Cricket 1907

A p r i l 25, 1907. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THIi GAME 83 match, they put up at the Plough Inn, Cheltenham , where there was a weighing m achine. A fter m uch persuasion, Aislabie was induced to m ount th ereon ; he said it was o f no use, as he knew his weight to an ounce— exactly seventeen stone. H e carefully took out his pocket-book, purse, and bunch of keys. T o the surprise o f everyone, including a tall chambermaid, the m achine registered nineteen stone. In 1837, in celebration o f the Club’s jubilee, a great m atch was played at L ord ’s between the N orth and South, when the former, who were allow ed the services of B o x and Cobbett as given men, were beaten by five wickets. In the follow ing year the sides again m et, in honour o f Queen V ictoria’s Coronation, and the South, although giving Lillywhite and W enm an to their opponents, w on w ith eight wickets to spare. Later in the same season was laid the first stone of the old tennis court, w hich, together with the billiard and dressing room s, cost ,£4,000. U pon the death o f M r. Aislabie, in 1842, M r. R oger Kynaston was elected H on . Secretary to the Club and held office until 1858, when he was succeeded by Mr. A lfred Baillie. I h e last-nam ed was, in his turn, follow ed by Mr. R . A. Fitzgerald, who was H on. Secretary from 1863 until 1868 and Secretary from the latter year until 1876, when, owing to ill health, he resigned. During the thirteen years o f Mr. F itzgerald’s Secretaryship the fortunes o f the Club im proved greatly, the num ber o f members increasing from 650 to 2,080. In 1844 the Kacquet Court was opened, and four years later score-cards were printed and sold on the ground for the first time. In those days the wickets were rough and fiery— Felix, when play­ ing there, padded even his elbow— and hard knocks becam e so plentiful that, in 1859, Surrey refused to play there. L ord ’s was then aptly term ed “ the quickest o f all grounds.” In 1859 the freehold was sold by public auction and was purchased by a Mr. M oses for £‘7,000. Five years later D ark offered to relinquish the remainder o f the lease— about 29 years— to the M .C.C. for .£15,000, but, after co n ­ siderable negotiation, accepted £12.500, in return for which he gave up all conn ec­ tion with the ground, pavilion, tennis- court, etc. It appears to have been a m istaken p olicy on the part o f the Club when, in 1859, they decided not to endeavour to purchase the freehold o f the ground, for in 1807, when they did so, they were obliged to pay Mr. Marsden (formerly Moses) .£18,150 for it. The M .C.C. were not so w ealthy a club then as they are now , and som e anxiety was naturally experienced concerning the manner in whic'.i the m oney could be obtained for making the freehold their own. Fortunately, Mr. W illiam N ichol­ son, an old Harrovian, was found willing to advance the sum at £5 per cent., which he afterwards reduced to £'4 per cent. Thus was the ground secured for the pur­ poses o f cricket lor ever. Since L ord ’s became the property o f the M.C.C. the ground has undergone m any improvements. In 1867 the Grand Stand was erected by a private com pany, and two years later became the property o f the Club at a co I o f slightly over £1,700. Turnstiles were first used at L ord ’s in 1871, in which season also ten pounds was paid to each professional taking part in the Gentlemen v. Players match there. In 1874 the ground was re-levelled, and two years later M iddlesex comm enced to play all their hom e matches there. Mr. H enry Perkins succeeded Mr. Fitzgerald in the Secretaryship, and held office until 1898. During the tw enty-one seasons he was at L ord 's the game increased greatly in popularity and im portance, and de­ veloped from a sport pure and simple into a business. The m odern history o f the game m ay, for all practical purposes, be said to date from the first appearance o f the Australians at L o rd ’s— in May, 1878, when a strong side o f the M .C .C . were dismissed for 33 and 19, and beaten in a single day by nine wickets. In 1887 the Club celebrated its C entenary and pur­ chased H enderson’s Nursery for .£18,500, whilst in 18*J0 the present P avilion was constructed at a cost o f £‘21,000. In 1898 M r. F . E . Lacey was appointed Secretary in succession to Mr. Perkins (resigned), and still fills the position with advantage to the Club and credit to h im ­ self. FO RW ARD MOYE IN QUEENS­ LAND . In Queensland cricket has not made rapid strides of recent years. The teams from the northern State are much below the standard of the other States, and consequently they have been unable to take part in the competition for the Sheffield Shield. The matter has been receiving serious consideration by enthusiasts of late, and last week a largely-attended meeting was held at Brisbane to consider what means could be adopted to improve the standard of the game. The Governor (Lord Chelms­ ford) presided, and in the course of an address said he would like to do as much as he could for the game of cricket, which he thought was the best of all games. He had played for Oxford University* against Surrey when Walter Read made his big score of 338, and found plenty of work whilst fielding. He knew it to be a fine game for athletes. They were drawn together to broaden the base of Queensland cricket and develop it. He pointed to the extreme difficulty of a constant inter­ change of cricket courtesy on account of the great distance which would have co be covered. Then there was the diffi­ culty of pitches. It was terribly dis­ concerting to go from c-ncrete on to turf wickets. The greatest difficulty, however, was the lack of interest shown by the public. Continuing, he pointed to the beneficial effect which enthusiastic support had upon players. It was very hard when in the iuter-State matches in Brisbane hardly a ring was made around * As the Hon. F. J. N. Tliesiger.— -E d ., Cricket. the ground, and it was likely to milita’ e against the cricket of Queensland. In the county championships in England the lot of the respective counties w as greatly forwarded by enthusiastic sup­ porters. He had several suggestions to make. The first was that the old players would come forward and give their advice and assistance in the coaching of the young people. It was also very desirable that they should coach the voung players at the Grammar and Public Schools. In the old country every little village had its cricket green and its champion, whose feats were followed by the younger folk. While they ought to encourage the boys in the Grammar schools, and if possible coach them, they ought not to neglect boys of the Public schools. He expressed the opinion that good work could be done by volunteer amateur coaches. He had watched the schoolboys at cricket, and, although he did not wish to force him­ self forward as a critic, he could not help remarking that there was great need for the services of a coach. By coaching the schoolboys they would be helping to form them into the cricketers of the future. Although he did not advocate that the State should find the money for everything, he thought an effort should be made for the laying down of suitable pitches at the schools, even if they had to be provided by residents of the locality. In England such pitches were provided to encourage cricket in the elementary schools, and maybe Queensland would set an example iu the matter. However, in the matter of coaching, etc., they would have to enlist the old supporters, and amongst them he would count him­ self. (Cheers.) Bowling and golf and other pastimes found plenty of support in Queensland, and he thought assistance could also be turned in the direction of cricket. They would have to work on a broad basis, and money was not the only thing to be considered. Thoy would first have to promote enthusiasm, and financial improvement would follow. Mr. Horton referred with regret to the apathetic reception of the Association’s efforts to provide cricket matches for the public to watch, and stated that most of the big matches had re ulted in financial loss. The representation of Queensland on the Board of Control was a very forward move. He felt confident that the meeting would result in a great deal ( f good to Queensland cricket. It was resolved—“ That in the opinion of this meeting it is advisable that efforts should be made to (a) arrange for more frequent inter-State and other big matches; (b) for the employment of capable ground bowlers; (c) for improving the playing grouuds.” A motion was also carried pledging those present to render assist­ ance in the direction of donating or soliciting contributions for the carrying out of the previous resolution. —Sydney Mail. C RICKET Report Sheets, lOd. per dozen, post free. Order of Going-in Cards, 7d. per dozen, post free; Cricket Score Books, 6d. and Is. each; postage 2d. extra.—To be obtained at the Offices of “ Cricket,” 168, Upper Thames Street. London, E.O.