Cricket 1908

CR ICKET : a w e e k l y r e c o r d o f t h e g a m e . MAY 14, 1908. “ Together joined in CricKet’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 778. VOL. XXVII. THURSDAY , MAY 14, 1908. ONE PENNY. CHATS ON THE CR ICKET F IELD . M r . D. G. L e v e s o n -G o w e r . Of Mr. Leveson-Gower it may truly be said that if he had been able to devote all his time and energies to cricket he would in all probability have become one of the greatest players of his time. Both at Winchester an<j Oxford he performed with distinct credit, and it was Surrey’s misfortune that he was unable, owing to the calls of business, to play county cricket regularly. It is be­ traying no confidence to state that some years ago the Corinmittee invited him to captain the side regularly, and doubtless it was much to his regret, as it certainly was of others, that he could not, for the reason stated, under­ take the duties. Upon the resignation of the position by Lord Dalmeny Mr. Leveson- Gpwer was again approached anq, much to everyone’s great satisfaction, was then able to see his way clear to accept the responsibilities of office. Unfortunately, upon the very first occasion upon wh^ch he assumed command of the side he met with a severe accident to his thumb whilst pluckily endeavouring to stop a terrific drive by V. F. S. Crawford, one of the most powerful ©f hitters. Re­ tirement from the game, and from first-class cricket for some weeks, became a neces­ sity, and in consequence he has been compelled to content himself with following the game from the pavilion. The sympathy of all cricketers Was aroused by his mishap, and the hope that he would soon be able to re-enter the field was expressed on every side. As a captain, Mr. Leveson-Gower ranks deservedly high, for not only is he a fine judge of the game but, like Mr. Shuter, he inspires confidence in those under him. His batting is invariably bright and his fielding keen, and he has served on the lest Board Committee and on the execu­ tive both at Lord’s and the Oval. More­ over, he has played with English teams in many parts of the world, and, although he has never had the good fortune to kill a bird or to smash a clock, he always has an interesting story to tell. “ Did you play cricket at all before you went to Winchester?” Photo by\ [ Hawkins , Brighton . MR. H. D. G. LEVESON-GOWER. “ 1 first became acquainted with the game at Titsey, where in my early years I took part in some boys’ matches. Being one of a large family, I had the advantage of playing with several brothers, one of whom, the Rev. F. A. G. Leveson-Gower, has appeared a few times for Hampshire and nearly obtained his Blue at Oxford for wicket-keeping. But it was really at Winchester that I learnt the game. We were well looked after by ‘ Teddie ’ Buck- land, the old Marlborough, Oxford, and Middlesex cricketer, and J. A. Fort, who belonged to the old-fashioned school and was very keen. Manley Kemp came to Winchester in 1888, but was with us only one season, leaving so that he might re­ turn to his old school, Har­ row, where he still remains, to the great advantage of the budding cricketers there. I got into the Eleven in 1890 and played for three years, being Captain in 1892, when we managed to beat Eton on our own ground for the first time since 1882 ; I think we should have won in 1890 as well if rain had not come down and stopped play. Jack Mason and I were in the Eleven together all three years. In his first season he went in last against Eton and carried out his bat for 15 ; in his third, when he was without doubt the best Public School bat of the year, he opened the innings and scored 147 and 71 and also took a lot of wickets.” “ How did you fare when you went up to Oxford?” “ I managed to get runs at the start and, being for­ tunate enough to keep it up, luckily got my Blue as a Freshman. That was in 1893, and I was in the Eleven the following three seasons, being Captain my last year. I got a couple of hundreds early in the season—one in the Freshmen’s match and the other against Oriel, for whom Palairet, the ’Varsity skipper, played. I remember that I happened to come off against the Australians both in 1893 and 1896, making 59 in the former year and 93 in the latter, when I also got 59 against them at the Oval for Surrey. Cambridge beat us rather badly in 1893, by over 250 runs, but they had a splendid Eleven that year—the strongest ’Varsity side I ever saw—in­ cluding Jackson, Wells, James Douglas, V. T. Hill, Ranjitsinhji, Jones, Streatfeild, Bromley-Davenport, and P. H. Latham ;