Cricket 1906

"M ar . 29, 1906. CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 45 OBITUARY. V ictor B arton . Victor B «ton , familiar also as “ Bom­ bardier ” Barton, was born at Netley on October 6th, 1867, and died not many days since of a pulmonary disease. He came into notic a in 1889, when for the Royal Artillery against the Gentlemen of the M.C.C.. who numbered in their ranks Mr. W. G. Grace, he scored 91 and 102 at Lord’s, and captured six wickets for 53 runs. Not long after he made his d£but for Kent, and opened well with 32 against Yorkshire at Maidstone, but in this year and 1890, after which his con­ nection with Kent ceased, he did not appear a regular member of the team. After a visit to South Africa with a touring team, he juiced the Hants eleven in 1892, from which year until his retire­ ment through ill health at the close of 1902, he proved a tower of strength to his native county. In 1894 when Hamp­ shire were virtually a first-class shire, though not officially promoted until the autumn, Barton as the result of consistent play could show the fine average of 40, and except in 1898 and 1902 when bad health handicapped him, his average in all first-class matches from 1895 to 1902 ranged from 22 in 1895 to 29 in 1896. He twice exceeded 1,000 runs, totalling 1,026 in 1899, and 1,060 in 1890. His efforts were practically confined to Hampshire matches; indeed his only appearances in extraneous fixtures were for South v. North at Scarborough in 1897, and for Players v. Gentlemen at the Oval in 1901. He was an upright player and a powerful, clean driver, nearly always scoring rapidly. On occasion, however, he played a safe game, as when in 1899 he occupied five hours in his 126 not out against Leicestershire. The innings of his career was his 205 against Sussex iu 1900 which he put together in three hours and three-quarters, giving no chance until he bad made 187. Perhaps, however, his 125 against the Yorkshire bowling in 1897 was his most meritorious success. A useful medium-paced bowler, Barton was a man who would have been welcomed by any county, even though his cricket did not quite reach the standard of representative matches. His centuries in first-class matches were as fo llo w s :— 1896. Hants v. Warwickshire ......... 112 1897. Hants.v. Yorkshire ................. 125 1898. Hants v. Leicestershire ......... ..................... 110 1899. Hants v. Leicestershire ......... 126* l'JUO. Hants v. Sussex ... 205 1901. Hants v. Kent ... 122* * Signifies not out. N.B.—In 1900 he also made 99 v. Somerset. J. B. P. M r . M. G. H aughton . On January 4th, at Brookline, Mass., occurred the death of M. G. Haughton, of the Longwood Cricket Club. Mr. Haughton will be remembered as a particularly enthusiastic player and supporter of the game. Born in County Down, Ireland, in 1831, he went to the States when 25 years old, and lived on Staten Island, N.Y. Prom about 1858 to 1878 he was prominently identified with both the St. George’s and Staten Island Cricket Clubs, taking an active part in their welfare. In 1879 he moved to Boston, Mass., and joined the Long- wood Cricket Club, being made an honorary member for his enthusiastic interest in this organiz ition. Soon after coming to Boston, owing to an eye trouble, he gave up playing, but he instilled into his sons his fondness for the game and was a regular attendant at all matches played by the Longwood Cricket Club, taking particular pleasure in those in which his sons participated for over fifteen years. He was a great lover of all sports and followed closely the development of base ball and football, besides golf, lawn tennis, court tennis, rackets, or any other sport, whether his sons were engaged in the play or not. His death has left a gap in the ranks of cricketers which it will be extremely hard to fill .—American Cricketer. M r . G. C. M urdoch . Mr. Gilbert Curtis Murdoch, the well- known Balmain sportsman, who died on Tuesday, February 6th, after a severe illness of some weeks,was an elder brother of the famous Australian cricketer, Mr. W. L. Murdoch. Mr. Gilbert Murdoch himself was a very fair cricketer, and for many years played with the old Albert Club when cricket of note iu Sydney was practically confined to three grounds, and a majority of the leading matches were played on the Domain. Some few years back Mr. Murdoch presented to the trustees of the Birchgrove Reserve some very interesting old photographs of early cricket teams, which now adorn the walls of the local pavilion. He was a sportsman of the best type, being an enthusiastic admirer of other sports besides cricket, among them rowing and bowls .—Sydney Referee. M r . S. B. S pencer . Mr. Spancer who was a well-known Parsee ciicketer of the period when Dr. Pavri, Messrs. D. D. Kanga, Bapasoli, Winter, and Gagrat, and himself were the shining lights of the Parsee team, died at Calcutta on January 30th, at the age of 46. He was one of the chief supporters of the Elphiustone C.C. at Bombay, and in recent years he took Parsee teams to Madras, Hyderaban, Nagpore, &c. He was a member of the Parsee X I. which beat Lord Hawke’s team in 1892. Mr. J. A it k e n . Mr. James Aitken was closely identi­ fied with the South Melbourne C.C. He was President of that club for several years, and did much to advance its interests. As President of the Victorian Cricket Association, he rendered excellent strvice, and indeed, it is correct to say that every manly sport found in him a cordial supporter and patron. He won the esteem and regard of all with whom he came in contact, and it would be difficult to find a more genial kindly man. He was 61 years of age. C olonel P. W ister . Colonel Francis Wister died at Jefferson Hospital on the morning of November 22nd. He was one of the oldest members of the Germantown Cricket Club, and a brother of Rodman Wister, Jones Wister, and William Rotch Wister. Prior to the Civil War, he piaye l cricket regularly for Germantown, bat on its outbreak he went to the front and fjr four years fought with distinction. MINOR COUNTIES CRICKET ASSOCIATION. March 7th, 1906. The following circular has been issued by the Minor Counties C.A. :— D ear S ir , —In accordance with th e resolu­ tion passedat the annual meeting on December 5th last, a special meeting of the Association will be held in the pavilion at Lord’s on Friday, April 6th, at 1 1 o’clock precisely, for the purpose of considering the question of grouping the Minor Counties in their com­ petition. The replies sent to our circular of January ith showed that only five counties were en­ tirely opposed to the principle of “ grouping,” all the other fif.eon expressing views in favour of some alteration in that direction, although the original scheme (submitted to the Association last December) found no more than five supporters. Only one definite amendment, however, was received—that from Yorkshire. The emergency committeemet on February 22nd, and after carefully reviewing the opinion expressed by each county resolved to recommend Yorkshire’s proposal for accept­ ance and adoption by the Association. Should it or any other similar scheme be approved by the special meeting, it will be proposed to add the following words at the end of Rule 2 (of the Rules of the Association), viz., “ upon giving notice to the hon. secre­ taries before the end of September.” —Yours faithfully, it. h . m a l l e r r , J. KARL NOltJlAN, Joint Hon. Secs. MINOR COUNTIES’ COMPETITION. Scheme proposed by the Vorkshire County C . C — 1. In 1907 and in future years the counties shall be grouped into four or more divisions, according to their geographical positions. 2. In 1907 tliere shall be four divisions, namely:— North—Durham, Lancashire II., Northumber­ land, Staffordshire, and Yorkshire It. West—Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Glamorgan­ shire, and Monmouthshire. Midlands—Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Ox­ fordshire, Surrey II., and Wiltshire. East—Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hert­ fordshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. 3. Every county shall play out and home two-day matches with every other county in its division. 4. The counties which shall have obtained in their respective divisions the greatest proportionate num­ ber of points shall play semi-finai two-day matches. Provided that if two or more counties at the top of any one division have obtained the same proportion of points, preference shall be given to that county which shall have won the greatest number of com­ pleted matches. The winners of the semi-final matches shall play a final three-day match at the end of August, and the winner of the final match