Cricket 1908

424 CR ICK ET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. S e p t . 1 7 , 19 0 8 . H. GRADIDGE And SONS, Manufacturers of all Requisites for Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Racquets , Hockey, Football, and all British Sports. PATENTEES AND SOLE MAKERS . ■ OF THE Used by ^ all the TO Leading Players. ^ Made in Men'i, Small Men's, or College, 6, 5, 4, A 8 ■izei. P r i c e L i s t s f r e e 0 1 1 App licati on. Of all First-Class Outfitters and Dealers. Reblading a Speciality, Factory; A rtillery P lace , 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 . G. Grace, O. B. Fry, Lord Dalmeny, Australian XI., 1905, G. L. Jessop, Ac., Ac. P a c k c d in z in c boxes, 6d. p er box. J. J. REID, 378, Kennington Rd., London. THOS. J. TATE , All England Championship Racket Maker. C R ICK E T B A T S and B A L L S . 18 , 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 Greater Britain." Price 8s. 6d., post free 9a. Cricket: A WEEKL y RECORD OF THE GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON E.C. THURSDAY, SEPT. 1 7 th , 19 0 8 . Pavilion Gossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. I t is much to be regretted that Hayes’ benefit did not prove more remunerative, but a September match, to attract the public, must be o f unusual interest, and genial weather is indispensable. Last week’s North v. South match was not well patronised, only 6,246 persons paying' for admission during the first two days, whilst the attendance on the third, when the weather was cold and football proved a counter attraction, was very meagre. Hayes will, however, receive about i ‘1,800. The game enabled Mr. Ernest Smith, always a favourite at the Oval, to make a very welcome and successful reappear- on tbe Surrey ground. H itting two 5’s and eight 4’s, he made 71 out of 119 in eighty-five minutes in his first innings, some o f his drives being as vigorous as ever. It is twenty years since he played his first match for Yorkshire, but it is evident that he still has much excel­ lent cricket in him. I t was quite strange to see how power­ less the Yorkshire bowlers were during tbe long innings o f the South. Hirst, Newstead, and Haigh, who had done so much for the county in championship matches, took between them five wickets at a cost of 307 runs. In the same in­ nings Dean, who obtained 124 wickets for Lancashire this year for just over eighteen and a-half runs each, had 114 runs scored oil' him and did not secure a wicket. P. E. S m ith and A. J. Atfield left England on the Carisbroohc Castle for South Africa on Saturday last, the former to renew his engagement with the Wan-, derers C.C. and the latter to coach the boys at the colleges and schools in Johannesburg. In the ordinary course of things, both will be in England again by April. S u r e l y , remarks The Saturday R e­ view, “ it will be better for cricket throughout the world when we accept the fact that Yorkshire possesses a two- power standard in county cricket, and we need not again devote a season of English cricket to demonstrate her champion superiority. Then, with this mighty championship regarded as a secondary consideration, we may enjoy alternate visits from Australia and Africa, with the interest of so-called test-matches. Counties will be enriched, players will gain fresh laurels, spectators and gossips will be delighted, and England will pro­ bably win, so everyone should be very well pleased.” L a s t week’s game on Broad-Halfpenny Down induced some of the newspapers to publish articles relating to the past glories of Hambledon. Students of cricket history must have been vastly amused at several of the remarks which appeared, and must have wondered whence some of the writers obtained their information. Thus The Times, which repeatedly gave Nyren’s name as Nyven and even as Mynn, remarked that “ It was in 1683 that two stumps took the place of the hole in the ground, which originally served as a wicket,” and that “ The first recorded cricket match was played at Mailing, in Kent, in 1705.” No evidence in support o f the former state­ ment was given, for the simple reason that none was available : the second pro­ nouncement ignored the “ match at cricket ” mentioned in The P ost B oy newspaper of March, 1700. The Daily Mail, which incorrectly gave the date of the break-up o f the Hambledon Club as 1787, stated that it was not until 1780 that the old wicket, two feet wide and one foot high, was supplanted by one twenty- two inches in height and six in width. Readers of Cricket will scarcely need to be told that the change had been effected some years prior to the formation of the Hambledon Club, and that the dimensions 22 inches by 6 are to be found in the Laws o f 1744. “ T h e Hambledon Club was founded in 1751 by Richard Nyven,” said The Times, obviously unconscious o f the fact that in the year named Nyren was only sixteen years of age. The Daily Mail, however, went further. “ The Hambledon Club,” stated this paper, “ was founded by Richard Nyren about 1750, and at first matches were played on Broad-Halfpenny Down, but after ten years or so the pitch was moved to Windmill H ill.” As a matter of fact, Hambledon continued to play on Broad- Halfpenny until 1781, their first recorded match on Windmill Downs being in August, 1782, when England beat them by 147 runs. B u t perhaps the gem of all that ap­ peared was the following, published by one of the evening newspapers :— “ In those days ’twas said ‘ Lum py’ Stevens, and other Hirsts and Blythes of the time, used to range the Down before a match for a stretch of turf whose ups and downs were naturally suited to their style of attack. That brilliant old custom is in abeyance on this occasion. The wicket has been prepared by the Hants County Cricket Club’s groundman at Southampton, liopkins, and the bowlers on both sides will have to bowl for their wickets with less assistance from the Down than that usually received, if these talcs be true, by our old friend ‘ Lum py.’ A Surrey man was he, and from a purely personal interest I wonder who ‘ coached’ him in this nefarious method for the improvement of his bowl­ ing figures? Average hunting would not appear, after all, to be of very modern origin.” One can only suppose that the writer was unacquainted with the old Laws which read “ The party which goes from home shall have the choice of the innings and the pitching of the wickets, which shall be pitched within thirty yards o f a centre fixed by the adversaries. When the parties meet at a third place, the bowlers shall toss up for the pitching of