Cricket 1906

CR IC K E T : a w e e k ly r e c o r d o f t h e gam e . MAY 10, 1906. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.” — Byron. N o. 717 . V O L . X X V . ME. S. M. J. WOODS. As will be seen by reference to “ Gossip,” a proposal is on foot to present a testimonial to Mr. Woods, the well-known Somerset and Cambridge University cricketer, so a few notes about his career may possibly prove of interest. Mr. Woods was bom in Aus­ tralia, and before he lefc the Boyston School, at Sydney, had already made quite a reputation as a fast bowler, a hard-hitting batsman, and an untiring and brilliant field. It is said that while he was still at school he took seven wickets with successive balls, but apparently there is no record of this feat. But he had made a large number of runs and taken very many wickets before he came to England and went to Brighton College. Here he met with a congenial spirit in G. L. Wilson, the well-known old Sussex and Oxford ciicketer, universally known as “ Billy.” Like Mr. Woods, Wilson was bom in Australia, and was a fine cricketer as a boy. During their residence at Brighton College the two created a feeling of consternation among the boys of other schools who played against them. If it was not Wilson’s day to take half-a-dozen wickets and to make about a hundred it was certain to be Woods’, and as likely as not they both came off in batting and bowling on the same day. Between them they took nearly all the wickets and made most of the runs. In those days Mr. Woods, as a bowler, was very fast for a boy, but relied almost entirely on his pace. Mr. Wilson has related how astonished he once was when he played against Woods’ bowling after he left school. Wilson was playing for Oxford, and Woods for Cambridge. When the time came for Wilson to go in, he played Woods’ first two or three balls with ease, and, so he said, began to think him a greatly over­ rated cricketer. But it seemed that Woods had developed a very useful slow ball which was quite new to Wilson, who had never even heard of it. The result was a spoon, the like of which, according THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1906. to the batsman, had never been seen before on a cricket field. “ Billy ” retired for a duck’s egg. In the second innings he faced his old friend with some trepida­ tion, wondering whether he had anything else up his sleeve. But the fates were kind to him. He tried his best to hit Woods’ first ball to leg, missed, and when he heard the bowler’s shout of “ How’s that P ” he saw visions of a pair of spectacles. But the umpire decided in his favour, and he endeavoured to place the next ball on the on-side. To his joy it touched the bat, and went through the slips for five. This unex­ pected good fortune gave him confidence in his ability to place the ball, and he made 53. This was iu 1891. At Cambridge Mr. Woods soon became known as by far the best amateur bowler of his day. He still bowled fast, but had learned something of the guile of the serpent, and there were few men who could play him with any confidence. As a batsman he was especially useful when his services were most needed, and by P R IC E 2d. his bold and original methods he often altered the state of the game in a few minutes. In his first year at Cambridge, 1888, he was chosen to play for the Geutlemen at Lord’s. He made a most successful debut, taking five wickets for 49 in the first innings and five for 27 in the second. In the match of 1894 he had the great distinction of bowling with Mr. F. S. Jackson unchanged throughout the match. In later years his bowling fell off, and it is not often that he now helps Somerset with the ball. But his batting is still of the greatest use to the county, and he still occasionally makes a score of over a hundred. For several years he has acted as captain of the Somerset team, taking severe defeats and glorious victories with the same equanimity. He has always been most popular alike with the crowd and the players of both sides, and as long as he continues to take part in first-class cricket there will always be a cheer for him when he appears at the gate of the pavilion, and often when he passes through it again. Any spectator who has watched Mr. Woods in the field for a quarter-of-an-hour must have felt instinctively that here was a man whose heart was in the game. When he bowled, no matter how firmly set the batsman might be, it was evident that he, like all the Australians of his time, was trying to get the man out, and not aim­ ing to keep down the runs with the object of spinning out the match, either for the sake of gate money, or of bringing about a drawn game. No one ever saw him slack in the field; indeed he has always been held up as a splendid example to the young people who think that it is infra dignitate to run about much, or to appear to be enthusiastic. Many a match which seemed to be hopelessly lost has been won for his side by the resolute way in which Mr. Woods has set about to knock off the bowlers who have been the most destructive, and some of his innings have been remarkable. The Sussex men who played against him at Brighton in June, 1895, on a day when a great gale was blowing, MB S. M. J. WOODS. (Photo by E. Hawkins and Co., Brighton.)