Cricket 1906

C R ICK E T : a w eek ly r e c o r d o f t h e g a m e . OC T. 25, 1906. “ T o g e th e r jo in e d in C r ick e t ’ s m a n ly t o i l . ” — Byron. *ro. 737 . vo l. xxv. THURSDAY, OCT. 25, 1906. fb ic e 2 a. CHATS ABOUT CRICKETERS. M b . D. H. BUTCHER. ( u p p e r t o o t in g o . c ) To South Londoners in genera), and to the followers of Surrey cricket in par­ ticular, it must be a matter of regret that a batsman who would be invaluable in County cricket is obliged practically to reserve his best efforts for his club, forwhich, by the way, he has done much splendid service of late years. At the same time it is certainly more his misfortune than his fault that one of the very best batsmen Surrey has, without a doubt, at the present moment is not able to participate more fre­ quently in strenuous cricket. His success on the few occasions he has been able to represent Surrey has been so striking as to emphasise the regret that a batsman of his calibre and class is practically lost to the County. With any­ thing like ordinary opportunitieshewould have been certain to have secured a place in the forefront of cricket. An upstand­ ing batsman, he watches the ball well, and as he has a great variety of strokes and plays hard, with no lack ofhit, he is avery interesting player to follow at any time. He is, moreover, an adaptable bat, with plenty of nerve and judgment: just the kind of player who would strengthen the Surrty side as it is at present. A consistant scorer for the Upper Tooting C.C. always, his success this year has been phenomenal. The averages of that old and influential club which appeared in Cricket of September 20th will show what a commanding part he has played to secure its excellent record. Altogether last season, as the figureswill prove, he had an aggregate of 2187 runs as the outcome of twenty-six completed innings. This gave him a splendid average of over 84 runs, which, it is quite superfluous to point out, is a remarkable record of continuous and consistentsuccess, even in face of several other exceptional instances of consis­ tently high rungetting registered also in SouthLondoncricket. Thelistofthescores of a hundred he has made this season, which is given below, shows that his highest innings was his 269 against Chiswick Park in the first week of June. His other score of 200 was at the expense of Upper Tootiug’s old friends and rivals of Strentham on August Bank Holiday. The Wimbledon Club will have particu­ larly goid reason to re i ember his formof 1906. As a matter of fact the Wimble- donians never got him out in either match, and after he pun­ ished their bowlers to the tune of 273 in the two gam3s he was unbeaten each time. I don’cknow whether I am correct ii say­ ing that he only played three matches during the season nther than for the Upper Tooting C.C. Whether or no, the three innings which I know he did play out of the jurisdiction of his own club each produced a hundred. Two of them, his 109 fjr Surrey v. Scot­ land, at Edinburgh, and his 107 for the Rev.H.C.L Tindall’s Eleven v. Hastings and District, at Hast­ ings, were masterly displays, and, as I can vouch, thoroughly worthy of the artist he is. The exigencies of the legal profession are responsible for the limitation of Mr. Butcher’s appearances in first-class cricket. The County’s loss has been his club’s gain, and Surrey men will at least be grateful that, if not able to devote any considerable part of his time to the more severe class of cricket, he has been upholding so loyally the be3t interests of one of the best and most sportsmanlike of clubs within its borders.