Cricket 1906

Nov. 29, 1906. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 461 “ F e l i x ,” in a recent issue of the Australasian, makes the following inter­ esting reference to “ W.G.” :— During my period of hibernation nothing gave me greater pleasure than to read of the success of the grand old warrior, W. G. Grace, who played his first match for the Gentlemen against the Players so far back as 1865. Yet, after 41 years’ actual service in these contests, he holds his own with the best of them, and comes out with a fine score of 74in the seasonjust over in England. Verily, as Mr. Andrew Lang says, W.G. “ reckons not by years.” In my last ramble “ round the ground” I told you that I had reached the “ half-way house,” yet I was only a lad when W.G. first came to Australia. That was thirty-three years ago, and it was my first big match. Then the public could come right out on the turf to see the Englishmen practise. And how they did gather by the wicket when the champion had his “ knock.” The whole scene is as vivid to me now as if it were being enacted all over again. There is the black-bearded champion, standing colossal by the side of the noted Surrey warrior, Harry Jupp, and even the champion’s cricket bag, with the name on it, “ W. G. Grace, Downend,” is as clear to my vision now as when first I saw it on that far-back summer day in the old wooden pavilion. Sometimes in my solitary walks I see, striding slowly along the streets, a man, grey-bearded, and getting old, who, by his grand batting for 84, hit wicket, b G. F. Grace, did much to make Yictoria win that first match agaiDst W.G.’s team*. That grey-bearded man has long left the arena. So, too, has H. F. Boyle, who covered himself with glory by clean bowling the champion for 33 with a ball that kept low. Do you remember the wild huzzas that rent the air, the shouts, and cheers, and bravos? It was great, grand, glorious! All who played against him then in Australia have had their little day and vanished from the field. All who played against him in England in those days have vanished too. He stands alone, urrivalled, unique; and ttill going strong at 58, with 17$ st. to carry, he “ reaps a second glory in his age.” * “ Felix ” hore refers to Mr. B. B. Cooper, of Rugby, who played successfully for .Middlesex, Kent and the Gentlemen in his early days.— E d ., Cricket. C R I C K E T C H A M P I O N S : No . 3. B y the E ev . H akold A . T ate . In compaiing cricket champions, past and present, one cannot help noticing the increased interest in what is called the “ Championship” amongst the counties. To the writer it seems that it would be better to have fewer first-class counties, and that, to settle the question of Championship of the year, so far as, in a game whose uncertainty is pro­ verbial, such question can be settled, each first-class county should play all the others as is done inLeague “ Soccer ” football. You would not then have people suggesting that if Kent had played as many matches as Yorkshire their record in 1906 would not have been so good. One thiDg the observer cannot fail to notice—that the old first-class counties are always—there or thereabouts—at the top of the tree. Such counties are Surrey, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Kent, Middlesex, Gloucester, Notts, Sussex. Occupying usually a,n intermediate position are E*sex, Somerset, Warwick and Derby. Bat as regards Hants, Leicester, Worcester and Northants not a few people would think the changa a good one if these counties were dropped out of the competition. Theymight still count as firat-class, without entering the magic ring of Championship contests. Then, with fewer of such matches, you would have keener and better cricket, whilst for the counties “ outside the ring ” some systemmight be devised to enable them, on proving their form , to supplant any of the older ones that become effete. At one of the recent banquets given to the Kent XI. the Kentish C ip ta ia said he hoped they would score at 150 and not 100 per hour in future. Such a remark was likely to ba cheered at an after-dinner speech-making, but, taken seriously, it gives rise to a good deal of thought. First, even 50 runs an hour is still quick scoring for one bitsman, and 100 runs an hour supposes two men to score at this exceptional pace. If 100 runs an hour were usual we should very often have 600 made in a day. But this we have not. But to me it seems that the supposition that 150 could hourly be scored presupposes incapable bowlers on the other side. Mr. Marsham would surely not wish this. If Mr. Marsham had said that Kent would try to prevent their opponents from making 100 runs an hour, most people would think it would be better—at least for the game. In the 70’s and 80’s from 200 to 300 runs per day were usually scored; not often the latter number, and frequently on slow wickets not as many as the former. But the game was not slow, because the men mostly ran their runs, which made it more interesting than to see a fieldsman stand still watching the ball go to the boundary and waiting for a spectator to jerk it back. It was more interesting to guess whether smart field­ ing would stop a hit from being a 2, a 3, or a 4, than to be certain that if a hit were not stopped, it must reach the boundary, and must be a four. On such a ground as theBasinReserve, Wellington, New Zealand, where three ordinary club matches can ba played at a time without inconvenience to one another, the writer remembers some big hitting by Maurice Read and Ulyett in 1888. A local fast bowler, who worked havoc amongst the natives, waspromptly driven hard and high by Read, and 7 were run amidst great enthusiasm. Cricket of this sort, when the ball is thrown from fieldsman to fieldsman in returning, where the spectators are on the look-out for a possible run out, and where for a big hitter like Thornton, Bonnor, or Jessop you can place your long fields deeper, is undoubtedly far more interesting to on-lookers than the “ stand-still fieldsman ” and “ spectator throw in ” sort of play. And then, too, there is no “ tossing soft stuff” to a man to let him get his century or complete his thousand, or keeping a man on bowling, though he is being knocked all over the place, just toobtain hishundredthwicket. Richard Dift made few centuries, but in great matches there never was a more consistent scorer when at his best. He was always good for 50. He often got into the seventies, eighties and nineties, scoring at the rate of about 20 runs an hour. Shrewsbury, too, rarely scored over 30 runs an hour, though his best years were in boundary days. Yet neither of these men was ever slow to watch—to the critic. With the man who cares only for the slogger pure and simple one cannot reason about the merits of cricketers past and present. But to score at the rate of 40 runs an hour in the 70’s and 80’s meant that a man was in rare physical trim. W.G. did it, and he alone, for, as the old Green Lillywhites usedtoput it, in describinghis style, “ He was at once the quickest run- getter and surest bat in England,” i.e., he was not a Thornton who could slog for a short time at a greater pace just as Jessop does now with his fellow-players, but W.G. was the quickest of run-getters amongst sure batsmen, and amongst all worthy of being classed as “ the best.” One cannot help here recalling the old story of Carpenter when batting with W.G. in ’71. Carpenter was then forty years old, and had fielded out against W.G. in three matches, when W.G.’s scores were 77, 112, and 117. He con­ gratulated himself that in thenext match he would be on “ Mr. Grace’s side.” But when, after running with the Cham­ pion 100 runs in an hour, he was at length dismissed, having scored 36 of the number, and returned to the pavilion, he observed that it was far worse batting with W.G. than fielding against him. In the fjrmer case you got no rest; in the latter you did occasionally. One cannot help wondering how Ranji would fare if he had to run 100 runs an hour! Ten years have passed since Mr. A. G. Steel, himself one of the best of the very best, and as an all-round man approach­ ing quite as nearly to W. G. as any one who could be named, being, as he was, a great and plucky bat, able to do himself justice on great occasions, and, foratime, the best bowler of the day, wrote in Wisden: — “ It would he impossible for me in a short article to do anything like justice to the great William Gilbert Grace. There have been some who for a short period have given reason for the belief that his position as champion batsman was being dangerously assailed. I allude to such names as vV. L . Murdoch, A. Shrewsbury, and A. E. Stoddart. That belief was, however, but fleeting. W. G. Grace has proved his batting powers to be immensely superior to those of every other cricketer. He is, though nigh on fifty, still the best, and I sincerely hope he will continue for many years to give us all the pleasure of enjoying his magnificent play.” Mr. Steel’s hope has been reilised, as W. G. is still playing and scored 74 against the Players at the Oval this year. But as he can only pliv little first-class cricket he now necassaiily does not loom so largely in the public eye. I have, therefore, for the benefit of tbe younger generation to whom he will be but a