Cricket 1906

476 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME D ec . 20, 1906. 19—Oval, v. England. (Third Test Match.) 22—In Gloucestershire, v. Gloucestershire. 26—Cardiff, v. South Wales. 29—Bath, v. Somerset. SEPTEMBER. 2—Match at Bournemouth to he arranged. 9—Scarborough, v. Mr. O.I.Thornton’s England XI. M C C _ OBITUARY . M b . C. F . B t jl l s b . Mr. Charles Francis Buller, who died at Lyme Regis at the end of October, was one of those few batsmen whose magnifi­ cent style of play indelibly fixed itself in the memory of those who were fortunate enough to witness it. In his early days he was a pupil of William Mortlock, the old Surrey player, and subsequently when at Harrow he greatly benefited by the able coaching of the Hons. F. Pon­ sonby and Robert Grimston. When only 14 years of age he appeared on the side of XXII. of Devon end Cornwall against the England XI. This was the first occasion on which Richard Daft saw him play. Writing of Mr. Buller 33 years later in his “ Kings of Cricket,” Daft said, “ Mr. C. F. -Buller was, for elegance of style, without a superior in his day. Mr. W. L. Murdoch, the Aus­ tralian, reminds me more of this fine player than anyone else I have seen.” Such an encomium from so able a judge as the great Notts batfman is high praise indeed, but thoroughly deserved. With fine defence and a very straight bat Mr. Buller combined great powers of hitting. The fact that he violated the canons by playing forward with the bat in advance of the left foot must be regarded as one of the privileges of greatness. In 1861 he gained his colours at Harrow in his first quarter and played four years against Eton, among his contemporaries being W. F. Maitland, I. D. Walker and A. N. Hornby. Ijis 61 against Eton in 1864, when he captained his side, is thus com­ mented uponinWisden’s “ Public School Matches” :—“ No innings at Lord’s in a Bchool match has ever been more highly praised than Buller’s 61. It was ac­ knowledged on all hands that he was already good enough for any eleven.” Of a very powerful frame (his weight in 1871 reached 15 stone), he distinguished himself in other branches of sport, clear­ ing 21 feet in the broad jump at Harrow when only 16 years of age. From 1866 to 1871 he was in the 2nd Life Guards and was also a very capable boxer. On leaving Harrow, indeed while still a boy, he at once began to make a great name, scoring over 1,000 runs in each of the seasons 1865 and 1866. Besides helping Middlesex, he represented the Gentle- « men against the Players from 1865 to 1868, and again in 1874, his h 0hest score in the great match being 41 at the Oval in 1868. Frcm 1869 to 1873 his first-class cricket was practically a blank, and when, in the September of the latter year, he re-appeared for W. G. Grace’s XI. against Kent, his returnwas welcomed with unfeigned enthusiasm. From 1874 to 1877, when he practically retired, he appeared pretty regularly in Oounty andM.C.C. matches. He played44 innings for Middlesex between 1865 and 1877, was not out four times, and scored 870 runs with an average of 21'75. His highest score in a match of any kind was 196 for I. Zingari v. Royal Engineers in 1866. It may be added that he was born at Colombo, in Ceylon, May 26tb, 1846. The following table shows Mr. Buller’s scores of 50 and upwards in first-class matches:— 1864 M.C.O. v. Gentlemen of Kent .............. 68 1865 M.C.O. v. Cambridge University .......... 58* 3865 Southgate v. Oxford University .......... 65* 1865 Gents, of Middlesex v. Gents, of England 71 1865 Middlesex v. Surrey ................ .............. 105* 1866 M.C.C. v. Cambridge University .......... 64 1866 M.C.C. v. Cambridgeshire....................... 55 1866 M.C.C. v. Surrey ....................... .............. 89 1866 M.C.C. v. Sussex ....................... .............. 106 1868 M.C C. v. Surrey ....................... .............. 75 1875 M.C.C. v. Notts.............................. .............. 54 1875 Middlesex v. Notts.................. ................ 51 1876 M.O.O. v. Yorkshire ................ .............. 67 1876 South v. North.............................. .............. 07* J. B. P a y n f . Mr. H. J. H i l l . Mr. Harry J. Hill, a younger brother of Clement Hill, died at the end of October at the early age of 28. He was a good all-round cricketer and, like his famous brother, learnt the game at Prince Alfred College. He played in succession for North Adelaide, East Adelaide and East Torrens, and, upon leaving South Australia, became identified with the Melbourne C.C. For South Australia against the M.C.C. Team, at Adelaide, in March, 1904, he took three wickets for 27 runs. The Adelaide Observer gives the following summary of his performances in club cricket:— BATTING. No. Times Most of not Total in an Year. inns. out. runs. inns. Aver. 1896-7 ... ... 9 ... 1 .. . 120 ... 22* ... 15 00 1897-8 ... ... 8 ... 2 ... 124 ... 30 ... 2066 1898-9 .. ... 5 ... 1 .. 90 .. . 49* ..., 22-50 1899-0 ... ... 8 ... 2 ... 247 ... 76 ... 41-16 1900-1 ... ... 9 ... 1 .. . 219 ... 71 ... 27-37 1901-2 ... ... 7 ... 1 .. . 154 ... 58 ... 25-66 1902-3 ... ... 9 ... 0 .. . 260 ... 81 ..., 2888 1903-4 ... ... 8 ... 2 ... 266 ... 88 ..., 44-33 1904-5 ... ... 2 ... 0 .. . 160 ... 104 ..., 80-00 Totals ... 65 ... 10 ... 1,640 ... 104 .... 29-81 * Signifies not out. BOWLING. Year. Overs. Mdns. Runs. Wkts. Aver. 1896-7 ... 23 ... 3 ... 67 ... 2 .. . 33 50 1897-8 ... ... 19.5 .. 3 ... 59 ... 1 .. . 59.00 1898-9 ... 34 ... 4 ... 108 ... 3 .... 3600 1899-0 ... 60.4 ... 20 ... 135 ... 4 .. . 33-75 1900-1 ... 35 ... 8 ... 74 ... 4 ..,. 18 50 1901-2 ... ... 35.1 ... 7 ... 101 ... 6 .. . 1683 1002-3 ... ... 78 ... 24 ... 210 ... 13 .... 1615 1903-4 ... ... 134.2 ... 44 ... 282 ... 15 .. . 18-80 1904-5 ... ... 31 ... 8 ... 52 ... 2 .... 2600 TotaJs ... 451 ...121 ..1088 ...50 . 21-76 PROPOSED RECLASSIFICATION OF COUNTIES. The following is the scheme proposed by the Minor Counties’ Association for a system of Promotion by Merit in the County Championshipand for a re-classi­ fication of the Counties. It was proposed in 1904, and came before the Advisory Committee only to be deferred. 1. In 1905 and in future years there shall be Three Divisions of Counties in the Competition for the County Cham­ pionship. 2. The First Division shall consist of Ten Counties, and shall, in 1905, com­ prise the first ten in the 1st Division of the Competition at the end of the Season of 1904. 3. The Second Division shall consist of Eight Counties, and shall, in 1905, com­ prise the last five in the 1st Division and the first three in the 2nd Division of the Competition at the end of the Season of 1904. 4. The Third Division shall comprise all Counties not in the First or Second Divisions and the Second Elevens of Counties in either of those Divisions. 5. Counties in the First and Second Divisions shall rank as First-class in the compilation of batting and bowling averages. 6 . In the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Competition every County shall play out and home matches with every other County in its Division. 7. In the 3rd Division of the Compe­ tition every County or Second Eleven shall play at least four out and home two-day matches with other qualified members of that Division. 8 . In 1906 and in eachsubsequent year the last two Counties in the 1st Division of the Competition at the end of the previous Season shall be replaced by the first two in the 2nd Division at the end of the same Season ; and, similarly, the last two Counties in the 2nd Division shall be replaced by the first two in the 3rd Division, provided they are qualified for promotion. 9. No County in the 3rd Division shall be qualified for promotion unless it shall have played at least six out and home two-day matches with Other members of that Division who are qualified for the Championship. No Second Eleven of a County Bhall be eligible for promotion. 10. This scheme shall come into force at the end of the Season of 1904. SPECIAL RULE FOR THE SEASON OF 1904. No County in the 2nd Division of 1904 shall be qualified for promotion into the 2nd Division of 1905 unless it shall have played at least six out and homematches with other Second-class Counties or Second Elevens who are themselves duly qualified competitors in the 2nd Division Championship of 1904. NATIVE GUANO. ■REST and CHEAPEST MANURE for LAWNS ORICKET and TENNIS GROUNDS and all Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers. Price, £ 3 1 0 s . per ton in bags; 2 ton lots carriage paid. Lots under 10 cwt., 4 /- per cwt. at works. A 1 cwt. bag sent carriage paid to any station in England on receipt of P.O. for 5/-. Extracts from recent reports • W . A. WOOF, Member M.O.O. Staff, Glo’sterCounty XI., and now Cricket Coach, Cheltenham College, October 1st, 1904.—“ I have great pleasure in strongly recommending your noted ‘Native Guano.’ For cricket grounds, tennis courts, bowling greens, it has no equal. 1 have used it foryears on Cheltenham College Grounds with splendid results.” C. K id m a n (Cheltenham).—“ A great success on cricket and tennis lawns" E. B ra d s h a w (Bolsover).—“ I can recommend it highly for cricket grounds and general garden crops.” Orders to the Native Guano Co., Ltd., 29, New Bridge Street, London, E.C where Testimonials, &c., may be obtained. Agents wanted. Printed and Published for the Proprietor by M beeitt & Hatcbke, Ltd. 167,168, and 169, Upper Thames Street, London, E.O., Dec. 20th, 1906. <Kj