Cricket 1906

466 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. D e c. 20, 1906. centuries in days when centuries were rare indeed. Mynn made only one. Both these great men played chiefly in days—thirties, fortie?, and fifties—when scoring was at its lowest. The mowing machine had not been invented, and the wickets were not as good as they became in the sixties, difficult as those of the sixties were compared with those of our time. The round-arm bowliDg of Lilly- white, Broadbridge and others prevented the high scoring that prevailed in the days of underhand bowling, when Lsmbert, in 1817, obtained two centuries, and Mr. Ward, in 1820, made 278 at Lord’s—scores that remained records for many years, Lambert’s until W. G.’s first double century in 1868, and Ward’s until 1876, when the Master twice exceeded it. But compared with his com­ peers, Mr. Mjnn’s scores were very high. He made over 50 as many as fifteen times—no small performance in days when tbe best teams of the country were frequently put out for less than a total of 50 runs. At one lime he made scores in two consecutive matches, which at the time were considered phenomenal and even now would be accounted more than good. These were made in 1836 when he scored 45 and 92 for M.C.C. v. Sussex, at Brighton, and 21 not out and 125 not out for Southv. North, at Leicester. This latter was the match in which he was so hurt by Bedgate’abowling. As a bowler he once took L ine wickets in an innings and six times eight wickets; in a match he captured 13 twice &nd 15 once. For Kent v. England in 1843 he obtained six wickets for 11 runs, and (nged 45) for England v. Surrey in 1852 be had six for 16. He played almost up to the last, dying at the age of 54, and being thus younger by four years than W.G. (happily still plajing) is now. In addition to his splendid physique and presence, he was of most handsome countenance, as will be seen from the picture, reproduced in Daft’s book, taken of him by Felix. “ Handsome is as handsome does” is the ungrammatical though expressive adage of the old country people. Cer­ tainly the great Alfred Mynn “ did” handsomely. All unite in testifying to the extreme loveablensss of his nature, to his great kindness and gentleness of heart. “ And thus he bore without reproach the grand old name of gentle­ man.” In 1863 a splendid tombstone was erected to his memory, by public subscription, at Thurnham, the inscription on which testified to his many admirable qualities alike as aciicketer and as a man. After his death “ The Mynn Memorial Benevolent Institute for Kentish Cricketers” vas founded in his honour, and “ A sum of £121 16j. invested in India five per cent, stock for the benefit in pe;petuity of the <bj^cts of the abi.ve- iihintd charity.” Ti.is tu.- d ip, of couise, still in existence, but, unfortunately, we never hear of any lover of the game presenting or bequeathing a sum of money to it. In fcis Magazine, Mr. Fry lately con­ demned the use of alcoholic stimulants by cricketers, pointing out that what caused a man to play ashade too soon, or a trifle ton late, at a ball, was alcohol. Neither Alfred Mynn nor any of the players of his time, nor indeed one may say, many of the present-day cricketers would agree with him here, all of whom used, and do, use alcohol in moderation. The “ Lion of Kent ” was no believer in canary-bird diet. “ Beef and beer ” was what he declared to be his sustenance on the field, and, when asked what else he took, ‘1Beerandbeef ” washis answer. It can easily be conjectured that a tea- diinker or mineral water consumer might play too soon or too late at a ball and be bowled, and, as to the nerves, surely tea affects themmore prejudicidly than good English baer. In concluding this article on Mvnn it may be well to quote the verses by W. J. Prowse, before referred to, which appeared first in Bell's Life: — IN MEMORIAM. Jackson’s pace is very fearful, Willsher’s hand is very high; William CafTyn has good judgment and an admir­ able eye; Jemmy Grundy’s cool in i clever, almost always on the spot; Tinley’s slows are often telling, though they some­ times catch it hot. But however good their trundling, pitch or pace, or break or spin. Still the monarch of all bowlers, to my mind, was Alfred Mynn. Richard Daft is cool and cautious with his safe and graceful play; If George Griffith gets a loose one he will send it far away; You may bowl your best at Hayward, and whatever style you try Will be vanquished by the master’s steady hand and certain eye. But whatever fame and glory these and other bats may win, Still the monarch of hard hitters to my mind was Alfred Mynn. You may praise the pluck of Burbidge, as he plays an up-hill match; You may thunder cheers to Miller for a wondrous running catch; You may join with me in wishing that the Oval, once again, Shall resound with hearty plaudits to the praise of Mr. Lane; But the Gentlemen of England the match will hardly win Till they find another bowler such as glorious Alfred Mynn! When the great old Kent Eleven, full of pluck and hope, began The grand battle with All-England, single-handed, man to man. How the hop-men watched their hero, massive, muscular, and tall, As he mingled with the players, like a king amongst them all; Till to some old Kent enthusiasts it would almost seem a sin To doubt their county’s triumph when led on by Alfred Mynn. Tho’ Sir Fredeiick and “ The Yreteran” bowled straight, and sure, and well; Though Box behind the wicket only Lockyer can excel; Though Jemmy Dean as long-stop would but seldom grant a bye; Though no novices in batting were George Parr and Joseph Guy— Said the fine old Kentish farmers, with a fine old Kentish prrin, “ Why there ain’t a man among tl.em as can match 'our Alfred Mynn” ! And whatever was the issue of the frank and friendly fray (Aye, and often has his bowling turned the fortune of tbe day), Still the Kentish men fought bravely, never losing hope or heart. Every man of the Eleven glad and proud to play his part; And with five such mighty cricketers, ’twas but natural to win— As Felix, Wenman, Hillyer, Fuller Pilch, and Alfred Mynn. With his tall and stately presence, with his nobly moulded form, His broad hand was ever open, his brave heart was ever warm; * All were proud of him, all loved him—as the changing seasons pass, As our champion lies a-sleeping underneath yon Kentish grass. Proudly, sadly, we will name him: to forget him were a sin; Lightly lie tbe turf upon thee, kind and manly Alfred Mynn. These are brave lines ! Prowse, we see, contrasts the players of the early sixties with the Champion of a former day and awards the palm to the older player, just as I have compared all past and present players with the greatest of masters, W.G., and shown his superiority both as batsman and as all­ round player to them all. But for the benefit of thosewho belittle heroes of the past, imagining that only players of the present, whomthey have seenandknown, are any good, I will quote again from Richard Daft, who played not only with MynD, but also until quite modern days. He writes at length of the days of Hayward and Carpenter and of their great merits as batsmen. He quotes Carpenter (who was umpiring once in a big match in which a tedious batsman kept letting ball after ball go by on the off-side without trying to touch them) as replying to the tedious batsman who *aid “ You did not get any of this sort of bowling in your day, Mr. Carpenter ? ” ‘ Oh yes, we did, but never half enough of it! If I had beeninyour place to-day, the ball would have been leatherless.” And Daft later adds, “ Hayward and Carpenter each scored thousands of run8 against the best bowling of the ^ay, and often on wickets of the r >ughest kind. And these are the men, who, we are told by some would-be clever critics of the present time, would stand no chance whatever if opposed to bowlers of to-day. This is what some of these critics have the assurance to say of men whom they never saw, and whose -uperiorp, let me tell them, they never will Bee.” So quickly does time fly that one can hardly realise that fifteen more years have gone by since the famous Richard Daft penred the above words, which, tiowever, are just as applicable to-day, *nd probably will be so still, when fifteen more years shall have sped their courre. The famous William Caffyn, of whom Daft said “ it was a pity such a man should ever grow old,” and praises as he most brilliant cut he had ever seen, refers to Alfred Mynn in the following terms:—“ When I played with him he was always the centre of attraction on every cricket ground, and the spectators would crowd about him when he walked round the ground like flies round a honey pot. He was beloved by all sorts and condi ions of men, and he, in turn, seemed ’.o thii.k kinily of everyone. He had an affectionate regard for his old fellow-players who had fought shoulder to shoulder with him through his bril.iant career, and many players just becoming known to him in his latter days could bear witness to the kindnees and encouragement he showed them.”