Cricket 1908

C R IC K E T : A W EEK LY RECORD OF T H E GAME. MAY 28. 1908. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No . 7 8 0 . v o l . x x v i i . THURSDAY , MAY 28, 1908. o n e p e n n y . CHATS ON THE CR ICKET F IELD . M r . J. N. C r a w fo r d . During the past three decades the Public Schools have produced many all-round players of remarkable ability, such as A. G. Steel, C. T. Studd, F. S. Jackson, J. R. Mason, G. L. Jessop, C. L. Townsend, and B. J. T. Bosanquet, but it may well be doubted if a cricketer of greater possi­ bilities has been turned out during the period named that the one who has done such excellent work for Surrey during the last few seasons. Messrs. Steel and Mason showed more than a sign of their future greatness whilst still at school, and it has been said that the former during the first month he was at Cambridge—May, 1878—averaged 50 runs with the bat and four runs per wicket with the ball; it was during that season, when only nineteen years of age, that he took 164 wickets in first-class matches at a cost of only 9.66 runs each. On the other hand it was not until his third year at Cam­ bridge that Jackson became a really great player, whilst Charles Studd’s powers as an all-round cricketer were not fully developed until two years after he had left Eton. Without doing an injustice to any of the others whose names have been mentioned, one may say that Mr. Craw­ ford is the best all-round performer produced by any of the Public Schools since the days of Mr. Steel. Like that famous player he was, whilst still at school, worth a place in the Gentlemen’s eleven at Lord’s, for in his first year of County cricket he headed the Surrey bowling averages and performed very creditably with the bat. In his last year at Repton, too, he proved himself an excellent captain, and under his leader­ ship the side not only beat Malvern and Uppingham, but went through the season he is destined to reach still greater heights as a run-getter. His powers of hitting are remarkable, but not more so than the self-control he can show when occasion requires. In the second match in which he played in Australia—against South Australia, at Adelaide—he played an extraordinary innings, scoring 114 out of 171 in 58 minutes by a display of hitting which was said by critics who had wit­ nessed J. J. Lyons’ most noteworthy feats to be un­ paralleled in the whole his­ tory of first-class cricket in Australia. In each of the last two seasons he has made over eleven hundred runs and taken more than a hun­ dred wickets, being only nineteen years of age when he accomplished the feat for the first time. His pro­ nounced success has been all the more remarkable owing to the fact that he is handi­ capped in having to play in glasses. “ Your first cricket was played at Cane Hill, I believe? ” “ Yes; it was there that I was born, and my first re­ collection of life is of bowl­ ing, or attempting to bowl, to my brother Reginald on the ground attached to the house. In course of time we came to practise system­ atically. We would prepare a soft wicket, put up a wooden box at a distance of sixteen yards and endeavour to hit the wicket by bowling round it. Gradually we in­ creased the distance and developed a fast ball. The practice was always very keen, perhaps owing to the fact that the least successful of us was invariably ex­ pected to “ stand ” sweets on his next visit to the village—which, of course, the others took care should not be long delayed. At times our exertions made us so warm that we used to take off our shirts ! We fre­ quently used narrow bats, such as they use on board ship, so as to encourage the bowlers. Our sisters would often join in the fielding practice, which we would com- without a defeat. That he should make his mark as a player is only natural when one remembers how many members of his family have distinguished themselves as cricketers. His grandfather was a very useful performer in the Mynn and Pilch era, his father and uncle appeared in their time for Kent, and his brothers, Photo by\ MR* J. N. CRAWFORD. V. F. S. and R. T., have taken part in the great matches with success during the past decade. He bowls medium-paced with an easy delivery, has a fine com­ mand over his pitch and, when the wicket assists him, makes the ball come off the pitch with considerable spin. As a bats­ man his ability is great, and it is probable that, well as he has hitherto performed,