Cricket 1908

S e p t . 17, 190S. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 4 19 The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The Evolution of a Cricket Bat, which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion. BUSSEY’S IMr ROVED MAKE- KEEP THEIR SHAPE-LAS ■' LONGER CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION. CATALOGUE JPON APPLICATION. CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION. C £ J 7 CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION TO GEO . G. BUSSEY & Co., L td ., 36 & 38, Queen Victoria St., LONDON. Manufactory — Timber Mills — PECKHAM, S.E. ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK. A gen ts all over the w orld. AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. By F . S . A s h le y -C o o p e r . It has been reported that Prince Henry and Princess Mary played a rather remarkable single-wicket match at Frogmore at the end of Ju ly, the former scoring 2-50 without losing his wicket. The statement may not be strictly in accordance with fact, but it will serve as a text for a few remarks upon the associations of Royalty with cricket. So far as is known, King George II. was the first English monarch to patronise the game, and he did much to cause it to cease being classed as a sport with such diversions as cock-fighting and bear-baiting, and to place it in the category of amusements in which gentlemen of position might indulge openly. The greatest enthusiast the Royal family has yet produced was undoubtedly Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of George If. Much information about the Prince is to be found in the official history of Surrey Cricket, where it is stated, “ The amount of good he did for cricket, especially so far as Surrey was concerned, cannot be over-estimated. He was the head and ruht arm of Surrey cricket, and it is to him we owe the introduction of county matches. He supported the game in most liberal fashion, and in the majority of cases the Surrey elevens weie selected by him. He presided, too, over the London Club and promoted many excellent matches.” The above quotation, though short, is sufficient to show liow great an interest His Royal H ghness took in the game. His end was a melancholy one. In 1750 he was playing on the lawn of Cliefden House, in Buckinghamshire, when he received a blow in the side from a cricket ball. The blow caused an abscess to form, which, bursting some months later—on March 20th, 175 1, to be precise—caused a collection of matter to suffocate him. He expired in the arms of Desnoy&rs, the cele­ brated dancing-master, and his death caused the game for which he had done so much to lack popularity once more. George the Fourth was fond of cricket. In the seventeen eighties, whilst Prince of Wales, he fixed upon Brighton as a place of residence and his patronage caused the game to increase much in popularity in Sussex. In 179 1 he caused a ground to the north of the town to he set apart expressly for cricket. Until 1822 it was merely railed in, but in the year mentioned a wall was built round it, and it became known as Ireland’s Gardens. It was there that Sussex used to meet Eng­ land single-handed, and where the champions of Kent and Sussex used to face each other when “ Kent v. Sussex” was the county match of the year. It has been said of George IV. that “ he would be often engaged in this manly game, with the noblemen and gentlemen of his suite, and was esteemed a very excellent player,” and that “ he played with great condescension and affability.” Daring one of his airings in the Great Park, at Windsor, when riding in the vicinity of Cumberland Lodge, he suddenly came across a large party of his domestics playing cricket. At this unexpected approach of their Royal master they began to scamper in all directions, but the King, with his accus­ tomed good nature, sent one of the gentle­ men in attendance to desire them to con­ tinue their game, and never to let his approach interrupt their sports. His Majesty then continued his ride in another direction, observing to his attendants that cricket was a noble game, and that when he was able to play he himself enjoyed the exercise as much as any'one. Bell's Life of 1828 stated that “ His present Majesty was very partial to cricket, and in his youth frequently played at the Islington ground. He was au excel­ lent batsman.” The opinion of William IV. concerning cricket was stated in the Times newspaper of 1837. It was announced : “ It is generally known that a Sussex Cricket Club was at the close of last season established for the purpose of raising a fuud by subscription, to be ex­ pended in playing County Matches, and His Majesty has been graciously please 1 to sub­ mit, through Sir Henry Wheatley, the sum of £20 towards the undertaking, with a strong expression of His Majesty’s desire to encourage lh 3 manly exercise of cricket, as a game which so peculiarly belongs to this country.” History is silent on the point as to whether His Majesty ever participated in the game. Not even the most enthusiastic of ci icketers could have expected Queen Vict< ria to take a deep interest in cricket. At times, how­ ever, she honoured small matches at Osborne, Windsor, and Balmoral with her presence, and one can readily imagine how inspiriting an effect her appearance would have on the players. The present King, whilst at Oxford, occasionally played with the far-famed Bullingdou Club, and a photograph is si ill extant of the Bullingdon XI. showing His Majesty as a member. It is well-known that before he ascended the throne he was, as Duke of Cornwall, landlord of the Oval. Mr. C. W. Alcock has written : “ How much the Surrey Club owes to his Most Gracious Majesty, King Edward NIT., can only be known to those who have been associated with its management. It is not too much to say that, to his personal sympathy with sport of every kind, the public is mainly indebted for the retention of the ground as an open space, in spite of many obvious inducements to turn it to better purposes commercially.” About 1851, according to the late Earl of Besshoruugh, there was danger of the Oval being built upon, and a Bill was actually in preparation by the solicitor to the Duchy of Cornwall to enable the Duchy to erect two half-crescents over the ground. The late Piince Consort, how­ ever, who was acting for the young Prince of Wales, prevented this being brought about and so faved the Oval from the builders. The late Duke of Saxe-Coburg, when Duke of Edinburgh, occasionally participated in minor matches, but did not meet with much success. The Duke and his elder brother, the Prince of Wales—now the King—used to be coached at Windsor Castle by Bell, the old Cambridgeshire cricketer, who would state in his plain, unvarnished way, tjiiat he “ couldn't make a job of ’em at all.” The present Piince of Wales, whilst in the Navv, would frequently join “ in cricket’s manly toil,” and it has been stated that had he devoted himself more assiduously to the game he would have developed into a good batsman. The finest exponent of the game ever furnished by the Royal family was the late Prince Christian Victor, the announce­ ment of whose death from fever in Pretoria, on October 29th, 1900, was received with so much regret. He gained a place in the Wellington College eleven and would have been awarded his Blue at Oxford had a new wicket-keeper been required whilst he was in residence. In military matches he obtained thousands of runs, and was one of the comparatively few cricketers to exceed two hundred in an innings in India. The score alluded to was 205 for the King’s Royal