Cricket 1906

434 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. O ct. 25, 1906. In all he made twelve hundreds during the season of 1906, as the follow­ ing summary will attest. For the Upper Tooting C.C.: — v. Epsom, May 5 ..................................................... 133 v. Wimbledon, May 12 ......................................*100 Chiswick Park, June 5 ...................................... 2G9 v. Kensington Park, June 2 3 ............................... 100 v. Wimbledon, June'30 ...................................... *173 v. Leatherhead, July»28 ...................................... 123 v. Streatham, August 6 ....................................... 213 v. Kensington Park, August 11 ........................ 104 v. Fakenham,"August 21........................................ 154 In other matches :— For Surrey v. Scotland, July 9,10 and 11.......... 109 For Rev. H. C. L. Tindall’s XI. v. Hastings and District, July 30 and 31 ........................ 107 For R. F. Drury’s XI. v.;Harpenden, Sept. 3 ... *121 FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS. Through the kindness of Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode, the publishers of the forthcoming Official History of Kent County Cricket, we are enabled to state that the volume will contain contribu­ tions from the following gentlemen, all of whom have at some,,time captained the Kent County Eleven :— T he R ight H on . L ord H arris , The Editor of the volume, gives an account of the doings of the Eleven during his captaincy, with interest­ ing anecdotes interspersed. M r . W. S outh N orton , A most valued member' of the Kent Oounty Cricket Club, has furnished his recollections of Kent cricket dating from the year 1849 to the time of hisretirement from the game. M r. W. H. P a tterson Gives a chapter on the peiiod of his joint captaincy. M r . F rank M archant Supplies an interesting and chatty versionof his connectionwith County cricket. M r . J. R. M ason Relates his experiences and opinions. M r. C. H. B. Marsham, The Captain of the ChampionEleven, 1906, gives a full account of the team’s form throughout his cap­ taincy. In addition to the above, the book will include chapters on :— K ent v . E ngland .— By Mr. F. S. Ashley- Cooper. G entlem en o f K e n t. —By M r. F. S. Ashley- Cooper. T he O ld S tagers . —By Lieut.-Col. Newri- ham-Davis. S om e R e m in is ce n ce s . —By Mr. H. Knatch- bull-Hugessen. T h e S o cia l Side o f C an terb u ry W e e k .— By Lieut.-Col. Newnham-Davis. A n A ccoun t o f th e Am erican T o u r .— By Mr. C. J. Burnup. T h e E n g lish Team in A u stra lia , 1878.— By the Right H on. Lord Harris. T he E n g lish Team in A u s tr a lia , 1882.— Hy the Right H on. the Earl of Darnley. A C hapter of B iographies .— M r. F. S. Ashley-Cooper. K ent C ricket C hronology and M emora ­ b il ia .— By M r. F . S. Ashley-Cooper. F orm at a G lance .— Being a complete summary of the batting and howling performances accomplished hy every cricketer who haRplayed for Kent.—By Mr. F . S. Ashley-Cooper. R esult of M atches , &c., & c . The work will make a handsome volume, and will be profusely illustrated. The edition will be limited, and the subscrip­ tion price £1 Is. In The History of CricTcet in North Hants, which is to be published shortly, the game will be dealt with for a period extending over one hundred years, and particulars given of all the leading clubs —Alresford, Alton, Basingstoke, Grey- well, Hackwood Park, Hartley Wintney, Hurstbourne Park, Oakley Park, OJi- ham, The Yyne, etc. There will also be chapters on Hampshire County Cricket, the Old Hambledon Club (from the pen of Mr. F. S. Ashley-Cooper), Winchester (City, College and Garrison), as well as theprivategrounds atMalshanger, St.Leo- nard’s, Sherfield and Winchfield House. The volume, it is claimed, will recall the names and doings of many whcss names are, or were, household words in cricket circles in North Hants, e.g .—Sir John Cope, of Bratnshill; thePauls, of Hartley Wintney ; the Mulfords, of Greywell; the Chutes, of the Vyne; Mr. J. Addison and the Raynbirds, of Hackwood Park ; Mr. A. H. Wood, of Winchfield House; Mr. W. E. Bryan, of Basingstoke ; Sir John Wallington, of OakleyPark ; Major Bigg-Wither, of Tangier; the Rev. A. G. Barker, of Sheifield; Mr. W. Paris, of Winchester; the Ceesars, of Alton; the Crimbles, of Overton; Mr. G. H. Longman, of Crookham; and many others, not omitting the late Rt. Hon. A. F. Jeffreys, M.P., who did so much for cricket in his day and generation. The Work, which is by Lieut.-Col. John May, will be illustrated by photo­ graphs of all the cricket grounds in the neighbourhood, and of upwards of 20 prominent players or supporters of the game. The publishers are Messrs. War­ ren and Son, of Winchester, and the price of the volume 7s. 6d. net. THE RESIDENTIAL QUALIFICATION. The Australian Press has naturally taken up, and with a general consensus of non-approval, the proposal which has emanated from Kent to extend, in the case of players coming from outside England, the probationary period to qualify by residence for county cricket. The Colonial newspapers assert, not per­ haps entirely with reason, that “ the movement is chiefly directed against Middlesex, which is able to secure for its proteges engagements on the Maryle­ bone ground staff at Lord’s, to the detri­ ment of young English professionals.” The movement, as I have said, though not entirely directed against Middlesex, would affect perhaps that county most from the mere fact that the facilities for engaging Colonial players have been greater iu their particular instance. At the same time, the proposal of Kent, it is only fair to urge, has been made in the general interests of county cricket. It may be, and is, indeed, difficult to see what particular incident has occurred to justify, just at this juncture, a sugges­ tion involving an alteration of such a one-sidedcharacter, onewhichwouldhave come with much greater force some few seasons ago. Still the subject his, one must admit, given rise to a good deal of discussion,attimesofratheranacrimonious character, during the last season among those most concerned in the well-being and good management of county cricket. As a general principle the importation of players from outside England, par­ ticularly of those who have already graduated with success in their own cricket, is indefensible. Nor would anyone, I should fancy, seriously object to any limitation where there was direct importation. On the other hand, it is not easy to Bee in cases of legitimate and Iona-fide qualification why the laws should differentiate between English and Colonial cricketers to the extent, at all events, of placing the latter under special disabilities, especially when it can hardly be seriously argued there is any real abuse requiring legislation. The policy of bringing the special legislation as suggested into actual operation is open to question. It is significant that the Australian critics generally, or, at least, some of the most capable of them, —men who know the inner working of English as well as Australian cricket— haveexpressedthemselvesstronglyagainst the new proposal. Their attitude which, at all events, suggests a claim for even- handed legislation and with a common regulation for English and Australian cricketers, certainly can not be based on self interest. On the contrary, it is obvious that in the migration of pro­ mising players to England they are the only parties at all prejudicially affected. It may be, of course, that in formulating their proposal the Kent authorities have beeninfluencedby arguments which have not as yet been made public. That they have had good and substantial reasons for their action, no one who knows the general character of their administration will for a moment gainsay. At present, however, all that isj known to the man in the street is the bare proposition that for players coming from outside England there should be a longer period for residential qualification than applies in the case of our own players. Any alteration involving a difference between English and Colonial cricketers, as we have already said, will require serious consideration, having regard always to the broad principles of sport. Onemight also go further and urge that no change of the kind, considering the issues involved, should come within the scope of practical politics unless a strong and practically unanimous expression of opinion is given in its favour.