Cricket 1907

CRICKET : a w e e k l y r e c o r d o f t h e g a m e . JUNE 13, 1907. DteM ,. *=H©9-=J9©95 f t ijc_,3=H©| m ill5 I “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly to il.” — Byron. HO. 7 5 2 . VOL. X X V I. THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1907. f b i c e 2 a CHATS ON THE CRICKET FIELD. MR. PHILIP NORMAN. As the author of “ Annals of the West Kent Cricket Club,” one of the most charming and entertaining of volumes, Mr. Philip Norman is known to many cricketers whose memory does not carry them so far back as the days when the Normans were a power in the land. It would be difficult to imagine a member of the family not taking a great interest in the game, for they are con­ nected through marriage with a -whole host of well- known players, including the Jenners, Barnards, Nepeans, Hart Dykes, Wathens, Bonham-Carters, and Mr. Frank Marchant. Four of the Normans ap­ peared in the Kent Eleven, whilst the subject of these remarks was asked to play also, but never did, although he assisted the Gentlemen of the County on a few occa­ sions. The first of the family to gain County honours waB Mr. Henry Norman, an uncle, who f layed a few times between 827 and 1885. He was in the E:on Eleven in 1818 and 1819, and assisted the G en tlem en a g a in s t th e Players in 1827, 1830, 1832, and 1833. His elder brother, Mr. George Warde Norman, was brother-in-law of the famous Herbert Jenner, and father of Mr. Philip Norman. He was born at Bromley on September 20th, 1793, was in the Eton Eleven, and in September, 1882, died in the house in which he was bom at the great age of 89. For over seventy years he was most prominently identified with the West Kent Club, and from 1852 until his death was its President. Two of his sons, Messrs. C. L. and F. H. Norman, played for Eton, Cambridge University and Kent, whilst a third, Mr. Philip, appeared for Eton and the Gentlemen of Kent and, as the result of much labour and research, enriched the literature of the game, as already stated. Other members of the family gained distinction as cricketers, especially at Eton and in connection with the West Kent Club, and quite a small volume"would be necessary if their performances were to be referred to at all adequately. ME. PHILIP NORMAN. Photo by u. Vandyk, Buckingham Palace Road , London). As was stated in a recent issue of Cricket, Mr. Philip Norman is an artist whof e work has been often exhibited at the Royal Academy. He is especially in­ terested in old London, and at his house in South Kensington has a large collection of charming water-colours which he has executed, andwhich will in many cases save details of some of the oldest and most remarkable parts of our Capital from oblivion. For several years he has been Treasurer to the Society of Antiquaries of London, and when the writer called upon him he was about to spend au hour or two in Camberwell, where there are still a few buildings of topographical interest, including part of an old galleried inn. That Mr. Norman is a learned student of cricket history must be obvious to all who have read his enter­ taining book on the West Kent Club. His uncle, Mr. Herbert Jenner, supplied him with much interesting information concerning the eld players, and from time to time wrote him many letters, all of which have been carefully preserved. Among Mr. Norman’s other cricket treasures may be mentioned first editions of Lambert and Boxall, and of Nyren’s “ Cricketers’ Tutor,” Felix’s pamphlet on “ How to Play Clarke,” a copy of a poem by James Etphin- ston, the friend of Dr. Johnson, dated 1763 and containing a foldiDg-plate which shows boys at cricket with curved bats and a wicket of two stumps, and, last but not least, a fish strainer of blue and white ware manu­ factured the century before last, upon which is a repre­ sentation of a game in progress in the playing- fields of Eton. Asked to give some par­ ticulars concerning his early cricket, Mr, Norman replied : “ I played my first double­ wicket game on my fifth birthday. All the members of my family were very fond of cricket, and so I became acquainted with it very early in life. When quite young I was sent to a private school at Mitcham, and there I met some of the famous old Surrey players, including John Bayley and, I think, Bowyer ; Sherman and Mr. C. H. Hoare I used to see playing in matches on Mitcham Green. When I was sent