Cricket 1908

3§6 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. S e p t . 3, 1908. dinner party that day and there were no grapes. This is probably the only case on record where three future bishops were guilty of larceny. Were we punished? N o; we gave ourselves up and were forgiven.'’ The father of the Wordsworths was then rector of Sundridge. Charles played for Harrow from 1822 to 1825 and Christopher for Winchester in the last-mentioned year. Christopher, in later years, used to recall how, in the match with Harrow, he “ caught out Manning.” Concerning The Annals of the West Kent Cricket Club Mr. Spottiswoode, whose firm published the book, tells the following amusing story. “ When Mr. Philip Norman, of cricket fame himself and one of the best known antiquarians, was compiling the volume, he asktd me to add a few notes referring to the years when he had retired from the active pursuit of the game. One note that I added had reference to Mr. Willie Hoare, the old Etonian cricketer, who was welljknown in West Kent. His steady style of play was a great feature of his batiing, but after he left Eton he had to turn his attention to business, and became a partner in the great firm of Hoare & Co., the brewers. The note I wrote for Mr. Norman was that Mr. Willie Hoare was known in his younger days for his steady play, but was now notorious for his ‘ swipes.’ Mr. Norman, however, stated that there was a law of libel, and ruled this out of order.” “ Did you play cricket at all before going to Eton ? ” “ At McLaren’s preparatory school at Oxford I got plenty of practice and was in the Eleven, and so had a fairly good acquaintance with the game by the time I was sent to Eton ; but I was never chosen to play for the College. I was, however, in my House X I., and captain of it in 1882. I am inclined to think that at Eton we were expected to put in too many hours at the nets during the week, and that fielding was not sufficiently attended to. During my la>t year Mr. Edward Lyttelton, then an assistant-master, and the present ‘ Head,’ who did not pretend to be a fast bowler, tried to solidify our nerves by frankly throw­ ing at us as hard as ever he could. I must say he always threw low, with hand below the shoulder, and any damage done was from the knee-cap downwards. ‘ Mike ’ and Austen Leigh, the Lower-Master, used to bowl to us, and give us valuable advice, and would afterwards take turns in batting, which was always a pleasure to watch. We had, however, no one who corresponded with Lord Bessborough and Messrs. Urim- ston, Haygarth, I. D. Walker, and Webbe of Harrow, to come down and look after us, for there is a tradition that Old Etonians are not to interfere with the work of the cricket masters. It is easy to be wise after the event, but the last Eton and Harrow match suggested that the Eton style of almost entirely forward play sometimes doesn’t come off. I wonder if Mr. C. M. Wells, who is now I believe in command at Eton, will consider the suggestion of keeping a watered wicket always in readiness for one or two days’ practice during the week ? At the same time some pen-and-ink critic might suggest that in wet seasons Harrow should have cocoanut matting to bat on in antici­ pation of a hard wicket at Lord’s .” “ Of course, you obtained plenty of cricket at Oxford ? ” “ I went up in the autumn of 1882, and played in every match for Balliol in each of the next three years. We had a good side— and in my last year, if I remember right, I was the only member who had not been in a Public School X I. —and we were beaten only once in the three seasons. I was captain in 1885. My father died whilst I was at Oxford, aud I had to quit cricket for commerce, but managed to fit in a lot of Saturday and country house matches at odd times.” “ For which clubs did you chiefly play?” “ For Bexley, West Kent, Authentics, and Eton Ramblers. I remember one day playing at The Wilderness for Charlie M ills’s XI. against the House of Commons. It was an annual match. Charlie Mills, now Lord Hillingdon, used always to play for the House of Commons, and there was an understanding that the legislators should be allowed to bring down one pro. to bowl. As a matter of fact it was nearly always Rawlin, of Middlessex, and in this instance he had been put on to bowl up the hill and against the wind. I must tell you that Lady Hillingdon was giving a garden party and the Blue Hungarian Band was playing near the ground. I and someone else—I forget at the moment who—had the good luck to make 90 before a wicket fell, and Rawlin, who had not been given a rest, had somewhat lost his interest in the proceedings and was watching the tents and visitors. Between the overs I saw him turn round to old Bartholomew, the umpire, who was also a great institution in that part of the world, and say to him, ‘ They’re playing well, ar’nt th e y ? ’ Bartholomew said ‘ Y e s ’ and to my great pride pointed to me and said ‘ Especially the one this end.’ But Rawlin morally bowled me by saying ‘ Bless your heart f I don’t mean the batsmen; I mean the band! ” “ You played occasionally for Kent, I believe ? ” “ Only a few times, as I could not find leisure for three-day matches. My first experience of county cricket is rather hum­ ourously described by Fran'c Marchant in the Histoiy of Kent Comity Cricket * which, by-the-way, is published by my firm, and, as all the profits are to be devoted to the Kent professionals’ funds, I venture to hope that all readers of Cricket will add it to their library. This is what Frank Marchant says :— “ County cricket became quite a different affair when I found myself in his LLm'd Harris’] shoes ; and, though I was able at various times to reckon on the assistance of several of the older lot, I dis­ covered that as responsibility increased pleasure declined. The chief difficulty I had to meet was, of course, getting together the best possible side for consecutive matches, and I was inclined to leave one or two places open rather too long, instead of running the risk of having to ask a player to stand down. I soon experienced a calamity that showed me the error of my ways. On the occasion of the Yorkshire match, at York, I found myself on the ground with eight men, and with no chance of a complete side till about four o’clock. It would have been best for me to have lost the toss ; but, as it happened, I won, and decided to go in and trust to being able to keep there until relief arrived. We were all out at lunch time for 46 ! ! I had sent two telegrams on Saturday during the previous match at Gravesend, both of which went wrong. One to Christopherson was altered by the clerk from “ Can’t do without you” to “ Can do without you,” and the other, to Walter Ueame, did not reach him till it was too late for him to catch the night train from London. Fox had promised to bring a great run-getter from the Crj’stal Palace Club but un­ fortunately he promised more than he could perform. The last place was eventually filled by Hugh Spottis­ woode, who came on receipt of a telegram, and thereby earned my lifelong gratitude, lie arrived in time to see us leave the field, and, of course, missed the first innings, though by making 37 in his one attempt he made more than most of us in two. ” * Edited by Lord Ham s. London : Eyre and Spottiswoode. Price £ 1 Is, The crowd were much amused by the situa­ tion, and when I arrived in a fly at the ground they shouted, with much laughter, “ Yer cooms another ’op-picker! ” I had the good luck in this match to hit three 4’s in an over off Ulyett, who, instead of; being annoyed as many pros, would have been, and knowing that it was my first appear­ ance, came up to me quite quietly between the overs and said, “ Well hit, s ir !” The Yorkshire Eleven at that time had just come under the full influence of Lord Hawke, who was my old school-fellow at Eton, and who has probably had as much to do with the entente cordiale between amateurs and pro­ fessionals than any other captain I know of. After the match Mr. W. E. Whitwell, who had bet n playing for Yorkshire, had to come South, so we journeyed together by the night train and turned up next day for West Kent against the Royal Engineers at Chisle- hurst. The E .E . were rather anxious to know who Mr. Whitwell was. I told them he was a mere colt, and it was not until he had taken seven wickets for about 30 runs that they discovered his identity. However, the E .E . were always good sportsmen,and it was understood that “ West K e n t” was an extraordinary elastic district, and that its Territorial Eorce needed no actual residen­ tial qualification. So the R .E . at lunch drank the health of the two counties. Per­ haps this had something to do with the satisfactory results of the last three years.” OBITUARY. A kchdeacon L atham B evax . The late Ven. William Latham Bevan was a very useful cricketer in his Rugby and Oxford days, but did not obtain a place in either eleven. In 1838 and 1839 bis name will occasionally be found in the side representing the Sixth ajainst the School at Rugby. For 515 years, 1815-1900, lie was Vicar of Hay, which positiou his son, the Rev. Edward Latham Bevan, now holds. He died at H ay on August 25th in his eighty-seventh year. T h e R ev . 0 . H ammond . The Rev. Octavius Hammond, whose death is announced, was born at Newmarket on March 19th, 1838, and educated at Bury St. Edmunds’ S'.-hool. He played three times, in 1855 and two following years, for Cambridge against Oxford, but made only 23 runs in five completed innings. Mr. Haygarth, in Scores ard lliographirs (V.-30), described him as “ A very fine free hitter, and an admirable field at long-leg or cover point.” At Fenner’s in 1857 he played an innings of 52 not out for the University against the Cambridge Town Club, who had Buttress, Reynolds, and Arnold to bowl for, them. He was a very fine all-round athlete and an excellent shot, and bad been rector of Herringswell, Milden- hall, Suffolk, since 1867. Another novel from the pen of Mr. John F. Mac- pherson is announced. It is entitled Yetta the Magnificent and is published by John Long at six shillings. On August 17 and 18 Woodbrook C. and G. scored 523 against Frogs at Woodbrook. Walby made 133 and W. W. Meldon 131. R ICHARD BAFT’S “ Nottinghamshire Marl.”— Particulars apply, Radcliffe on-Trent, Notts. [A dvt .