Cricket 1908

J u n e 25, 1908. CR ICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 227 CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION. The cover o f this ball is constructed upon an improved, system which ensures increased durability. The materials and workmanship are o f the highest class, and there can be no doubt whatever that the first grade is the most desirable Match Ball that can be produced. CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION. The construction o f the Dem on Drivers is fully described in 'Ihe E volution of a Cricket B at , which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion to GEO. G. BUSSEY & Co., L td ., 36 & 38, Queen Victoria St., LONDON. Manufactory — Timber Mills — PECKHAM , S.E. ELM SW ELL, SUFFOLK. Agents all over the world. AT TH E SIGN OF T H E WICKET. By F. S. A sh l e y -C oo p e r . The heavy reverse experienced by Lanca­ shire }esterday at the hands o f Essex lends force t <the view that the County’s lack of sii'X *■« (I i<. season cannot be attributed solely to ihe *11a 1 i1y of the wickets provided at Old T raffod. O f late ye trs the Manchester g ound has not bien n ted for heavy scoring, '»ut those who maintain that runs are more difficult to obtain there this sea-son than in previous years are mistaken in their surmise. In facr, statistics prove that the scoring has been as heavy there this summer as in the maj irity of recent years. During the past decade the run-getting capacity of the ground compared with that o f the whole country has been as follows : — Aver, runs A ver runs Year. per w ckt. at per w kt. for the Manchester. whole country. 1890 21'02 20-00 1900 20-21 24-S3 1901 21*85 27*27 1902 22*39 22*33 1903 21*J0 22*21 1904 25*33 20*70 1905 24*16 25*63 1906 22*05 25-24 1907 17->4 20-66 190S 20 25 21 03 The above statistics should convince any impartial observer that this year’s wickets at Ola Trafford have not been so faulty as many persons have supposed; in fact, compared with the majority o f the seasons quoted this year’s record may be cons dered very satisfac­ tory. In the very few matches played there this month and last totals o f 399, 326, and 280 have been made, which should in itself prove sufficient to convince many than the unkind things said in various quarters abopt the wickets have not been based upon fact. The truth o f the maiter probably is that the County are experiencing a period o f ill-fortune such as falls to the lot of every side at one time or another. The fact that players have been injured whilst bitting at Old Trafford does not carry much weight, for Mr. Brearley's bowling has proved unfortunate in that way on other grounds as well. During the past fortnight the form shown by Kent has been reminiscent of their doings in 1906, when, as the result of a series of brilliant succe-ses, they came out fir&t among the Counties. In succes.-ion they have beaten Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Essex, and Noithampionshire in as able a manner as the greatest well-wisher <>f the County could have desired. There is n • getting away from the fact that they are a very tormios^Ue side, e'pecially o'i hard wickets, and the Champion- sh p, so far asone can at present judge, would appe-ar to re>t between them, Yorkkhire, and Surrey. A month to-day they are due to meet Surrey at Blackheath, and what­ ever may befall either si le in the interval, the match is sure to furnish a great struggle. Kent, at the moment, are in great fettle, and no county 0 uld take the field against them with an assured prospect o f success. Huchin^s ha? this week sh >wn a glimpse of his form of 1906, ami YVooliey has scored freely and heavily, whil.-t Marsham, after many comparatively small innings, has made 113 128 and 65 in consecu ive matches. The success o f the last-named has been very welcome, if only for the fact that it has been the means of keeping a great cricket name prom i­ nency before the public. A Marsham was one of the leading members o f the Club which used to meet at Coxheath in the la>t quarter o f the eighteenth century, whilst the father of the present Kent captain was the finest amateur bowler of his time. C, D . Marsham, now in his seventy-fourth year, did excellent service for Oxford in his younger days and from 1854 to 1862 appeared for the Gentlemen against the Players, though he was, curiously, on the losing side every time, the Players being very strong about that period. O f those who played with Mr. Marsham in those matches several survive, but o f the Players only W illiam Caffyn, James Lillywhite, and George W ootton, I believe, survive. A parsing word deserves to be said in praise o f the form shown by the Scotch sides which took the field iast week against Nottingham­ shire and G . L. Jessop’s X I. In the former match the north-country men were beaten after a good game, but in the latter the draw was altogether in their favour. Scotch cricket has never reached a very high level, but the two games referred to showed that there are several very useful players beyond the Tw eed at the present time. W hy the game has failed to produce more than a few really great exponents it would be difficult to say. Is it because golf will brook no rival, or that the game is not so popu­ lar as it might be with the masses? Scotland would stand no chance whatever if pitted against a representative England side, but some interesting games would probably result if a triangular tournament could be ar­ ranged between Scotland, Ireland and Wales. I make no claim for originality in this sug­ gestion, as “ W .G .” some years ago went into the matter at some length. Such a programme should do much to increase the popularity o f cricket in all three countries, and the difficulties in arrang­ ing it should not prove insuperable. LONDON AN D W ESTM INSTER BAN K 2nd v. SEN ECA.--Played at N orbury on June 15 and 16. L ondon and W estm in ster Bank 2nd. L. G. Black, c James, b Lewis ................15 H. E. Coom ber, lbw, b Repton ................22 G. Logan, c Harris, b Repton ................20 R. F. Ellis, b Repton 4 H. D. Dear, e Baker, b B u lfie ld ................ 0 L. Pitfc-Brook, c and b Bulfield ................23 W. A. W iley, lbw, b Repton ................ 1 S e n e c a . R. S. Daw, c Palm er, b Cawley ................11 A. S. Alexander, run out ............................ 2 F. Ralls, not ou t ... 6 A. Podm ore, c Palm er, b Cawley ................. 3 B 10, 1-b 2 Total .. 119 H. Palm er, b Coom ­ ber ............................. 2 C. W. Cawley, b Coom­ ber ............................ 0 S. McConnachie, b Coom ber ................40 E. Ashm ore, b Dear... 0 G. Harris, b Alexan­ der ............................. 6 A. Jam es, c Black, b P o d m o re ................22 R. Bulfield, st Pitt- Brook, b Logan ... 55 F. Baker, b Lo£an ... 16 S. F. Ely, b Logan ... 13 G. Repton, b C oom ber 36 E. H. L ew is,not out... 51 B 6 ,1-b 11, n-b 1 Total A N SW E R S T O C O R R E S P O N D E N T S . V . G reen (B e th n al G r e e n ).— Jove nodded. R. S aunderson .— Played at W'orcester on June 8 and 9. S co r e sW a rw ic k sh ire 2nd X I.. 344 ; W orcester­ shire 2nd X L , 150 and 87. W arwickshire 2nd XL w on by an innings and 107 runs. R. E. Foster scored 90 not out for I Zingari against Eton College on Saturday. A t M alvern, on Friday and Saturday last, P. J. A 'te made 79 and 1*20 for Old M alvernians v. M alvern College. In the first innings o f Yorkshire againstM iddlesex, at L ord’s, M ignon bow led four no-balls and took a w icket in the course of an over. Jacob H ainstock took all ten w ickets in an innings for 33 runs for Burton Leonard y. M arking- ton, in Yorkshire, on the 13th inst. II. A. Gilbert (not out 75) and K. R aynor (50) put 011 129 for the last w icket of O xford U niversity v. Free Foresters after nine w ickets had fallen for 81. The first hundred o f the Philadelphian season was D r. G. C. Guest’s 102 fo r Delaware County Field Club v. Germ antown Team D on the 6th inst.