Cricket 1908

J u n e i i , 190 8. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF TH E GAME. 2 0 1 had previously declared their innings closed with five wickets dow n for 203. “ T h er e is a fictitious convention that no Sussex bow ler is any g o o d ,” says C. B. Fry in the Daily C hronicle. “ Had A. E. R elf and C ox been m embers of the Surrey eleven they would have been boom ed as marvels during these several seasons past. O w in g to the B righton w ickets being now not nearly so good as they used to be, the Sussex bow lers show up better, and obtain credit for being at least som ething better than providers of centuries for batsmen all and sundry.” T he sam e player rem a rk s:— “ A fter a man has m ade 120 his play becom es a feat of endurance rather than of skill, and the wild, careless strokes that occur after the century is made are often as much a sym ptom o f tiredness as of a wish to score fa st.” Very often, unfortunately, the “ symptom of tiredness ” is betrayed by the spectator when his wish that the batsman, after reaching three figures, would score fast is not realised. G e o r g e A tk in M o s f o r t h , aged 24, whilst playing cricket at Elsecar, near Sheffield, on Saturday, w as struck on the temple w ith the ball. H e continued play, but, after returning hom e, becam e uncon­ scious and died from the effects o f the blow. T . W . S a u n d e r s (146) and L. A. W ood - house (100) m ade 215 in 75 minutes for the first w icket of Three Counties Asylum v. Stevenage on June 3. T .C .A . scored 394 for five w ickets, innings declared closed, in 130 minutes, and Stevenage were dism issed for 113. C a iu s C o l l e g e , playing against C hrist’s C ollege, on the latter’s ground at C am ­ bridge on Thursday last, scored 383 for six w ickets, innings declared closed, in 135 m inutes. J. H . Greathead (142) and C . E. Brisley (90) put on 200 together for the third w icket. B a c k w o r t h P e r c y , playing against St. G eorge’s C .C . at Jesm ond on Saturday, declared their innings closed with nine w ickets dow n for 251, leaving the latter 89 m inutes in which to bat. In the time mentioned St. G eorge’s scored 272, T . U llathorne (161) and C . F. Stanger- Leathes putting up 236 for the first w icket. L ie u te n a n t K . O . G o l d ie , o f the 10th B engal Lancers, it will interest Sussex cricketers to learn, has been appointed Extra A .D .C . on Lord M into’s staff. O n Saturday m orning Yorkshire, M iddle­ sex, and Sussex were bracketed equal at the head o f the C ounty Championship table, with 100 per cent, to their credit, but it seemed not unlikely that at the end of the day the last-named would alone be found in that exalted position, for M iddlesex had a b ig task before them at L ord ’s and Yprkshire appeared to be in danger of defeat at the hands of W or­ cestershire. But M iddlesex pulled through by three wickets and the Y orkshire bowlers carried all before them at W orcester, so that all three counties were still level when play ceased for the day. I am sorry to hear that S antall’s benefit has not proved so remunerative as was hoped. T h e gate-m oney amounted to only ^ 1 4 8 , and it is estimated that sums from all quarters will not take the total beyond £ 300 . O n the 2nd .inst. a you ng man named Page, whilst playing on the Kettering ground, w as struck on the back of the head by the ball. H e declared he was uninjured, but shortly becam e unconscious, and died at his hom e on Thursday after­ noon last. A t Leyton on June 3rd, C. J. W eigall (92) and I. Johns (35 not out) added 107 for the last wicket o f A . H . S. C larke’s X I. against Essex Club and Ground. The previous nine w ickets had fallen for 80. A r a th e r tall cricket story is reported from Australia, says the C alcutta Asian. In a country match one of the outfields, who had just retrieved a b ig hit, found him self suddenly pursued by a huge tiger sake. H aving no weapon to protect him ­ self with he sprinted for the playing pitch, pursued by M r. Snake, who was perceived by the batsman who had just made the b ig h it ; he prom ptly rushed to his com rade’s rescue, and caught the reptile a clout on its head with his bat, which disposed of its aggressive desires for ever and a day. In the meantime, while the St. G eorge and D ragon business w as g o in g on, the wicket-keeper gathered the ball, put St. G eorge’s wicket dow n, and applied for a decision on the ground of run out. After the tw o umpires had consulted they decided against the wicket-keeper. W . W . M a r tin (119 not out) and T . M . Popple (102 not out), w ho totalled 228 for no w icket for Manchester University against Cheadle H ulm e, at the Firs, Fallow field, on M ay 30th, were again the first pair of batsmen for their ’Varsity against Liverpool University on the same ground on June 3rd, and scored heavily, 198 runs being m ade before Popple was stumped, his score b ein g 93 and W . W . M artin’s 101. In these tw o m atches this pair o f batsmen totalled 426 runs before a separation was effected. K e e pin g w icket for Eastbourne against L ondon and W estm inster B ank, at East­ bourne on June 1st and 2nd, the R ev. R. S. K . B lucke accounted for the first seven w ickets of his opponents, four being caught and three stumped. T he score of the first innings of the Bank was as follow s :— L ondon an d W estminister B a n k . H . S. Baker, c Blucke, b Robinson... .. 2 C. J. Crossley, not o u t ..........................26 S. Bennett, b Robin­ son .............................. 1 L . Pitt - B rooke, c Robinson, b W agener 5 A .P odm ore, b Robin­ son .. ................. 0 Byes, &c. ... 20 204 H . E. Power, c Blucke, b W asener 0 E. W . Bennett, c Blucke, b E„ M . S. Poyntz ...............31 \V. Bradberry, st Blucke, b W agener 68 C. J. Bowm an, c Blucke, b W agener 42 F. W . Newcom be, st Blucke, b Robinson 1 S.Bowman,s-t Blucke, b Robinson 8 So far as I am aw are, no wicket-keeper had ever before accounted for seven wickets off the reel, but m ore than one had dis­ missed as many as eight men in an inn­ ings of an eleven a-side-m atch. T h e Rev. Robert Stewart K idgell Blucker has played cricket for Leicestershire and D orset and must now be alm ost fifty years of age. H e did not obtain his Blue at O xford. A t h r e e - f ig u r e partnership for the last w icket is alw ays deserving o f “ bold advertisem ent,” and therefore m ore than passing reference must be made to the large stand by Butt and C ox against C am ­ bridge on Friday. W hen they cam e to­ gether Sussex had made 257 for nine wickets in reply to a total of 251, and by the tim e they had been separated the total had reached 413. T h e 156 runs took only 70 m inutes to m ake. T he five longest partnerships for the last w icket in first- class cricket are now as follow s :— Runs. Season. 230, R . W . Nicholls (151) and Roche,W . (74*): M iddlesex v. Kent, at Lords ................ 1899 211, M . Ellis (118) and T. Hastings (106*) : V ictoria v. South Australia, at M el­ bourne......................................................... .. 1902-3 173, B riggs, -J. (186) and Pilling, R. (61*): Lancashire v. Surrey, at L iverpool ... 18c5 157, Pam ham , J. (90*), and W hite, J. (62) : N orth v. South, at L o r d s ............................. 1886 156, Cox, G. (81) and Butt, H . R. (74*) : 8 ussex v. Cambridge University, at Cam bridge... 1908 * Signifies not out. Mr. G eorge M eredith, it may interest C ox and Butt to know , has written :— “ T he tw o last men o f an eleven are tw in s; they hold one life between them , so that he who dies extinguishes the oth er.” B ut, as Mr. E. B. V . Christian has pointed out, “ T he last sentence is not very clear. Unless of the Siam ese variety, tw ins do not necessarily expire sim ultaneously.” W it h the exception of the fifteenth man, the team to represent the Gentlemen of Philadelphia in E ngland this summer has been selected. It is as fo llo w s:— J. A . Lester, F. H . Bohlen, C . C. M orris, A. M . W ood, R . M . Patton, J. B. K in g, T . C . Jordan, E. M . C regar, N. Z . Graves, P. N . L eR oy, F. S. W hite, H . V . H ordern, F. A. Greene, C . H . W inter,