Cricket 1906

444 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME O ct. 25, 1906. the Gentlemen and the Players at Lord’s. In acknowledging their indebtedness to Mr. Marsham, they were honouring a member of a family which had often done good service to the County, and a captain who was a worthy successor to such skilful leaders as Lord Harris, W. H. Patterson, Frank Marchant and J. R. Mason. The toast having been honoured with a round of “ Kentish Fire,” LadyHarris, on the invitationof Mr. George Marsham, presented souvenirs to the team in the shape of sleeve links, inscribed with “ Champions, 1906,” the name of the recipient, and the White Horse of Kent, with the motto “ Invicta.” Mr. C. H. B. Marsham, in replying for his eleven, expressed his thanks for all the kind things which had been said about them, and for the beautiful souvenirs with which they had been presented by the wife of the greatest cricketer Kent had ever had. How could they fail to dowell when supported by such fine sportsmen as were to be found in the County ? He regardedhim­ self as one of the most fortunate of men, for when he undertook the captaincy three years ago he had not the least idea that he would ever have the honour of leading the champion eleven. But he had always been in the habit of asking for advice, and to three members of the side—Mr. Mason, Alec Heame and Huish—he was specially indebted in that respect. Having won the championship, Kent would not change their game, unless it wereto score 150, instead of 100, runs an hour. In conclusion, he spoke in terms of appreciation of the excellent work done by Captain McCanlis and Mr. Pawley at the Nursery at Tonbridge. Sir William Hart-Dyke, in giving the toast “ In Memoriam, 1700-1900,” referred to the early history of the game in the County, and recalled the time when nothing could ba seen from the Chislehurst ground except a windmill behind the bowler’s arm. He remem­ bered seeing his father, Sir Percyvall Hart-Dyke—who, with two of bis brothers, appeared for Kent from 1822 until 1828—playing in a tall white hat, and recalled the famous Mr. Herbert Jenner* keeping wicket in a pair of old gardening gloves. In those days the West Kent team consisted mainly of Lubbocks and Normans. He regarded a cricketer’s memory as one of the most valuable assets of life, for neither science nor the rise or disappearance of a political party—not even golf—could obliterate the memory of one’s first great innings or one’s first great catch. Mr. W. South Norton attributed the honour of being called upon to respond to his great age, but said he was not too old to appreciate and rejoice at the grand success of the team last season. The toast covered a wide range, and he ought to be 300 years old to do justice to it. He recalled the fact that tbe first match noticed in any newspaper was played at Mailing in 1705, and added ♦One of Herbert Jenner’s aunts married Sir William’s grandfather.— E d. that he was not old enough to have been present, nor did he see that played on Bromley Common in 1739 between Kent and England, which, to quote the news­ papers, was “ at lastwonbythe gentlemen of the unconquerable county by a very few notches ” ; he was, however, a spectator when, one hundred years later, Kent beat England at Town Mailing by 2 runs, and well remembered the intense joy exhibited by the Players and spec­ tators. He could recall the time when round-armed bowling was still fiercely assailed by the champions and sup­ porters of the old under-hand. The success achieved by the advocates of the new style made cricketers consider the matter of level pitches, but they were never able to obtain such perfect wickets as are in evidence nowadays. He ven­ tured to suggest, appreciating as he did the conservative character of the M.C.C. in such matters, that, instead of widening the wickets, we should sustain in principle the present practice, but abolish the restriction of throwing and jerking. Why the latter was ever vetoed he never could understand; of course, the formerwas fearedas a danger, but under present conditions he thought the time had come for achange. A slow bowler like Southerton might be more dangerous than he was, if he had not to disguise the throw, and there is no telling what twists and turns might be developed in a jerk, and a fast throw might cause a greater break-back with more spin than the “ high-armers ” do now. He thought a man ought to be allowed to do all he could with his own right or left arm to get his opponent out. The Birl of Dartmouth, in proposing “ The Committee,” said that the Eleven, by their series of wonderful displays, had solved the question: Had cricket lost its popularity ? He emphasisedthe fact that “ sportsman”and “sportingman” wereby nomeans synonymous terms, and assured Kipling that it was not flannels that made the fool. He well remembered the first time upon which he and Lord Harris played on the same side, for they went in together and made 131 between them ; it was for a Parliamentary team, and Lord Harris made, he thought, 130 of the runs. Lord Harris, in replying, said that he had received numerous letters and tele­ grams congratulating Kent upon their very successful season, including a cabled message from the County Cruiser Kent, then stationed in the China seas. He referred to the difficulty which existed in obtaining young players of promise at about the time he became identified with the County’s cricket, and recalled how, upon asking “ Billy” Goodhew his opinion upon a rather mature colt, he received the reply, “ Pleathe thir, he can’t bat; pleathe, thir, he can’t bowl; and pleathe, thir, he comes from Thus- sex.” Some brilliant amateurs, such as Alfred Lubbock and William Yardley, were unable to play regularly owing to business, but, in discovering the Hearnes at Catford, Kent came upon a veritable gold-mine. The County had always been fortunate in possessing good left-handed bowlers, having G. G. Hearne, Wootton, Martin, Wright and Blythe in succession, whilst, so far as fast bowling was con­ cerned they had enjoyed the services of R. Lipscomb, W. Foord-Kelcey, Stanley Christopherson, W. M, Bradley and Fielder. He hoped that the enthusiasm manifested for the teamwas due to their consistent and attractive work through­ out the season rather than because they succeededin obtaining theChampionship. He concluded by proposing “ The County,” coupled with the name of the Lord Lieutenant (the Marquis Camden), who, after briefly replying, proposed the toast of “ The Ladies,” for whom Mr. Mason responded. The evening was a success in every way, and reflected the greatest credit upon Mr. Pawley, who was responsible for the arrangements. KENSINGTON PARK C.C. Matches played, 22; won, 5; drawn, 4; lost, 13, BATTING AVERAGES. The whole and half-day averages are included in one list this year. No. Times Most of not Total in an inns. out. runs. inns. Aver J. L. Johnston ... ... 5 ... 2 .. . 244 .. . 83*.. . 8133 C. H. M. Thring ... 8 .,.. 1 ... 456 ... 162 ... 65-14 C. A. E. Greene... ... 8 ... 1 ... 400 ... 127*.. . 57-14 J. G. Donaldson ... 11 ,... 1 ... 233 ..,. 73 ... 2118 W. M. Ratcliffe... ... 9 ... 3 ... 127 ..,. 35*.. . 21-16 A. P. Comyns ... ... 6 ... 1 ... 97 .. . 44*... 194 W. S. Cohen ... ... 4 ... 1 ... 53 ... 30*.. . 17 66 W. S. Nicholas ... ... 6 ... 2 .... 69 .... 26 ... 17-25 E. R. Thompson ... 4 ... 0 .,,. 68 ..,. 45 ... 17-00 A. Eddy .......... ... 6 ... 0 ... 100 .... 58 ... 1666 M. A. Nicholas ... ... 15 ... 1 ... 219 .... 30 ... 15 64 C. H. Donaldson ... 4 ... 1 ... 41 ... 35 ... 13 66 H. D. Nicholas ... ... 17 .. 2 ... 193 ... 53*... 12-86 F. J. Mendl.......... ... 12 ... 2 ... 121 ... 25*.. . 121 F. W. Dilke ... ... 16 ... 0 ... 192 ... 52 ... 12 00 C. S. G. Lloyd ... ... 7 ... 0 ... 80 ... 51 ... 11*42 W. G. Thompson ... 6 ... 2 ... 45 ... 16 .. . 11-25 L. E. G. Abney... ... 6 ... 3 .. . 25 .. . 9 .. . 8-33 F. L. Halford ... ... 6 ... 0 ... 48 ..,. 17 ... 8-00 E. H. Seaton ... 11 ... 0 ... 82 .. . 27 ... 7-45 F. H. Palmer ... ... 4 ... 0 ... 28 .... 19 .. . 7-00 R. W. Browne ... ... 5 ... 3 .. . 8 ... 7*.. . 4-00 T. W. Hemmerde ... 5 ... 0 ... 13 ... 7 ... 2-6 The following played in less than four innings and s c o r e d R . L. Borman, 0; A. W . Browne 7 and 27 ; H. J. Carter, 25 ; G. Conran, 1; H. F. Day, 1 and 6*; W. L. Donaldson, 0, 12 and 7 ; H. D. Hancock, 3; H. J. Kemp 8 and 15*; E. W. Krohn, 0, 5 and 3! A. G. H. Lovell, 4; C. E. S. Montefiore, 4; J. L. Nicholson, 9 and 12; J. G. O’Brien, 11 and 10; H. O. Osborne, 14; H. T. Roberts, 2, 48 and 84; A. A. Surtees, 27 and 8; H. Trevor, 18, 15 and 21; W. Wintle, 0 and 8. “ CENTURIES” FOR. C. H. M. Thring, v. Incogniti, July 28.................162 C. A. E. Greene, v. Wimbledon, July 14 ..........*127 C. A. E. Greene, v. Upper Tooting, July 21 ... 109 * Signifies not out. BOWLING AVERAGES. F.H. Palmer ... T. W. Hemmerde L. E. G. Abney A. P. Comyns ... W. G. Thompson C. S. G. Lloyd ... H. D. Nicholas ... F. W. Dilke ... The following also bowled and took wickets:— E. R. Thompson, 5; J. G. Donaldson, 4; W S. Cohen, 3; F. L. Halford, 3; J. L. Johnston, 2; H. J. Kemp, 2; W. M. Ratcliffe, 2; H. D. Hancock, 1; H. O. Osborne, 1; W. Wintle, 1. Overs. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver .. 35.3... 7 .... 92 ... 14 ... 6‘86 .. 74.3... 13 ..., 196 ... 11 ... 1781 .101 ... 18 ... 325 .. . 18 ... 1805 .. 41.2. .. 5 ..., 171 ... 7 ... 2442 .. 47 ... 1 ..., 201 .. . 8 ... 25-12 ..154 ... 23 ..., 493 ... 19 ... 25-94 ..171.4. .. 3 .... 958 ... 35 ... 27-37 ..179.4. .. 24 ... 744 .. . 27 ... 27-55