Cricket 1907

J an . 31, 1907. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 11 three matches against New South Wales he has made 10 and 98, 50 aud 61, and 68 and 13. And in one match agaiuat Victoria 65 and 12. His average for Queensland in inter­ state cricket is thus 47 runs per innings. Besides being a brilliant, punishing bats­ man, he is a fine field anywhere. T h e r e was a spell of high scoring out in Western Australia at one period of last month. Out of a total of 369 for eight wickets got by the Wanderers against North Perth, E. F. Parker was responsible for 222 not out. In the same State, for North Fremantle against West Perth, T . R. Hogue scored 175 out of an aggregate of 302. At one point of this last innings six wickets were down for 66 runs. Mb. H. A. P a k in g to n , of H.M.S. “ Hindustan ” (Atlantic Fleet, Portland), who has been good enough to send the following list of the averages of the various County teams, explains that he has taken the averages of the eleven men who played most for the County each season, and calculated them up to the end of 1906. The dates, he adds, were got from Wisden'a Almanack. AVEBAGE a g e o f t e a m s o f f i e s t - o l a s s COUNTIES. Years. Oldest player. 1. Yorkshire ... ... 35-7 ... ... 46 2. Leicester ... 325 ......... 45 3. Warwick — ... 32..0 .......... 40 4. IEssex ......... ... 31*2 ......... 37 1Middlesex ... ... 31*2 ......... 39 6. {Somerset ... 306 ......... 38 7. Sussex......... ... 30.1 ......... 41 8. Derby ......... , ... 30-0 ......... 44 9. Gloucester ... ... *9 5 ......... 39 10. Worcester ... ... 294 ......... 38 11. Hants ........ ... 290 ......... 37 12. Lancashire ... ... 28-9 ......... 35 13. Notts ......... . ... 28-3 ......... 34 14. Northants ..., ... 279 .......... 35 15. Kent .......... ... 276 ......... 36 16. Surrey........... ... 272 ......... 35 old est player n o w p la y iu g C ou n ty cricket regularly is Lord Hawke, who will be 47 next summer. The youngest is H. L. Simms, who is 19 tc-day. N ortham ptonsh ire ’ s opponents this year will greatly miss one of the cheeriest of cricket personalities, T. Horton, that is, if his retirement from the captaincy spells, as one hopes is not the case, an intention to withdraw from first-class matches altogether. None unacquainted with the inner working of County cricket can estimate at its proper worth how much Northamptonshire’s well-deserved promotion to the front rank has been due to the personal influence and universal popularity of the fine sports­ man who has led the County eleven during the last ten years of strain and anxiety. In his successor, E. M. Crosse, Northants is lucky to have an equally keen cricketer who can always be relied on to do his best for the side. He will be the youngest captain of a first-class County eleven in 1907. Born in Decem­ ber, 1882, he is some eleven months the junior of Lord Dalmeny. A lo n g stand by E. Fry (212) and F. Fry (136), both of them not out, was within measurable distance of making a new South Australian record for the fourth wicket, at Adelaide, on December 1st. The Frys, who were playing for the Duke of Brunswick C C. v. Duke of Leinster C.C., added 303, which is 62 short of the number put on by G. Giffen (296) and J. E. Gooden (17), for Norwood v. Adelaide, on December 6ch, 1890. Asa contrast, on the previous Saturday, in Melbourne, the Faraday School team, in their second innings, were dismissed by the George Street School without a run. In view of the awful calamity that has since befallen the port, the news that has been sent to us of the annual dinner of the Kingston (Jamaica) C.C. will have a special and sympathetic interest, particu­ larly to those English players who have been in direct touch with West Indian cricketers. The captain of the Kingston C.C., F. L. Pearce, who pre­ sided at the dinner just before Christmas, was over here during the summer of 1898, and played a good deal for the Surrey C.C. An interview, accompanied by his por­ trait, appeared in Cricket of July 3rd, 1902. F. A. I r e d a l u , one of the stalwarts of the Australian teams of 1896 and 1899, is acting at the moment as Hon. Sec. of the Board of Control for Australian cricket in the absence of A. P. McElhone, who is on a three months honeymoon in Colombo and India. Frank Iredale was over here in 1905 with the last Australian team as a newspaper correspondent. O h those missed catches! R. Hawson, the Tasmanian batsman, playing for North Hobart v. South Hobart early last month, had a life after he had got 4 for a boundary hit. He subsequently scored 162. The value of his second life can be estimated when it is added that the whole total of the North was 341. Of 322 from the bat, R. Hawson (166) and N. Dodds (89) were responsible for 255. A CASE of smallpox having broken out on board the “ Corinthic ” before she reached Capetown, the quarantine regu­ lations prevented any of that vessel’s passengers being landed at Hobart. On board were the team of English amateur cricketers on their way to New Zealand. The Committee of the Tasmanian Cricket Association had made elaborate arrange­ ments to entertain the M.C.C. team, who were aboard, on their way to New Zealand, during their stay at Hobart. All this had to be altered, and the only hospitality the local authorities were able to offer took the shape of Tasmanian strawberries. “ The best laid schemes,” etc. On their arrival at Wellington the members of the team, excepting P. R. Johnson, who had come out via the Suez Canal, were officially welcomed by Mr. F. C. Raphael, Secretary of the New Zealand Cricket Council. All the men were well, Capt. Wynyard reported, with the exception of Fox (first wicket-keeper), who had sprained an ankle. Altogether they had enjoyed a very pleasant voyage. The Englishmen had a few hours’ good practice at the Wellirgton College Grounds on the afternoon of their arrival and next morning. Great interest apparently attached to the under-hand bowling of Simpson-Hayward, and the amount of break he get from the off seemed to impress the onlookers greatly. On January 7th the following recom­ mendation of the Captains of the Irst- cla8S Counties was considered by the M.C.C. Committee and approved :— “ That the fielding side can demand a new ball after every 200 runs have been made.” (Such rule to be in addition to and not to rescind existing rules.) A t the Bell Hotel, Derby, on the 18th inst., Mr. L. G. Wright was entertained at dinner and presented with a testi­ monial in recognition of his services on behalf of Derbyshire cricket. The presentation, which was made by Mr. S. H. Evershed, who presided, took the form of an illuminated address and a cheque for £577, whilst Mrs. Wright received a handsome pearl necklet and pendant. R. G. B a r l o w , the old Lancashire and England cricketer, I hear on the best authority, is writing his reminiscences which, it is hoped, will be published in the spring of 1907. T h e Brighton Argus states that: — Lord Sheffield, whose interest in cricket is so widely known, has just made some inter­ esting proposals with the object of stimulat- interest in local cricket. The desire is to form a Sheffield Park Cricket Association for matches on the League principle, the Asso­ ciation to embrace the Sheffield Park (confined to residents in Fletching), Newick, Chailey, Horsted Keynes, Maresfield, Nutley, Isfieldf and Uckfield Clubs, to the champions o, which his lordship will present a silver cup. The draft rules state that the matches shall be all-day ones, commencing at noon, and that teams visiting Sheffield Park will be the guests of Lord Sheffield, and will be provided with luncheon and other reasonable refresh­ ments. Sussex is indeed fortunate in possessing so keen an enthusiast as Lord Sheffield. I n te r v iew e d by the representative of a Johannesburg newspaper, J. R. M. Mackay, the well-known Australian cricketer who has now taken up his residence in South Africa, said that he does not anticipate showing his last year’s form there. There is such a difference between the turf and matting wickets; but he thinks that he will do well. He speaks in high terms of the quality of the batting, and from what he has seen of it —more or less limited to net play—he considers they have some of the best bats­ men in the world there. Of the bowling he will be qualified to speak later. V o gler , the M.C.C. professional, who ia now playing in the Currie Cup Tourna