 3104 ... 51-0 ...1056 .. 61 ... 17 31 C. J. Laine.......... 100 .... 00 ... 52 .... 3 ... 17-33 F. P. Rider......... 20-2 ..,. 4-2 ... 73 .... 4 ... 18-25 G. A R in g......... . 68 0 .... 7-0 ... 306 .... 16 ... 1912 C. G. Smith 416-1 ... 53-5 ...1415 ... 74 ... 1912 A. V. Storey 2241 ... 130 ... 587 ... 30 ... 19-56 TH E M ELBOURNE C,C, A N N U A L REPORT , The following are the chi-^f items in tbe report for 1904-5 : — General Statement .—The financial position of the club remains practically unchanged from that of last year. The overdraft of £809 16s. 8d., with which the season com­ menced, has been increased to £874 5s. 7d. The assets and liabilities remain in a satis­ factory position and the debentures in hand last year remain intact, while the Grand Stand Debenture Sinking Fund has been increased to £6.815 5s. lid. by the annual payment of £756 is. lOd. from the general Account. New Buildings .—The committee are glad to be able to report that they are now in a position to submit the new-buildings proposals to the members for their consideration. There has been much unavoidable delay in this matter, owing mainly to unexpected difficulties brought about by the latest regulations im­ posed by the City Buijding and Board of Health Authorities in regard to places of public resort. The plan selected by the com­ mittee from the competitive designs was found by these authorities to be at variance in so many important features with up-to-date requirements that the committee discarded it altogether and began afresh. They secured the services of an architect with large experi­ ence of the requisite class of buildings, and he has furnished a design embracing an alter­ ation of the existing pavilion, and a new stand on the site of the smokers’ pavilion and tennis courts, to the west and south of the pavilion, which the committee believe will fully meet the case. The cost is estimated at about £15, 00, and these alterations and additions will seat 3,500 more people. Members. — Sixty-six full members have been elected during the season to fill the vacancies caused by death, resignations and transfers; and four countrv and 94 junior members were admitted. The total number of members on the roll is 3,519, as against 3,526 last year. The total receipts from entrance fees and subscriptions amounted to £6,69i) 13s., against £6,816 6s. last season. Cricket .—The Senior Eleven has to be con­ gratulated upon having won the Premiership for the season. The Eieven played 8matches, winning 7 and drawing 1. Unfortunately, South Melbourne did not meet Melbourne in the Pennant Matches. For the whole of the Senior Matches the record stands at 43 played—27 won, 14 drawn, and 2 lost, one of the best season’s perform­ ances for some years. The receipts and expenditure account for the period from 20th August, 1904, to 17th August, 1905, is as follows, but some of the items are here lumped together :— RECEIPTS. To Entrance Fee Account 66 at , „„ Country, 4 „ , „„ Junior, 91 „ , Subscription Account 2198 „ , „ Country, 657 „ , „ Junior, 364 „ , „ Visitors ............ „ Account, 1905-6 , Bar Account ........................ , Locker Account........................ , Locker Deposit Account.......... , Interest Account ................. , Ground Receipts, including Concerts, & c......................... , Football Account .......... Less Expenses 240 13 3 V.F. League.. 1562 8 8 Paid other Clubs ... 407 5 0 £ s. d. £ s. d. 3 3 0 207 18 0 3 3 0 12 12 0 1 1 0 98 11 0 2 2 0 5245 16 0 1 1 0 689 17 0 1 1 0 382 4 0 12 12 0 15 15 0 300 0 0 43 0 0 3 3 0 293 18 10 Sports, 598 1 9 2840 14 7 „ Subscription Account—Arrears . „ English Eleven Account ... . „ Balance due Bank ..................... 630 874 7 5 8 7 £9348 4 10 EXPENDITURE. £ s. d. £ s. d. By Balance from Season 1903-1904 . 809 16 8 „ Ground Account—Wages.. 5<>5 Soil, Seed, and Material 316 19 0 9 5 822 8 5 „ New Buildings Account ... . 289 9 7 „ Grandstand Debenture Interest ... 675 0 0 „ „ Sinking Fund . 756 1 10 ,, Secretary .................................... 600 0 0 „ Clerical Assistance and Office Salaries 649 11 0 „ Auditors’ F ee s............................. 42 0 0 „ Wages Account............................. 371 14 0 „ Lodge K eep er............................. 89 5 0 „ Pavilion Keeper ..................... 130 0 0 „ Expenses of Matches .............. 561 12 1 „ Cricket Materials ...................... 79 15 3 „ Bowling Account ...................... 517 11 0 „ Victorian Cricket Association . 291 2 6 „ Cricket Coach ............................. 220 0 0 „ Various Other Expenses ... . 2112 17 6 £9318 4 10 AN A U S T R A L IA N CR ICK E TER ON T O U R * A very readable book this for the cricketing and non-cricketing public alike. To cricketers it will especially appeal as a faithfully kept record tf the last Australian tour, to which many happy touches of an Australian’s life on tour have been added, while to readers in general there is much to be found that is interesting and amusing in the descriptions of ocean voyages, continental travellings, and social amenities in England. The book deals with the two trips taken by the author with Australian teams to I-ngland in 1899 and 1905. The matches of the latter tour are described, but not those of the first. This is perhaps unfortunate for the criclet enthusiast, who cannot “ retrospect” in the way he would wish, but the general reader instead has his “ pabulum ” in a vividly drawn picture of the Suez Canal route to England known so well to Australian X I’s. Though some of us may not agree with all the conclusions which Mr. Lavt r arrives at in his desire to improve English cricket in general—these are set out at the end of his book—not many will feel inclined to oppose him in his suggested alterations of certain matters that have long been troubling the minds of those interested in the prosperity of the game, and by those people especially will his outspoken utterances, particularly on the amateur and “ pro.” question, the l.b.w. problem, and the questionable practice of * “ An Australian Cricketer on Tour.” By Frank Laver, illustrated. London. Chapman & Hall. 6s. cricketers writing articles for newspapers on the game in which they are taking part, be warmly welcomed. Mr. Laver writes, on the whole, in a chatty and bright strain, with a commendable absence of egotism and with no pretence at literary style. It is a pity, therefore, that one or two florid passages, notably that on the River Thames (p. 164), which appears to have been too much “ thought out,” should have been allowed to intrude themselves upon the narrative. They are at once incongruous and unnatural. If questions were allowed to be put to the author, one might be tempted to ask him: (1) What was the “ sensational” escape that Prince Christian Victor had from the bursting of a shell in South Africa? There is no mention of it inMr. Warren’s official “ Life ” of the Prince. (2) How Her Majesty Queen Victoria was seated in a carriage “ alongside ” t«vo other royalties at Cowes. Surely he means “ facing ” those two. (3) Has he not got hold of a wrong version of the Keates flogging story at Eton P At any rate there is a more notorious yarn in existence in connection with the wholesale flogging methods of that master. And (4) Was Mr. Balfour ever First Lord of the Treasury without being Prime Minister of England, as he would seem to suggest ? The book is not indexed, but contains some 80 odd illustrations from photographs by the author, which are quite of a high order. It seems a mistake that the score in fullof theWarwickshire match atBirmingham should, together with two photographs, be interpolated between two parts of a short story concerning George Muller and Bristol. Also, in some instances, the individual scores in a match (as set forth in full) do not tally with the same scores mentioned in the letter­ press [e.g., Noble’s and Grace’s scores on pp. 209 and 241 respec ively). The initials of many famous cricketers are conspicuous by their absence, and the list of averages (p. 256) is not wholly defendable. (Hopkins would indeed have created a record if he had played 42 innings and been not out on 37 occasions !) But these are, if careless, small and rectifiable mistakes, and in nowise detract from a performance (to use a cricket phr.se) on which Mr. Laver may be heartily and widely congratulated. C. S. B. M IDD LE SEX COUNTY C.C. Below will be found the list of rocoipts and expenses for each match during the past season :— Receipts. £ s. d. 81 4 6 v. Gloucestershire (home) v. Gloucestershire (away) v. Notts (home)................. v. Notts (away)................. v. Sussex (home) .......... v. Sussex (away) .......... v. Yorkshire (home) v. Yorkshire (away) v. Surrey (home) .......... v. Surrey (away) .......... v. Lancashire (home) v. Lancashire (away; ... v. Essex (home) .......... v. Essex (away)........................... — v. Kent (home)........................ 26 19 v. Kent (away)........................... — v. Somerset (home).................... *— v. Somerset (away).............................. v. Aust ralians(half gross gate) 281 12 2nd XI. v. Sussev 2nd XL ... 0 4 Colts Matches (five) ............. — 151 19 0 210 8 0 , ’ 158 10 6 130 16 0 Expenses. £ s. d. . 54 10 6 . 72 5 0 . 59 2 6 . 77 5 4 . 55 7 6 . 59 0 0 . 67 19 11 . 59 0 0 . 75 7 6 . 31 11 0 . 72 14 6 . 59 0 0 . 63 19 0 . 37 17 8 58 7 6 . 59 0 0 .’ 73 7 6 . 140 19 0 . 18 5 0 . 27 18 0 Total .......... £1497 6 0 £1222 17 5 Balance ........................£274 8 7 ♦Burton’s Benefit.