Cricket 1906

D ec . 20, 1906 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 467 It was a kindly thought of the Editor of Cricket to give his readers a short sketch of Alfred Mynn amongst the Champions of the game, with the centenary of his birth so near at hand, and though he died long before many of us were born, we are glad to render tribute to his memory, and to hail him as a champion, not indeed in the record- breaking sense, but in the sense that he stood pre-eminently before his fellows as a great performer, a great lover of cricket, and a great lover of everyone and everything that made for thewelfare of the game. The portrait of Mr. Mynn is reproduced (from a portrait in the possession of the Cobbett Cricket Bat Co.) hy kind permission of Messrs. Methuen and Co. from A. E. Knight’s “ The Complete Cricketer.” D r .W. G. GRACE IN GENTLEMEN v. PLAYERS MATCHES. During the summer of 1906 Mr, W. G. Grace had the personal satisfaction of captaining the Gentlemen on his fifty- eighth birthday, and, by making 74 in his second inniD gs, of obtaining the highest score for hisside. Bearing inmind that it was forty-one years before that he took part in his first match betw een the Gentlemen and the Players, this re­ cord must, even for him, he con fid ered as altogether remarkable. In less strenu­ ous days than the present the famous Mr. William Ward appeared for the Gentlemen at the age of 51, whilst for the Players Clarke was chosen when 54 years old. Beldham when 56, and old William Lillywhite when 57. In order to emphasise the point it may be added that “ W. G.” had several times assisted the Gentlemen before any of the other twenty-one who tookpart in last season’s match at the Oval were born : further­ more, he was old enough to be the grandfather of seven of the twenty-one, and was no less than thirty-eight years, four-and-a-half months the senior of Mr. J. N. Crawford. It is, of ccurse, only as a cricketer that “ W. G.” is old: in the ordinary acceptation of the word he is not so, nor will he ever be. Many years ago the “ Old Buffer” pictured “ W. G.” visiting Lord’s when a cen­ tenarian, and challenging anybody on the ground at single-wicket, and there are less likely things which might happen, despite the fact that, when he had played his innings of 74, he said, in his jolly way, “ I shan’t play anymore.” What a wonderful record the Old Man has set up in these matches ! When he first appeared, Beldham bad been dead only three years, “ Squire” Osbaldeston was yet to be seen at Lord’s, and Parr and Lockyer were still figuring on the Players’ side. “ W. G.” not oily proved a prolific scorer, but, when set, appeared to do just as he pleased with bowling which no one else on the side scarce dared to meddle with: thus, at Lord’s, in 1868, he made 134 not out, the rext highest score on either side beingbut 29; whilst at Scarborough, in 1885, when he scored 174 on a treacherous wicket, only T. C. O’Brien, who made 21, exceeded 14 in the same innings. When he was at his zenith, he was feared by bowlers as no other batsman has been, either before or since. In the seventies he played consecutive innings of 217, 77, 112, 117, 163, 158, and 70 against the best professional bowlers of the time, running out his hits, and generally batting on wickets which would compare very un­ favourably wi'h the hard smooth pitches of to-day. It was no uncommon sight to see a bowler, when he had obtained the big man’s wicket, throw his cap high, in the air to express his delight. From 1853 until 1865 the Players were supreme, but the end of their successes synchronisedwiththeadvent of “ W. G.”, and, in future, the superiority of the Gentlemen became almost asmonotonous as that of the Players had previously been. The Master proved such a host iDhimself as to cause the sympathies of the spectators to be wholly on the side of the Players, for it must be remembered that he was not only the most wonderful batsman the world had ever seen, but also a splendid field, acd one of the finest bowlers of his time. In addition to scoring just over six thousand runs against the Players, he has also taken as many as 271 of their wickets—a record, almost needless to add, quite unapproached: old William Lillywhite took 176 wickets, Alfred Shaw 134, and Mr. Alfred Mynn 107. So “ W. G.” has been not only the best batsman in the lorg series of matches, but also the most successful bowler. Could any more convincing proof of his greatness be advanced ? Almost from the day upan which he first assisted the Gentlemen, his wicket was eagerly striven for—in the seventies, the halcyon daysof cricket, the rivalry in this respect was excep­ tionally keen—and, to the very end, bowlers vied with each other in their endeavours to bring about his retirement. The length of his career is, in its way, no less remarkable than his genius for the game, for during even recent years he has often withstood the best bowling in the country when far younger men have failed. His 118 against Richardson and Meld on a faulty wicket at Lord’s, in 1895, was a most extraordinary display for a man of his years. It is difficult to realise that we shall never again see the Champion taking part in these matches, but those of us who have seen him at Lis best will always be able to recall with de­ light seme ot his great innings which have especiallyimpressedthemselves uf on our memory. And when we allow the mind to dwell upon some skilfully-played innings on a tricky wicket, or some terrific onslaught on a perfect pitch, we shall agree with Sir William Hart Dyke that, to a cricketer, the memory is one of life’s greatest assets. It is as difficult to bring the scent of the hay across the footlights as it is to again rejoice in the genial warmth of a summer day belonging to past years; but the latter feat has leen brought almost within the bi undsof possibility by Mr. E. B. V. ChristLn’Dadmirable “ Ode to W. G.,” from which we quote the following stanza:— Now give a rousing cheer again, A louder yet, and yet a louder cheer! He rests, and then he strikes amain As if in our applause a challenge he could hear; He drives, he cuts, he hits to off and on, Far o’er the ropes the soaring ball has gone; He cuts, he drives, he hits to on and off, The fieldsmen toil and groan, the glad spectators scoff; Fast though men howl or slow, Where’er the fielders go, No respite they from their vain labours know. Then last the crowd hursts out in rattling peal like thunder, The hundreds gained, the haven reached, delight outsparbles wonder. CRICKET IN INDIA. LAHORE v. FEBOZEPOBE. Capt. Gt. Lang, who made 101 in thi8 match, at Lahore, played for India against Lord Hawke’s team in 1893. Score :— E L. French, b Vuir 15 Capt. G. I.an", retired 101 P.E. Collen,cBedwell, bClemson ..........27 V. Short, b Trench ... 10 Capt. Ross, c Bedwell, b Jukes .................TO C. Farquhar, c Muir, b Jukes .................17 Oapt. L. S. Browne, b Bedwell ................. 5 L ah ore E. Kirke, c Jukes, b Ransome.................66 R. E. Grosvenor, b McPherson .......... 13 C. R. Gover, c and b Ransome.................40 W. A. F. Jones, not out ........................ 0 Extras.......... ... 46 Total ..410 F erozepore . A. H. Muir, c and b Browne 8 lUillugo. b Short .......... 15 Capt. L. C. Hope, b Ross ... 38 b Collen .......... 26 Capt.E.T.Bedwell,bBrowne Capt. R. C.Harbottle, cKoss, 2 b Lang .......... 4 b 1ang ........................ 12 b Short .......... 16 W. Clemson, b R oss.......... 3 b Lang .......... 4 A. L. Ransome, b Lang ... 0 b Lang .......... 2 O. F. Trench, b Lang 0 run out ......... A A. R. M. Roe, b R oss......... 14 b Collen ......... 2 A. B. McPherson, not out... 3 c Browne,b Short 14 A. H. Jukes, run o u t .......... 2 b Grosvenor M. Wace, b Ross................. 0 not out .......... 7 Extras........................ 0 Extras.......... 7 Tot-.l ................. 82 Total......... 109 CALCUTTA v. BALLYGUNGE. In this match,played at Calcutta in the middle of November, B. A. White, the old Malvernian, played a very good innings. B allyg u n g e . H. M. Sherman, b Q uin.......................... 29 E.Horncastle, cWhite- way, b Connor ...80 A. O. Tatam, c Low, b Connor ................. 9 W. E. Bayley, not out 8 F. Gould, lbw,bBeach- cr o ft........................ 5 B 15, lb 4, nb 2 ... 21 B. A. White, c Turn­ bull, b Simson ...101 A. T. Wood, cWarden, b Quin .................23 B. E. G. Eddis.candb Connor .................17 H.F. Mytton. b Beacli- c o l t .................... 26 T. C.Manders,cBeach- croft, b Guise ... 34 T. A. Smith, c Turn­ bull, b Simson ... 30 C alc J. D. Guise, c Bavley, b Gould ............. 17 F. N. Warden, run out 4 C. P. Beachcroft, c and b Manders ........ 0 R. O. R. Hill, lbw, b Gould ..............31 F. J. Connor, c Sher­ man, b Manders ... 10 S. E. A. Whiteway, c Smith, b Gould ... 4 Total ...333 UTTA. M. R. Quin, c and b Gould .................10 A. Simson, c White, b Wanders................. 3 H. V. Low, b Gould... 0 G. Turnbull, run out 4 J. E. Jackson, not out 4 Wide ................. 1 Total R ICHARD DAFT’S “ Nottinghamshire Marl.”— Particulars apply, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Notts. [A dvt .