Cricket 1906

450 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. Nov. 29, 1906. ‘ Sixpenny ’ in my first term. In my second summer I was so successful that, although not played in ‘ Upper Club,’ I was put into ‘ Choices.’ In the following spring I was ill and soweakened that my chances of getting into the Eleven were spoilt, but I was twelfth man in 1867. In the next season I played against Harrow, at Lord’s, and was in with C. I. Thornton when he made his historic drive off C. T. Giles over theold pavilion. In 1869 we had a very good eleven, especially so far as bowling was con­ cerned. Butler and Maude could always be relied upon to take wickets and Cuth- bert Ottaway was, even then, a very fine bat. In 18701was Captain and, although Winchester beat us by a wicket on their own ground, we managed to defeat Har­ row at Lord’s a week later. We had lost Maude, and his absence weakened us considerably. He and Raynor, of Win­ chester, were two of the best boy bowlers I have seen, and the latter had more break—not swing—in the air than any­ one else I ever saw. Maude afterwards did well for Oxford in 1873. I remember him getting six wickets for 14 against a good Gentlemen of England side, whilst in the Cambridge match he took six for 39 in an innings of 203, and so played a prominent part in the Oxonian victory by three wickets.” “ Were you not at Eton when Mr. Mitchell commencfd to coach the boys ?” “ It was in 1864 that I entered Eton, and Mitchell took up his residence there two years later. Etonian cricketers of the last two or three generations owe a great deal to him. He made a tremend­ ous difference in our cricket, and whilst he had his full vigour Eton probably produced more prominent players than any other school. During my time the College turned out, inter alia, Thornton, Ottaway, Tritton, Longman, Maude, Butler, Tabor and Ridley.” “ You got into the Oxford Eleven in your first year, I believe ? ” • ‘ In my first term I was tried in the Eleven but did not come off, and so was dropped. I had, fortunately, just been (Lc ed a member of the M.C.C. and so was able to play for themwhen they sent a team down to Oxford to play against the University. As it happened I made 107, which was a rather large score for those days. The consequence was that I received another trial and, scoring 67 not out and 64 against the Gentlemen of England on Cowley Marsh, was awarded my Blue. That year we had a strong iid», including Townshend, Law, Otta­ way, W. H. Hadow, E. F. S. Tylecote, Pauncefote, Francis and Butler, andbeat Cambridge by eight wickets, but in the following year, with practically the same tide, we were beaten by an innings and over 150 runs. On the latter occasion Longman and Tabor made over a hun­ dred for the first Cambridge wicket and Yardley scored 130. In 1873, when I might have been Captain, I hurt my hand so severely by practisirg long catches in the cold weather that I was unable to hold a bat, and so, of course, could not play at Loi d’s ; so I became Treasurer instead. In 1874 we beat Cambridge very easily, although they started well. Rain came on, however, and Lang proved too good for them, whilst their bowlers were unable to take full advantage of the slow wicket.” “ You were still at Oxford, then, when you went to America as a member of Mr. R. A. Fitzgerald’s team ? ” “ Yes, and a most enjoyable time it was. ‘ W. G.’ and Ottaway generally put up a hundred or thereabouts for the first wicket, and Hornby, Alfred Lub­ bock and W. H. Hadow usually made very useful scores. We relied chiefly upon ‘ W. G.,’ Appleby,1W. M. Rose (who wore glasses) and Francis to take wickets for us, and they never failed. Although we returned to E d gland unbeaten, we had to struggle ourhardest at Philadelphia to avoid defeat. Then, as now, the best cricket in America was played in Philadelphia. Fitzgerald, in his amusing ‘ Wickets in the West,’ says that when ‘ W. G.’ was caught in the second innings his downfall was greeted by ‘ A roar that might have made William Penn turn in his grave,’ he evidently being under the impression that his remains were in Philadelphia, whereas he was buried in England.” “ In your early days Kent cricket was not so well supported as it is now ?” “ When I first played for the County, in 1870, Kent could not, for financial reasons, arrange many games; the Canterbury Week, which drew good gates, was a thing apart. Hadwe always been able to place our strongest side in the field we should have done well, but our chief amateurs—Alfred Lubbock, Ottaway, H. A. Richardson, Thornton, Renny-Tailyour, and Yardley, whom I regard as the most natural and most brilliant bat I ever saw—could not play much. When I took affairs in hand we had no younger pro­ fessional than William McCanlis, who had been playing for the County since 1862. Gradually, however, good men came along. George Hearne, who came out in 1875, was young, but a good bowler—he was the fiist to take a hundred wickets for us in a season—and in quick succession we came across such useful amateurs as C. A. Absolom, F. A. Mackinnon, and Frank and Alfred Penn. For four or five years the above were the backbone of the Eleven. Some who played for us in the seventies were by no means well off. There were no travelling expenses in those days, and some, I know, were hard-pressed for the out-matches. I saw that more money was wanted, and so circularised the County, and raisedthe gate to a shilling at Canterbury, first on one day, then two, and at last for the whole week.” “ Did you meet many of the famous old Kent cricketers ?” “ Alfred Mynn I never met—I was only ten years old when he died—but I think I saw his brother Walter. Fuller Pilch, E. G. Wenman, the Rev. J. F. Fagge and ‘ Grannie ’ Martingell were often to be found at the Kent matches. Fagge was a very tricky towler, and invariably dismissed ‘ Bob ’ Grimston when playing against him. On one occasion old Mr. Grimston was bowled by him for a very small score, and when he got back to the Pavilion threw his bat down and exclaimed in his deliberate way, ‘ I wish Fred Fagge was dead ! ’ ‘ No, no, Bob,’ remonstrated one of his friends, ‘ You mustn’t wishsuch a shock­ ing thing as that.’ ‘ Well,’ returned Mr. Grimston, who was in reality the kindest-hearted man one could meet, ‘ I wish they would make him a Bishop, so that he couldn’t play any more ! ’ Pilch’s conversation was very interesting at times, but during his last few years he was very quiet; nodoubt his bankruptcy worried him a good deal. Another old County cricketer usually to be seen at Canterbury during the Week was Mr. Edward Banks. He was generally iu the B.B. tent with his brother, Mr. W. J. Banks, who also played for the County. Both were splendid fieldsmen and good all- rcuod cricketers. Edward Banks, unfortunately, could not play for Kent after 1846, owing to ill-health, but I am glad to say that he is still living, near Dual, aged 86. He fielded for Alfred Mynn in his single-wicket match with Felix, at Lord’s, in 1846, and it is an interesting fact that Mr. R. J. P. Broughton, who rendered Mynn similar service in the return at Bromley, is also surviving, being now ninety years of age. Reference to past cricket and cricketers reminds me that in the very early days we posseEsed a great enthusiast in Mr. Edwin Stead, ot Maidstone, who not only formed a club of his ,own but also took teams out of the County to play. He made many matches with Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and others, and died in 1735. I have endeavoured to come across a portrait of him, but have not yet succeeded in doing so.” “ Do you consider the game has changed much since you first began to play in important matches ? ” “ County cricket, I think, is better now than it used to be, but it is difficult to compare different periods owing to the alterations which have taken place. Grounds, for example, arevastly superior to what they used to be. Bowlers now have to, and do, get wickets iu wajs which the best of them formerly did not think of, for when grounds were rougher the wicket was more frequently hit. In this matter we have learnt a great deal from the Australians. On the other hand, no one is nowso accurate as Alfred Shaw used to be. One very serious blunder which has cropped up is the carelessness of bowlers in over-stepping the bowling-crease. Fast bowleis like Jackson and Tarrant often bowled no­ balls, but the best slow bowlers never did. I regard this as so bad a failing that, when a system of awarding marks for good play is in force, I would deduct marks for no-balls. Wicket- keeping has improved, perhaps because fewer leg-bails are bowled: in any case, it is surer than it used to be. Missed catches, I think, are often due to the stands and crowds making it difficult to judge the pace with wnich the ball leaves the bat. Owing to bowlers trying to obtain catches on tbe