Cricket 1907

440 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. O c t. 31, 1907. JOHNWISDENSGO. CRICKET BALL MAKERS, Supply all the Principal Counties and Clubs through out the world with their well-kt own Marvellous Testimony. From the EveningStandard&St. James'sGazette. Monday, May 29th, 1905. AUSTRALIANS OBJECT TO THE BALL. A slight delay occurred at the start, as the Australians would not use the ball provided, Darling returned to the pavilion where Jack­ son met him, Jones taking out the new ball, which also was rejected, Noble running in to fetch the desired brand. The desired brand was a John Wisden & Co.’s “ SPECIAL CROWN.” F. S. Jackson has agreed to your “ Special Crown ” Balls being used in all the five Tests. There were not any of yours here, so we lent them three until they received some from you.—Yours very sincerely, J oe D ablino . The Balls to be used in Test Matches are now settled W ISDEN’ S are the only makes permissible From Dealers all over the world, and 21, Cranboarn St., London, W C. City Agents: BGNETFINK & CO., CHEAPBIDE. NOTICE TO OUR READERS. Six numbers are published during the Winter, from October to March inclusive, as follows:— No. 707.—THURSDAY, OCT. 31. No. 768.—THURSDAY, NOV. 28. No. 769.—THURSDAY, DEC. 19. No. 770.—THURSDAY, JAN. 30. No. 771.—THURSDAY, FEB. 27. No. 772.—THURSDAY, MARCH 26. The above series sent post free to any part of the world for Is. 3d. Cricket is the only paper in the world solely devoted to the game. Weekly, April to September. Monthly, October to March. T e r m s o f S u b s c r ip t io n : — 6/- per annum. 7/- post free abroad. Payable in advance. All communications to be sent direct to the Offices of Cricket, 168, Upper Thames Street, London, E.C. i( f~l KICK KT ’ Volumes for. sale: Vols. 1, 4, 5, 6 \j and 7, the last two years in one book; well bound and perfect condition. Offers to V. E. D art, 15, St. Dunstan’s Hill, London, E.O. Cricket: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON. E.C. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31st, 1907. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time.— Hamlet. S in cs cur last issue tbe M.O.C. have coEc'uded their American tour and all the members of tbe team have returned to England. The weather which played such havoc with the season over here again proved a spoil-sport, and of tbe five matches commenced only one could be finished. As a full report of the tour is to be found in “ another place” there is no need to dwell at any length upon the subject here, but attention deserves to be drawn to the fact that Capt. Wynyard can now claim to have played the game in every British colony. M r . H esk etii P r ic h a r d , who cap­ tained the M.C.C. team, has been elected an hon. life-member of the Staten Island Cricket Club. T h e visit produced the customary crop of amusing newspaper criticisms and com­ ments. Those players who had not previously become acquainted with the descriptive powers of American j ournalists must have smiled to see the follow­ ing bold headlines in one of the local papers after the first day’s play in the New York match :— ENGLISH CRICKET TEAM SCORES 338. Marylebone Players Then Declare “ Out" in Favor of New York. In the report which followed it was explained that: The home team has only played two wickets in its first innings, making 42 runs, and has the right not only to play the eight remaining wickets, hut may continue at the bat for another full innings of wickets. It is not surprising to find that the writer, although not attempting to describe the play in detail, succeeded in showing much originality in the course of his remarks :— Even the English-born Americans who have learned to love the snap and dash of baseball found the game a bit slow at first, but the “ whiskey and soda” temperament soon came over them, and toward the close of the day they were applauding with the most dyed-in-the-wool of their former countrymen. And that “ whiskey-and-soda ” temperament was most evident on the field. Captain Hesketh-Prichard stood on the side lines at the entrance to the club-house, while Wynyard, a retired British army officer and one of the world’s greatest batsmen, was playing his wicket. Every little while a dis­ tress signal would go up, and out would chase the captain with a long cooling drink. This was a decided innovation of which the ball­ players took careful note. The first jolt to the uninitiated was when Wynyard knocked a ball across the street and through a window pane of a private house. “ Well batted,” wildly exclaimed those who knew. “ Bully well batted,” yelled those who welcomed the excitement, and they applauded out of all proportion to cricket precedence. And it must be borne in mind that prece­ dence governs cricket just as surely as it does the House of Lords. When tho ball came back from the neighbouring drawing-room it was found to be cut. Play was suspended for ten minutes, and both teams and specta­ tors rushed for “ whiskeys and sodas.” “ Why doesn’t the umpire throw out another ball and let the game go on ? ” asked a spectator. “ Because it is unprecedented,” replied a Canadian, condescendingly. “ The umpire never carries a ball in his pocket. This is most extraordinary.” “ If Tim Hurst were out there he would have had both pockets full of balls,” retorted the inquisitive spectator. An old cricketer afterwards recalled that Grace, the greatest of English cricketers, knocked a ball from the St. George grounds, at Castle Point, through a Hoboken factory window in 1872. But Umpire Barnes had never heard of that. Goldie, of the British team, has played in India, where he won the D.S.O. decoration, and is famous on the polo field. His valet accompanied him to America and the other players have passed the word around that he is a “ howling swell.” He is one of the best fielders ever seen in America. But the star performer of the day was Capt. E. G. Wynyard. His bowling was simply superb. His smother stroke is his own invention and simply baffled the New York players. He would smash the ball quickly to the ground and yet do it so powerfully that he frequently sent the sphere through the ropes for four runs. His slicing was excellent, and whenever a bowler got a ball at all up, he would send it far out of bounds for six runs. It all reminds one very forcibly of Dingley Dell v. All Muggleton. T h e Associated Cricket Clubs of Philadelphia have accepted the invita­ tion of the M.C.C. to send a team to Eugland next year. There is nothing surprising in this welcome news, for had the visit not been arranged for 1908 it could not well have been made until 1911, as the Australians will be here in 1909 and the South Africans a year later. Mr. G. 8. Patterson, it is stated, will be a member of tbe team, and, according to the American Cricketer, “ it is practically certain that a couple of games will be played with the Gentlemen of England, one at Lord’s and the other at the Oval.” Mr. Lacey has been asked to arrange the fixture list.