Cricket 1906

S e p t . 6, 1996. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 387 foregoing summary. Is it too much to hope that some day the full scores of several of the very early games will be unearthed P There must be living several descendants of the men who did so much for the game whilst it was still practically in its infancy, and it is quite possible that, even now, there are in existence old papers dealing with those far-off matches. The earliest of the great Kent enthusiasts was Mr. Edward Stead, or Stede, of Maidstone, who died on July 28th, 1735. He made many famous matches with the Prince of Wales and other members of the nobility, and, at his decease, was deemed worthy of a notice in the Gentleman's Magazine. The results of the eighty-six matches known to have been played between England and Kent may be summarised as follows :— Jj . >> £ Kent XL v. X I............. I f | I ■°s J t ! Q Results Unkno Total. ..1739...23 ...36 ... 5 ... 3 ... 67 Kent XI. v. XIH ......... ..1863... 2 ... 6 ... 0 ... 0 ... 8 Kent XI. v. X IV ......... ..1861... 2 ... 0 .. 0 ... 0 ... 2 Kent XI. v. X V ........... ..1861... 1 ... 0 ... 0 ... 0 ... 1 Kent XI. v. XVI. ..I860... 2 ... 0 ... 0 ... 0 ... 2 Kent XH. v. XIX. ...1800... 1 ... 1 ... 0 ... 0 ... 2 Kent XII. v. XXIH . ...1800... 1 ... 1 ... 0 ... 0 ... 2 Kent XIII. v. XXIH.. ..1807... 2 ... 0 ... 0 ... 0 ... 2 Totals ..1739...34 ...44 ... 5 ... 3 ... 86 No other county has so often played single- handed against England. In view of next Monday’s great match at the Oval it is an opportune moment to take a glance at the work done for Kent by the county’s best exponents. (a) Batsmen who have scored 1,000 or more runs:— No. Times K. L. Hutchings 0. J. Burnup E. W . Dillon ... J. R. Mason ... S. H. Day........... A. P. Day........... Lord Harris ... F. Penn ........... W . H. Patterson Seymour, Jas. W. Rashleigh P.O . Baker ... R. N. R. Blaker W . Yardley ... R. O’H. Livesay W . L. Knowles H. 0. Stewart O. H. B. Marsham...l49 Hearne (A.) ... . R. T. Thornton Humphreys (E.) . F. Marchant ... . L. W ilson ... . Pilch (F .)............... J. Le Flem ing Hon. Ivo Bligh . O. J. M. Fox ... . G. J. V. Weigall , Easby (J. w " Hearne (G. G.) R. S. Jones ... , Aylward (J). ... Fairservice (W . J) 0. A. Absolom .. Hearne ( F .) ......... N. Felix................. F. A. Mackinnon.. G. M. Kelson W. Foord-Kelcey McCanlis (W\) .. Bennett (G .)......... M. O. K em p......... W. S. Norton W illsher (E.) .. A. Mynn ......... Adams ( T . ) ......... Huish (F. H.) .. W right (W.>......... Goodhew (W.) Martin (F.) ... . Fryer (W . H.) Blythe (O.) Henty (E.) W ootton (J.) .. of not Highest Aver­ Inns. out. score. Total. age. .. 57 .. . 6 ... 176 ... 2068 .. . 40*50 ..267 ... 17 ... 200 .. . 9520 ... 38*08 ..154 .. . 11 ... 141 ... 4856 ... 33*95 ..423 .. . 24 ... 183 ,13363 ... 33*49 ..138 .. . 12 ... 152*.. . 3906 ... 3100 .. 57 .. . 5 ... 107*... 1568 ... 3015 . 277 .. . 17 ... 176 .... 7806 ... 30*02 ..109 ... 10 ... 160 .... 2906 ... 29*35 ..268 .. . 19 ... 181 ... 6902 ... 27*71 ..209 .. . 14 ... 136*..,. 5422 ... 27*69 ..167 .. . 3 ... 163 ... 4041 ... 24*64 .. 67 .. . 2 ... 130 .. . 1600 ... 21*61 ..169 ... 17 ... 122 . 3735 ... 24*57 .. 64 ... 3 ... 126*.. . 1486 ... 24*36 .. 48 ... 3 ... 78 ... 1056 ... 23.46 .. 59 . 2 ... 127 ... 13*22 ... 23.19 ..128 .. . 3 ... 142 ... 2846 ... 22.76 .1 .. . 10 ... 119 .. . 3126 ... 22.48 ..702 ... 66 ... 162*.. 13897 ... 21.85 .. 79 .. . 10 ... 79 .. . 1495 ... 21.66 . 217 ... 12 ... 122 ..,. 4368 ... 21.30 . 392 ... 11 ... 176 .. . 7976 ... 20.93 ..188 .. . 9 ... 132 .. . 3534 ... 1974 ..160 .. . 12 ... 98 ... 2895 ... 19.56 .. 65 .. . 2 ... 134 ... 1201 ... 19.06 .. 82 ... 3 ... 105 .. . 1490 ... 18.86 ..130 .. . 10 ... 103 ... 2257 ... 18.80 . 213 .. 20 ... 138*.. . 3541 .. 18.34 . 110 ... 9 ... 73 ... 1851 ... 18.32 ..453 .... 46 ... 126 ... 7344 ... 18.04 86 5 ... 83 ... 1412 ... 17.43 ,.. 74 .,. 4 ... 75 ... 1184 ... 16*91 . 120 ..,. 31 ... 61*.. . 1361 ... 16*80 . 106 .,.. 7 ... 70 .. . 1644 ... 16*60 . 225 ..,. 17 ... 144 .. . 3426 ... 16*47 . 100 ... 3 ... 113 .. . 1593 ... 16 42 . 144 .... 11 ... 115 ... 2184 ... 16*42 . 124 ..,. 6 ... 122 ... 1810 ... 15*33 112 ... 3 ... 105 .. . 1613 ... 14*79 . 87 .... 4 ... 67 .. . 1123 .,.. 14*73 . 233 ... 22 ... 82 ..,. 3100 .,.. 14*69 . 143 ... 25 ... 51 .. . 1636 ... 13*63 . 116 ... 13 ... 120* .. 1388 ... 13*47 . 264 ... 20 ... 89 .. . 3256 .,.. 13*34 . 182 ... 12 ... 92 .. . 2147 ... 12*62 . 204 ... 6 ... 78 .. . 2453 ... 12 38 . 371 ... 76 ... 93 .. . 3611 ,... 12*24 . 313 ... 79 ... 70*..,. 2795 ,... 11*94 ...129 ... 14 ... 70 .. . 1354 ... 11-77 ..369 .... 79 ... 90 .. . 3410 ... 11 75 0105 ... 9 ... 98 .... 1127 ... 11*73 ...114 ... 6 ... 73 .. . 1202 ... 11*12 ...136 ... 6 ... 65 .. . 1415 .,.. 10*88 ...232 ... 63 ... 82*.,.. 1735 ,... 10*26 ,..205 ... 62 ... 74 ... 1209 ... 8*45 ...191 ... 49 ... 40 .,.. 1037 ,... 7*30 Signifies not out. (£) B ow lers w ho have taken 100 or m ore w ickets :— Balls. Runs. Wkts. Aver. Bullen (W .) .................... — ... — ... 114 ... — Clifford (R.) .................... — ... — ...1 2 1 ... — j __ __ 79 ________; Martingell (W .) ... j 1991 658 64 1!! 10-28 A - M y n n ................... | 3091 1031 100 !!! 10-31 Hillyer (W .K .) ... j 3502 1 2 5 3 1 0 8 !" 1160 Hollands (F .)........... j 2673 ;;; 10g9 ;;;| | ;;; 12.S7 ______on 31003 !’.! 9469 755 1254 Adams (T.) ........... j g55 - 379 ;;; ;;; 15.16 Hinkly (E.) ........... j 2353 - 928 |l 15*21 A. Penn ........................... 8223 ... 3019 ... 197 ... 15*32 Hearne (W.) ....................11034 ... 4380 ... 277 ... 15*81 Hearne (G. G.) ........... 27158 ... 9518 ... 577 ... 16*49 W ootton ( J .) ..................27682 ...10619 ... 628 ... 16*90 Bennett (G.) ............. j 1 6 5 2 g 7 7 3 () ” * 1 7 -1 7 Blythe (O.) ................. 40007 ...16327 ... 900 ... 18.14 R. L ipscom b................... 8975 ... 3904 .. 213 ... 18.32 W. Foord-K elcey........... 9275 ... 3911 ... 202 ... 19.36 W right (W .)...................38890 ...14308 ... 725 ... 19*73 Hearne (A.) ................. 54799 ...20543 ...1036 ... 19.82 W. M. Bradley ........... 23240 ..11899 ... 547 ... 21.75 J. R. Mason ......... 32946 ...14753 ... 675 ... 21.85 Fielder (A ) ....................15848 ... 8523 ... 386 ... 22*08 Martin(F.) ...................52523 ...17579 ... 979 ... 22*35 S. Christopherson ... 8833 ... 4095 ... 179 ... 22*87 Fairservice (W. J.) ...11297 ... 5338 ... 205 ... 26*03 Humphreys (E.) ........... 8072 ... 3761 ... 141 ... 26*67 (< j ) W ick e t-k e ep e rs w ho have taken 20 or m ore w ick e ts: — Matches “ kept ” in. Ct. St. Total. Huish (F. H.) ........... 241 ... 509 ... I ll ... 620 Henty (E .).................. 116 ... 131 ... 66 ... 200 M .C . Kemp ........... 76 ... 103 ... 62 ... 165 Pentecost (J.) ........... 64 ... 95 ... 29 ... 124 Wenman (E. G.) ... 52 ... 47 ... 33 ... 80 Fryer (W . H.) ........... 49 ... 48 ... 22 ... 70 Dorrinton (W .)........... 26 ... 36 ... 17 ... 53 E. F. S. Tylecote ... 20 ... 28 ... 11 ... 39 Aylward (J.) ........... 22 ... 24 ... 0 ... 24 Nuttall (H.) ............ 17 ... 14 ... 9 ... 23 Clifford (F. S .)........... 21 ... 15 ... 6 ... 21 Reed (C.) ............................7 ...12... 9 ... 21 Murrell (H. R .)....................6 ...17... 3 ... 20 I n early tim es no analysis o f the b o w lin g was preserved ; this w ill accou n t fo r the second table given above b ein g in com plete in a few instances. I t w ill be seen that A le c H ea m e is th e on ly cricketer w h o can claim to have m ade m ore than 10,000 runs and to have taken over 1,000 w ickets fo r K en t. I t is an in teresting fa ct that K en t have seldom lacked capable am ateur players. A t the present tim e the cou n ty is particu larly w ell off in this respect, in the possession o f such fine exponents as M essrs. B u rn up, H u tch in gs, M ason, M arsham , D illo n and B laker, to say n oth in g o f the brothers D a y , w h o have n ot been seen regu larly in the side d u rin g the season. W h a t have often been described as th e h a lcyon days o f K en t crick et w ere those in w h ich A lfre d M y n n and F e lix flourished. B oth are h istorical figures. F elix w as the finer bat o f th e tw o, his o ff-h ittin g b ein g particu larly fine, bu t M yn n , o w in g to his a ll-ro u n d skill, w as o f the greater value to a side. F e lix played in 55 m atches fo r K en t, scorin g 1,593 ru n s, w ith an average o f 16 *4 2, but tak in g on ly tw o w ickets, w hereas M y n n took part in 99 such contests, m a tin g 2,147 runs (average 12*62) and obtain in g 446 w ickets (average 10*31). Ju d ged from a m odern stand-point, these figu res w ou ld n ot in dicate v e ry bu sy careers, bu t sixty years ago great m atches w ere far less freq u en t than th ey are n ow . F e lix ’ s cou n ty career lasted from 1834 u n til 185 2: M y n n ’ s from 1834 u n til 1859. A fte r these tw o had retired from th e gam e, and until L ord H arris appeared, it w as c o n ­ sidered h ardly “ th e t h in g ” fo r am ateurs to p la y fo r K en t except in th e C anterbury W eek , bu t that th e C ou n ty possessed several excellen t gentlem en cricketers d u rin g that p eriod is evident fro m the m any fine results ach ieved in the m atches played b y the Gentlemen of Kent. W ith Lord Harris at the helm of the County’s cricket, the amateur came into more prominence, and during the past thirty years it has been seldom indeed that the side has taken the field without two or three gentlemen players of note. It is always pleasing to find time-honoured names prominently before the public, especi­ ally when those bearing them are descendants of famous exponents of the game. Now, as in the sixties, we have Hayward, Tarrant and Carpenter among the best-known players of the day, the two first-named being nephews, and the other a son, of the men so-named who, four decades ago, placed Cambridgeshire in quite the fore-front of cricketing counties. (It may, by-the-way, be news to some to hear that the elder Tarrant’s full name was George Tarrant W ood—a fact which does not appear to have been much known until recorded upon his tomb-stone). The present-dayNorfoik Eleven contains a player named Pilch, who is a member of the family which gave the famous Fuller to the world. A correspondent kindly draws my attention to the fact that, in a recent match in Manitoba, between Brandon and Souris, one of the players was William W enman, aged 74, the second son of the famous Edward Gower Wenman, who played for Kent from 1825 until 1854. The veteran showed that he still possessed some knowledge of the game, for he cut the first ball for two and drove the second for a like number. The third yorked him. He was offered the services of a runner, which he indignantly declined, preferring to run out his own hits. E. G. Wenman, who was six feet in height, had three sons, all bigger men than himself. In this connection a story has been told to the effect that, whilst walking one day across the Green at Benenden, with a son on each side of him, a small boy from a neighbouring village called out lustily— ‘ ‘ There goes a little ’ un between two big ’ uns ! ” The Wenmans are evidently a long-lived and hardy family. In Bell's Life of July 31, 1875, the following advertisement appeared:— THE OLD KEN T COUNTY CRICKET CLUB. Three of the old professionals of the above Club, and natives of the celebrated Parish of Benenden —v iz.: Mr. J. G. Wenman (age 71), Mr. E. G. Wenman (age 71), and Mr. R. Mills (age 77 years) —take the liberty of giving a public challenge to play a match of cricket with any three of England of not less average age—v iz.: 73 years —provided that the youngest of the players shall not be less than 71 years of age. They will make the match for any amount not exceed­ ing £100. Any reply to the challenge to be addressed to Mr. E. Mills, George Hotel, Hurst Green. The challenge, of course, was not taken up. Richard Mills, mentioned above, was a very good player in his day. One of his descend­ ants is now the gate-keeper of the Forest Hill C.C. Although we received no visitors from Australia this year, the season of 1906 will assuredly rank as one of the most interesting of modern times, the batting of Hayward and the superb all-round cricket of Hirst being in themselves sufficient to make it memorable. The late Arthur Shrewsbury used to say that a cricketer was at his best at the age of thirty-five, and, in the case of the two players named, the remark would hold good, for Hayward was born in March, 1871, and Hirst six months later. Not the least remarkable circumstance attending Hayward’s cricket has been the manner in which he has out-distanced all rivals, not a single player being within a thousand of his aggregate—afact which recalls to mind the doings of “ W .G .” in 1871, 1873 and 1876. His success has been extremely popular, for he is not only a great run-getter