Cricket 1908

CR ICK ET A W EEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A u g u s t 6, 1908. H. GRADIDGE Factory; A rtillery P lage , WOOLWICH. “ O Y A L B A , ” R E I D ’ S O V A L W H I T E . The celebrated preparation for cleaning Cricket and all Buff Leather Goods, Warranted not to rub off or cake. As used at Ken nington Oval, and highly recommended by K . 8 Ranjitsinhji, Dr. W. Q. Grace, O. B. Fry, Lord Dalmeny, Australian XI., 1905, G. L. Jessop, Ac., &c. P ack e d in zin c boxes, 6d. per box. J. J. REID, 378, Kennington Bd., London. THOS. J. TATE , All England Championship Racket Maker. CR ICKE T B A T S and B A L L S . 1 8 , P r in c e s S tre e t, C a v e n d is h S q u a r e , L O N D O N , W The Sportsman says:—“ The bound volume of Cricket for 1907 is now ready, and affords a valuable record of the game not only in England, but in Gi eater Britain.” Price 8e. 6d., post free 9s. C r i c k e t : A W E E K L Y R E C O R D O F T H E G A M E . 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON E.G. THUR SDAY , AUGU ST 6 t h , 1908. Pavilion Gossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. —Hamlet T he follow in g is the text of the cable sent to the Australian Board of Control by the M .C .C . Comm ittee : “ Your cable of Ju ly 15 finally declining to take part in a triangular contest was referred to the counties at a meeting held on Ju ly 29. The representatives of the counties unanimously passed the following resolution: ‘ That the Advisory County Cricket Committee request the M.C.C. to invite the Australian Board of Control to send a representative eleven to England in 1909.’ The M.C.C. therefore cordially invite you to send a team next year.—Please cable reply. (Signed) “ L acey .” The B oard, in reply, have stated :— “ Invitation accepted, subject to approval of draft programme and terms. Board re­ quest you in conjunction with Mr. Poidevin to draw a draft programme, making pro­ vision for a rest prior and after Test matches.” A few years a g o Som erset well earned the title o f the “ T eam o f surprises,” for the side, after experiencing tw o or three defeats in succession at the hands o f weak opponents, often m anaged to gain a w onderful triumph at the expense of one of the m ost pow erful elevens in the coun­ try. T im es, how ever, have changed, for although the county still sustains reverses, and has just run M iddlesex close, its brilliant successes are conspicuous by their absence. At the m om ent the team m ost likely to effect a surprise ap­ pears to be G loucestershire. F ollow ing heavy defeats at the hands of W orcester­ shire and Y orkshire, the side beat Notts at Trent B ridge by 6o runs, lost to Kent at B ristol by eight w ickets, and went under to M iddlesex by the narrow m argin of tw o runs, after the gam e had been a tie on the first innings. The last w as a match in which the beaten side deserved as much praise as that which pulled through, and it does not seem right that G loucester­ shire, having made so gallant a fight, should be penalized in the County C ham ­ pionship to the extent they would have been if they had been beaten by an innings and 500 runs. T a rra n t’s perform ances in his last tw o m atches on the B ristol ground have been rem arkable. Last year he played an innings of 98 and took tw elve w ickets— four of them with consecutive balls— for 132 runs. This year he scored 152 and 11 and obtained a dozen w ickets for 149 runs. One cannot help regretting that he is not an E nglishm an. It is unfortunate for Gloucestershire that they cannot avail them selves of the ser­ vices o f all the amateurs qualified to assist the side. I understand that neither E dgar Barnett, M . G. Salter, nor Charles will be able to play again this season, that C. O . H . Sewell ds prevented by ill-health from appearing, and that A . H . Du B ou­ lay’s m ilitary duties will keep him entirely out of first-class cricket. C . L . Tow nsend, how ever, has prom ised to play in a couple o f m atches and F. H . Bateman Champain in three, whilst L. I). B rownlee and F. B. Roberts have already returned to the side. T he M ole Park ground at M aidstone, which has recently been levelled, w as re­ opened on Saturday with a m atch between East and W est K ent. J. R . M ason scored 143 and E. A. C. D ruce 90 not out for the latter. H . Teesdale, the old W ykeham ist and O xford Blue, scored 15 and 24 in the latter part o f last week for Surrey gainst the Philadelphians at the O val, helping M ar­ shal to m ake 81 for the first w icket in the first innings and 134 in the second. At times he obtained runs very slow ly, a fact which caused the crow d to indulge in an occasional ironical cheer. In justice to him , how ever, it should be stated that many o f his best and m ost pow erful strokes were adm irably fielded by the Philadel­ phians, whose w ork in the field w as of a very high order. It m ay be of interest to point out that Teesdale made his only previous appearance for Surrey tw o years aS°> against O xford University at the O val, when he scored 26 and put on 61 for the fourth w icket with H ayes, w ho made 218. At the Llandudno law n tennis tourna­ ment the singles cham pionship was won by L. O . S. Poidevin, who played under the name o f “ V id ep oin .” O w in g to the fact that A. H . H ornby is unable to get a full Lancashire team to­ gether in September to meet Surrey for H ayes’ benefit, a m atch has been arranged between North and South. Jessop has prom ised to play, and m any of the best- know n Lancashire players will take part in the match, b egin n in g on Septem ber 10. Saturday’s cricket at T rent B ridge was dreary in the extrem e, Sussex occupying all the available time— 5 hour and 40 minutes — in scoring 277 for five w ickets. Even when the side had made the gam e safe they failed to show any enterprise, and those who rem ained to the bitter end seemed profoundly thankful when the spiritless exhibition cam e to a close. Many spectators who visited the ground in the hope of seeing an entertaining d a y’s play went away during the luncheon interval and did not return. And not bad judges, either ! Used by all the m Leading y , Players. M ade in M en’s, Sm all M en’s, or College, 6, 5, 4, 4 3 sizes. P r i c e Li st s J F r e e 0 1 1 Ap p lic at io n, O f all F irst=C lass Outfitters and D ea le rs And SONS, Manufacturers o f all Requisites for Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Racquets, Hockey, Football, an d all British Sports. P A T E N T E E S A N D S O L E M A K E R S O F T H E Reblading a Speciality.