Cricket 1907

S e p t. 5, 1907. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 397 THE COUNTY SEASON OF 1907. Cricketers experienced such a wet summer this year that interest in the County Championship was bound to suffer in a marked degree, for, when long waits between heavy showers have con­ stantly to be endured, even the most enthusiastic lover of the game cannot be expected to put in a regular attendance at the matches played b y his favourite side, or to display so much keenness as in a season of unclouded skies and plumb wickets. Furthermore, when it became apparent that the South Africans were strong enough to meet any side we could put into the field against them with a prospect of success, their doings almost monopolised attention and, as a necessary corollary, interest in the performances of the counties waned. From this, how­ ever, it must not be inferred that the cricket seen in the Championship matches was of a lower standard of excellence than formerly, or that the play was less keen. On the contrary, the fact that the majority of the games took place on wickets upon which runs had almost to be fought for, was sufficient to invest the matches with an amount of keenness not always associated with them when they are played on billiard-table wickets, when even the veriest of drawing-room batsmen can hit the ball, stand still, and count four whilst a tired fieldsman or an obliging spectator jerks back the ball from the boundary. Bowlers this year have certainly been favoured by the wickets, and surely no one will begrudge them their success. Huge scoring may be excusable at times, but it is not, as many appear to imagine, necessarily a sign of good cricket; the game is seen at its best when bat and ball are on an equality, and batsmen have to earn their runs. On this account very much of the cricket seen during 1907 was more interesting than that witnessed during the few previous years. The unchecked success of Nottingham­ shire and the inability of Kent to repro­ duce their brilliant form of 1906 were the outstanding features of the County campaign which ended yesterday at the Oval. The triumph of the one side and the failure—only temporary, let us hope — of the other may both be attributed to one and the same cause, namely, wet wickets. The Midlanders found the con­ ditions eminently favourable to Hallam and Wass, who bowled throughout ia splendid form and thoroughly deserved the success with which their til rts met, whilst Kent found themselves unable to play so dszzling a game as marked their cricket during 1906. The latter, in miti­ gation of their failures, can certainly plead that Burnup was unable to assist them save on a few occasions and that Hutchings was severely injured in the match with the South Africans at Catford, but the fact remains that they were not a side to be feared as they were in the previous year. One of the greatest sur­ prises of their season was when they were beaten by five wickets at South­ ampton by Hampshire, who had been set 306 to win, for the result was due more to the fine cricket shown by the home side than to any marked deterioration in the powers of Kent. There was, perhaps, no more marked incident in connection with the past County season’s cricket than the great improvement in the fortunes of W or­ cestershire. Iu 1906 they occupied the fourteenth place among the 16 sides, but this year they have done better than ever before by advancing to the second position, and being surpassed only by Notts., who went through the season without a defeat. G. N ., R. E .—for­ tunately able to play with greater regularity than hitherto—and H . K. Foster all averaged over 40 runs an innings, and five others more than 25, whilst Cuffe, Arnold, and Burrows were the most successful with the ball. Wilson, who had rendered good all-round service in 1906, dropped out of the side, but his absence was more than compensated for by the fine batting of Geoffrey Foster. In 13 completed innings, and with 78 as his highest score, the last-named made 593 runs and headed the averages with the capital figure of 45'61. He is one of the youngest of the famous brotherhood, and one who bids fair to thoroughly main­ tain the family reputation. Yorkshire, who shared second place in the Championship competition with W oi- cestershire, suffered more than any other county through the vagaries of the weather. Both their matches with N otts. were ruined, and several other fixtures were sadly interfered with. Taking the whole season through, their batting was not very reliable, whilst on plumb wickets their bow ling was scarcely deadly. They lost both their matches with Worcestershire, one of them, how­ ever, when their side had been weakened considerably owing to some of their best men being required for a Test Match, whilst they also went down before Sussex at Bradford. The Hon. F . S. Jackson appeared only once— in Denton’s benefit match—but in Bates, a son of the well- known player of two decades ago, they unearthed a youBg batsman of unusual promise. Surrey and Middlesex, who follow next in order, for some time gave one the idea that they would be well in the running for the Championship. The former, however, like Kent, could never quite adapt themselves to the soft wickets, especially in their out-matches, and they experienced defeat at Nottingham, Man­ chester, Blackheath, and Bristol. Hay­ ward, without indulging in such bursts of scoring as in 1906, again proved the most reliable batsman on the side, and gave evidence that his powers are still unimpaired. Hobbs and Hayes also per­ formed very well, and Marshal, if not doing as much as was anticipated, showed most promising form, and could, if necessary, plead that the wickets were much against him. Mr. Crawford again proved how admirable an all-round cricketer he is, and it came as no surprise when it was announced that he had been invited to go to Australia with the M .C.C.’s team. As he is still only twenty years of age, it is quite possible that he has not even yet been seen at his best. Lees, without taking quite so many wickets as in 1906, rendered excellent service to the side. Many good judges of the game thought that, had 1907 been a season of hard wickets, Surrey would in all likelihood have gained the Cham­ pionship. There is much to support the idea, but the fact remains that, as the conditions were, Notts very appropriately gained that distinction. When the cam­ paign was nearly completed, it became known that Lord Dalmeny has notified the Surrey Committee of his inability to take sole charge of the Eleven in future, though he would be willing to assist the side when he could spare the time. His retirement from the captaincy will prove a distinct loss to the County, for, although now and again he might parhaps have handled his bowling to better advantage, he has led the side very skilfully, and possesses the ideal temperament for such a position. It was not until the season was more than half-over that Middlesex suffered their first reverse. Their match with Notts, at Lord’s, on July 25 th proved a great attraction, for each side was un­ defeated and it was known that a very keen struggle would be seen. The game was very closely contested, and Notts pulled through b : the narrow margin of 13 runs. Beyond everything else the Middlesex season was rendered note­ worthy by the all-round play of Tarrant and the superb batting of Warner. The former, in County Championship games alone, made 1034 runs and took 115 wickets, whilst the latter scored 1353 runs with aa average of 46'65—splendid figures indead for so wet a season, and oijly a trifle inferior so those of Fry for Sussex. Mr. Bosanquet batted successfully on the comparatively few occasions upon which he appeared, but the two wickets he obtained cost 73 ruus each. E. S. Litteljohn and J. Douglas more than once proved their great worth as batsmen, and Hearne on a few occasions bowled iu a manner reminiscent of his palmy days. Lancashire had a disappointing seasoD, for, although they lost to Essex and Worcestershire during the first month, they were after wards immune from defeat for some weeks, and by the middle of July, when their record was won 5, lost 2, drawn 4, gave promise of occupying a higher position than sixth. Then, how ­ ever, they went down before Surrey at the Oval, and in the first week of August lost to Yorkshire in the return match at Leeds. Even then their record was not a poor one, but iu the same month they were defeated by Ejsex, Middlesex, and Notts., in each oase by an innings, and they wound up by beating Derbyshire and Leicestershire by a very small margin, on both occasions having to scramble for the runs at the finish. Tyldesley proved a tower of strength to the side, and Sharp scored over 1,100 runs with an average of 30, whilst Spooner, on the few occasions upon I which he appeared, played with all his