Cricket 1907

306 CKICKET : A WEEKLY KECORD OF THE GAME. A ug . 1, 1907. game. My father was always very inter­ ested in cricket, and as all my brothers ware fond of the game as well, it was only natural that I also should take to it. We were a large family, and could, in fact, have put an eleven into the field had we wished. When I was about eleven or twelve years old, we left Natal and settled in Johannesburg, where the cricket was of a higher class and young players had many opportunities of obtaining good practice. From there I was sent over to England, to Bedford County School, where I managed to get into the Cricket X I. »nd the Rugby XV . My cricket developed considerably whilst I was at Bedford, and before leaving I became captain. Afterwards I went to the School of Mines, at Camborne, and whilst there played both cricket and Rugby for Cornwall. In those days we used to have a three-months vacation in the summer, the greater portion of which I used to spend, with benefit to my own play, in watching big matches at Lord’s and the Oval. So you will see that when I came over to England this year I was re-visiting a country with which I was well acquainted and in which some of my happiest years had been spent.” “ Can you give me a general survey of cricket as played in South Africa ? ” “ The chief difference from the game as played over here is in the wickets. We play on matting, and so invariably obtain hard and fast wickets. Owing to busi­ ness, we do not get much time for prac­ tice out there, and our League cricket matches—the best-class played, apart from the Currie Cup Tournament—com­ mence one Saturday and continue the next as ia the case with the Grade Cricket in Australia. People in South Africa have nothing like the time to devote to the game that people in England are so fortunate in having, and, in fact, a great deal of difficulty was experienced in arranging for the present tour. The light we have is always very good, being a glare if anything, for the atmosphere out there is much clearer than in Eng­ land. At the present time we have many young players coming on, especially in the Transvaal, where the game is extremely popular. They are as keen on bowling as on batting, and appear par­ ticularly anxious to bowl ‘ googlies ’ successfully.” “ To what, in your opinion, can the recent great improvement in the standard of South African cricket be attributed ? ” “ Largely, I think, to the success of the team which came over three years ago. Schwaiz, who was playc d for his batting, discovered that he could bowl ‘ googlies,’ and White and Snooke returned fifty per cent, better than they went out, and gave the value of their advice to younger players when they arrived home. The results of the Test matches played against the M.C.C.’s team eighteen months ago also aroused much enthusiasm, and put a lot of spirit into the game. We won four of the five matches and lost one, and were rather surprised at our success, though we expected we should give them a good game.” “ Which of our players have most im­ pressed you ? ” “ Among batsmen, I think Hayward, Jessop, and Lilley. Hayward has struck me as being a most valuable man, especially for a big occasion, for one might almost »s well bowl at a stone­ wall as at his wicket—not that he is at all tedious (for that he would never appear to a good judge of the game), but because his defence is so strong. Oue cinnot help being impressed by Jessop’s h ittiD g : bis 93 in the Test match at Lord’s was a revelation to some of us, and was worth far more than many a larger score. Lilley scored well against us both at Edgbaston and Lord’s, and is a very valuable man to have on one’s side. In our first match, at Leicester, Jayes’ swerve was much in evidence and seemed very strange to m, for we had noticed nothing like it in South Africa. He tied us up altogether. We have seen Hirst swerve, too, though not to so great an extent as Jajes did on the Leicester ground. Knox has the most pace of any bowler we have yet played against, and was the chief Cause of our defeat by Surrey at the Oval a week .or two ago. So long as he can maintain bis great speed, he will always be likely to fire out any batsman. Blythe, whom we played against in South Africa eighteen months ago, is a good bowler on all wickets, but especially upon those like we have played on at Catford and Leeds. Jessop is, beyond doubt, the finest fieldsman we have yet seen, but Quaife is very good, too. We have not yet seen A. 0 . Jones, but, judging from the reports of various matches, he must possess exceptional activity.” “ Have you been satisfied with the results of the tour so far ? ” “ When we came over we expected to win by our batting, but on the soft wickets have done so by our bowling. Taking the weather into consideration, I think we have done very well, for we require fine weather and a hard wicket to be seen at our best. It has been pointed out to me that there were several points of resemblance between the first Test matches played over here by the Austra lians and South Africans. In the 1880 match, after England had scored 420, Australia made 140 and followed-on 280 behind: this year Eagland scored 428, and, dismissing us for 149, made us follow-on 279 in arrears. In each case, too, the visiting captain was happy enough to make a hundred in his second innings. In conclusion, I should like to say how much we appreciate the kind manner in which we have baen received everywhere. Everybody has done every­ thing possible for our comfort and con­ venience, and the crowds have been most sportsmanlike.” O B ITU A RY . T hb R e v . R. W. E ssin g to n . The Rev. Robert William EssiDgton, the first round-armed b>wler Eton pro­ duced, died at Plen, Newquay, Cornwall, on the 18th inst., in his ninetieth year, and was buried at St. Columb Minor on the 23rd. He was in the Eton Eleven in 1835 and 1836, being captain the latter year, and afterwards proceeded to Cam­ bridge, but did not obtain his Blue. In the four great Public School matches in which he took part he was on the losing tide once only, Harrow winning by nice wickets in 1836. He was a good all­ round cricketer : in the four matches referred to he had a batting average of 11.40, and also bowled with success. He was contemporary at Eton with several other well-known cricketers, who, like himself, lived to a great age, e.g., F. E. Long lived to 87, W. P. Pickering 85, J. H. Kirwan 82, T. A. Auson 81, aud G. J. Bjudier, the founder of “ Six­ penny,” 79. The late Mr. Essington was Vicar of Shenstone, Staffordshire, from 1848 until 1895, and Rural Dean of Lichfield from 1891 to 1894. He was also a late Fellow and Divinity Lecturer of King’s College, Cambridge. C R I C K E T I N I N D I A . BOMBAY ISLAM y. POONA GYM­ KHANA. Played at Poona on July 10. B ombay I slam G ymkhana . First innings. Second inni gs. O. M. Ali, c. Purcell, b Orump ........................ 8 b Purcell ........ 0 Ismail, c Curtis, b Crump 0 c Purcell, b Ling 0 Edroos, c Purcell, b Greig 0 b Purcell ........ 4 Mahomood, c Hinde, b Crump...............................27 b Ling............... 10 A. Razzak, c Purcell, b Greig ... ....................... 3 cCarnegy,b Ling 8 Jamali, c Tillard, b Greig 0 notout................. 3 T. Mullaji, b Crum p.......... 0 A. R. Bustani, c Crump, b G re ig ............................... 0 Alishali, b Greig ... .......... 4 H. O. Tayabji, c Crump, b H inde............................... 8 Comer, not out .......... ... 3 Extra* ................. 6 Extras.......... 2 Total .................59 Total .......... 33 P oona G ymkhana . Maj. Carnegy,cIsmail, Major Field, b Ali ... 0 b Mullaji................. 3 Curtis, b Ali .............13 Purcell, c Razzak, b Capt. Hinde, lbw, b Mullaji ................. 5 Edross .........................34 Tillard, lbw, b Mullaji 2 Orump, c & b Mullaji 17 Ling, c Razzak, b Capt. Greig, not out 27 Mullaji .................0 Extras.................14 Capt. Rutter, b Ali ...105 — Campbell, c Ali, b T o ta l............220 Mullaji ........ . ... 0 SOUTHGATE v. BARNET.—Played at Southgate on July 27. B arnet . H. A. Milton, c Smith, H. J. Dale, not out ... IS C RICKET Report Sheets, lOd. per dozen, post free. Order of Going-in Cards, 7d. per dozen, post free; Cricket Score Books, 6 d. and Is. each; postage 2d. extra.—To be obtained at the Offices of “Cricket,” 168, Upper Thames Street, London, E.O. b F. S. L ew is......... 13 J. R. Pank, b Birch ... 74 W. F. Hill, bF. S. Lewis 1 C. Rayment, c White­ head, b Smith.......... 6 G. H. Vazcy, b Robert­ son ........................ 12 H. E. Boyle, c Muriel, b Robertson ..........15 S outhgate . R. S. Dickson, bVazey 19 E. Smith, not out ...125 R. B. Heygate, not j B 8 , lb 1 .......... 9 C. J. Knight, b Birch 0 1. W. Hine, c Smith, b Birch ................. 0 J.B. Mein,c&bSmith 0 J. Barker, run out ... 6 Byes ................. 7 Total ...152 out ... 72 Total (1 wkt)225 W. K. Robertson, F. S. Lewis, L. R. Lewis, E. P. Birch, G. H. Muriel, J. Whitehead, C. C. Thicknessc and R. A. Maude did not bat.