Cricket 1908

10 C R IC K E T : A W E E K L Y R E C O R D OF T H E G AM E . J a n . 30, 1908. E ssex, which realised £355. The meet­ in g with the South Africans produce! £328, although the game did not run in to the third day. M r . W i l l i a m W a r d , whose score of 278 for the M.O.C. in 1820 still remains the largest ever made at L ord’s, was one of the finest whist and piquet of his time in England. I was reminded of this fact when glancing through Major Arthur Griffiths’ Clubs and Clubmen, where I came across the follow ing account of a famous game of whist played at the Roxburgh, a small house kept by Raggett, the pro­ prietor of White’s :— The players were Alderman Harvey Coombe, the brewer, who was acknowledged to be one of the foremost whist players of his tim e; Tippoo Smith, Ward, M.P. for London, and Sir John Malcolm. They sat down one Monday evening and played continuously, with a short pause for refreshments, through two nights and one whole day, and finally rose on the Wednes­ day morning, only because Coombe had to attend the funeral of one of his partners. At the end Coombe had won from Sir John Malcolm some X30,000. When the party broke up the chief winners handed Raggett, who had attended throughout the game, a number of counters, amounting to several hundreds of pounds in value. It was Rag­ gett’s custom to attend to the wants of the players, and he was thus rewarded, as well as sweeping up the money and counters which had fallen on the carpet. A n amusing story used to be told con­ cerning one of the cricketing sons of “ Old ” Ward. It was to the effect that, having escaped from drowning by the merest chance, he, upon being asked whether the chief events of his life and the conviction that he m ight have done more good in the world did not flash through his mind at the moment he con­ sidered himself lost, replied : “ That was not my experience, for when I had abandoned all hope I suddenly recollected that we were to have had turkey for dinner at home that night, and I felt very disappointed when 1 thought I should not be there to enjoy i t ! ” N e g o t i a t i o n s have been concluded whereby the Jam of Nawanagar (K . S. Ranjitsinhji) will become the tenant for the next twelve months of Shillinglee Park, the Sussex seat of Earl W inferton, M .P . His Highness, in addition to occupation of the mansion, acquires the shooting rights over the estate, and will have opportunities for cricket practice on the private ground. A ll being well, he will be seen in the Sussex team next summer. F o r their 1 5 th annual tour in July next the Devon and Somerset Wanderers have decided to visit Sussex, making their headquarters at the H otel Metro- pole, Brighton. Their fixtures w ill be as follow s:— Thursday, July 9th, v. Brighton Brunswick. Friday, July 10th, v. Eastbourne. Saturday, July 11th, v. Burgess Hill. Monday, July 13th, v. Sir Henry Harben’s XL, at W am bam Lodge, near Horsham. Tuesday and Wednesday, July 14th and 15th, v. Lewes Priory. Thursday and Friday, July 16th and 17th, v. Sussex Martlets, at Brighton. Saturday, July 18th, v. Steyning. During their last fourteen tours the Wanderers have played 84 matches, win­ ning 45, losing 26, and drawing 13, whilst eight have been abandoned through rain. They have visited the Isle o f W ight, the Isle of Man (twice), the Channel Islands (twice), the Lake District, Holland, Prance, Ireland, Somertet, North Wales, Eastern Coun­ ties, East Yorkshire, and North Lanca­ shire. Two leading Warwickshire clergymen in the Rev. Frederick Tobin and the Rev. O.ibert Mordaunt have retired respec­ tively from a rural deanery and a canonry as a protest a g a iD st the im­ morality of a certain portion of the hunting set in the Kineton and Welles- bourne district. The Rev. F. Tobiu was in tl e Rugby Eleven in 1867 and 1868, and for three years, commencing in 1870, played for Oxford. Mr. Mordaunt, at o :e time a very good all-round player, u as a member of the Eton team of 1860 »nd in later years played for the Free Foresters, of which he was at one time Secretary, I. Zingari, Warwickshire, and M .C .C .; he has been a member at Lord’s since 1865. Several members of the M jrdaunt fam ily have been associated with the game, as the appended short genealogical table will show :— In the Tatler of January 1st appeared a very interesting illustrated article on Stoke Edith, the beautiful Herefordshire seat of Mr. Paul Foley, who has done so much for Worcestershire cricket. Stoke Edith was purchased in 1670 by Paul Foley, Speaker of the House of Commons, who between 1697 and 1699 pulled down the old house and built the present one. The walls and ceilings of the great reception rooms were painted by Sir Jomes Thornhill. I “ ............. The saloon is most beautiful, and the work of Adam. It is finely pro­ portioned, well-lighted, and so admirably arranged that despite its size it is a very comfortable and a much-used room. The principal staircase is particularly fine in carved oak, and is very broad with handsome balusters. The walls and ceiling are also painted by Thornhill. The libraries, one of which is over the siloon, are full of valuable books and include the most unique collection of county histories, for Mr. Foley is a great collector. The tapestries, obj ects of art, and furniture are all beautiful and worthy of this fine house. Mr. Foley inherited Stoke Edith from his aunt, the late Lady Emily Foley, daughter of the Duke of Montrose. She was the last of the grande dames, and wtnt about the country in great state in a coach and four with postilions and outriders. She was a well-known character and much-feared . . . ” I have heard that the Lord Foley of a Ctntury ago possessed such tbiu legs that he was nick-named “ Number Eleven.” But this may have been a libel. T he Duke of Portland has been pre­ sented with a silver table calendar, bearing the inscription, “ 50, not out,” by the 'Welbeck Cricket and Football Clubs, in commemoration of his fiftieth birthday. Iu making the presentation, Captain Amory hoped his Grace would go on and make his century. The Duke of Portland, in reply, said that so long as he lived at Welbeck, he would try and keep up his wicket, and encourage manly sports upon his estate. 1. How do you grip for off-break ? 2. Does the wrist play a prominent part in secur­ ing the spin ? 3. Do you flick or keep the wrist rigid ? 4. Do you leave go at highest point in the swing, or after, or when ? 5. Does the palm of the hand face mid-off, the ground, or the sky immediately after leaving go? 0. Does the first finger pull at right angles across the top of the ball or from the right-hand side, finishing more or less underneath ? 7. Do you grip very tightly (to strain the fingers somewhat) or loosely, and rely on sweep of hand across the ball doing the needful ? 8. How much break is it reasonable for an accom­ plished medium-paced bowler to expect on a good fast wicket ? S ir C harles M ordaunt , 10 th B art . J ohn M urray M ordaunt R ev . O sbert M ordaunt (Free Foresters). (Eton, Free Forestirs, M.C.C.). (Eton, Free Foresters , I.Z., M.C.C. <£• Warwickshire). i i i H. J. M ordaunt E. C. M ordaunt G. J. M ordaunt (Eton, Cambs., M.C.C. tC* Mdsx.) (Wellington College, Mdsx., M.C.C., (Wellington College, Oxford, Gents & Kent). v. Players, Kent, tb M.C.C.) Mr. 0 . C. Mordaunt, who has played for Somerset occasionally during the last few seasons, is a son of Captain Mordaunt, of the Army, and a distant relation of the above. The Mordaunts came over to England with the Conqueror and acquired their Warwickshire estate by force of arms. The Baronetcy dates back to 1611. C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s and best wishes to Messrs. E . W . Dillon (Oxford and Kent) and T. L . Taylor (Cambridge and Y ork­ shire) on recently entering upon the state matrim onial! T h e engagement is announced of Mr. A. E . Lawton, of Derbyshire, to Fannie, third daughter of Mr. William A. Boss, of New Brighton, Staten Island. A s the kind of communication success­ ful cricketers are at times liable to receive, the follow ing letter, sent last season to one of the best bowlers o f the year, may prove of interest to Cricket readers: — Dear Sir, Will you be kind enough to tell mo if you use any particular kind of glasses when play­ ing cricket. I fancy my “ eye ” is not so keen as it should be (I fail to judge the ball early in its flight, particularly on these dull days) and as you have doubtless found a wrinkle or two as to the most suitable sort I shall esteem it a favour if you can give description, also name of a reliable and intelligent vendor. I should also like you to grant me another favour, viz., by answering the following queries:—