Cricket 1905

C R ICK ET . A W EEKLY RECO RD OF T H E GAM E. APRIL 13, 1905. ! f 1 ft/i p i l l S l e l C - 3 H © 0 —- e . -4 -' ' | “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 6 8 3 . VOL. x x iv . THUESDAY , APRIL 13, 1905. p r i c e aa. CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. THE KEY. F. MEYRICK-JONES. After leaving Cambridge University, ! where he gained his blue in 1888, Mr. Meyrick-Jones went to Elstree School, occasionally playiDg for Kent when he could get away. In the only match I which he played against Oxford—the game was pro­ longed to the fourth day on account of rain and then abandoned—he made a most useful stand in each innings, putting on 36 in the first innings with Mr. R. C. Gosling for the ninth wicket, and 43 in the second innings with the same partner for the same wicket. Of the 43 he made no fewer than 36, the highest score on his tide, by resolute hitting. His “ character,” as given in “ J a m e s L i l l y w h i t e ’ s Annual” of 1889, is, “ A hard-hitting batsman, and very useful on the slow wickets : good field.” He left Elitree in 1895, travelled for five or six months, and, after a two years’ experi­ ence with the Clifton College Parochial Mission at Bristol, went to NottingHill to take charge of the Rugby School Mission there. He delights in old furniture, more especially old oak, and a connoisseur finds a special pleasure in going through his rooms. Of the Rugby School Home Mission at Notting Hill Mr. Meyrick - Jones said: “ We have three cricket teams, two for men and the other for boys. They call us the ‘ Navvies ’ at Quintin’s Park, but I ’m bound to say that in the matter of language and true sportsmanlike be­ haviour we can set a good example to most amateur teams. The men won the Federation League Cup last year. The only qualification for members of the club is that they must be ‘ on the straight,’ and they thoroughly understand that if they do anything mean or dishonourable the club suffers. The honour of one is the honour of all. Consequently there is never any occasion to complain of a want of esprit de corps. The mission was originated by two old Rugbeians, who helped in a night school. Mr. Arthur Walrond, our hon. treasurer, has had a very large share in its success. Every EEV. F. HEYKIOK-JONES. year the club camps out at New Romney —a week for men and a week for boys. The members work their hardest to help to make the thing a success, and many old Rugbeians and friends of the club go down to work on the staff; last year, at one time in the week, the boys numbered sixty, and the staff twenty-nine. We play cricket and other games down there, and I remember that once a ball went down one of the rabbit holes with which the district abounds. Fortunately for the fielding side the ball wa.s not visible, and so they got off with six runs for lost ball. “ Do you play cricket for the club ? ” “ I am not allowed to play in the competition matches, but in other club matches I sometimes play O n c e o n C l a p h a m C o m m o n a ma n wa s making a long stand against us, and I went on with lobs. He proceeded to knock them about, and presently I sluDg down a fast overhand ball which happened to be a gocd onr, and the batsman was bowled. The opposing side rose up as one man, and, invading the field of play, refused to let the batsman go out because I had changed my action. Their secretary, on being appealed to said that a man was allowed to change from underhand to over if he first gave notice to the umpire, but not otherwise. One of our side pointed out that the laws were printed on the back of the score bcok, but the other side, fiuding nothing to help them, declined to abide by them. Finally it was settled to abide by the decision of the M.C.C. E^ch captain agreed that in the event of his opinion being wrong he would forfeit a sovereign to the other club. The same forfeit was tuggested about the justice of a decition earlier in the match in favour of one of their men, on the ground that he could not be stumped if part of his foot was on the line, but not within it. But they fought shy of this. We sent them the reply of the Secretary of the M.C.C. —or rather a copy of it. That was fivj years ago. We have not yet received either an answer or the sovereign.” “ No doubt the umpiring difficulty is always with you.”