Cricket 1908

S e p t . 17 , 1908. CR ICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 4 2 5 the wickets, and the choice of going in.” In the circumstances it would be only natural for the bowlers to obtain as much advantage from the ground as the law allowed. But to dub poor Lumpy an average-hunter, and to speak of the “ nefarious m ethod” he employed “ for the improvement of his bowling figures,” at a time long before averages were thought o f or the bowling analysis w'as kept, is all very quaint. In the circum­ stances, it seems only a detail that the same writer should have attributed “ the sweet tenor voice ” to the wrong Ham- bledonian. E. H . D. S e w e l l , in an account of Friday’s cricket, records that “ Afeatureof thedaywas the sporting offer of a well known cricket enthusiast of half a crown per run to the profes­ sional making tho highest score. When Leach went in he had Dennett’s 28 to beat; that occupicd him about a dozen minutes, and then for him the whole world looked very cheerful, with busi­ ness doing at the rate of half a sovereign per boundary hit. Interviewed after­ wards, th e ex -a rtille ry m a n , fu lly approved of everything pertaining to cricket on Broad-Halfpennny Down, particularly the revival of the ways of m y Lords Tankerville and Beauclerc. ” R e f e r e n c e to Lord Frederick reminds me of a letter written by Miss Mitford to Haydon in 1828 about a match which she had been to Bramshill Park, Sir John Cope’s seat in Hamp­ shire, to see :— “ There they were, a set of ugly old men, white-headed and bald-headed, for half of Lord’s was engaged in the combat, players and Gentlemen, Mr. -Ward and Lord Frederick Beauclerk the veterans of the green, dressed in tight white jackets (the Apollo Belvi- dere could not bear tho hideous disguise of cricketing jacket), with ncckcloths firmly tied round their throats, fine japanned shoes, silk stockings, and gloves..............there they stood, silent, solemn, slow, playing for money, making a business of tho thing. I never was so disappointed in my life; but everything is spoilt when money puts its ugly nose in. To think of playing cricket for hard cash ! ” The match was England v. Hampshire (with two given men). Bell's L ife records that rhotoby] a gentleman gave sixty guineas to receive in return a guinea for each run obtained in their first innings by Ward, Budd, and T om Beagley. He was in con­ sequence a winner of 145 guineas, forWard scored 120, Budd 67, and Beagley 18. T h e m em orialis of grey granite, with a base of 1 0 ft. and an upper plinth of 6 ft., upon which is a short inscription on a carved panel. The combined height of base and plinth is 3 ft. 6 in., and the monolith in the centre is 7 ft. 6 in. in height by 3 ft. wide. On the latter is a panel showing the shape of the old wicket and bat, carved in relief, the dimensions having been furnished by Mr. F. E. Lacey. It was not without considerable difficulty that the Rev. H. A. Floud, hon. secretary of the Hambledon C.C., succeeded in obtaining the sum necessary for the erection of the memorial. The M.C.C. subscribed five guineas and the Middlesex County C.C. two, whilst several other county clubs puts that down to golf making him more deliberate in his strokes. He also thinks that our game [golf] makes cricketers slower on their feet. Mr. H . K. Foster, who is very good at golf, has said that golf does not harm a man’s cricket, but that the cricket spoils his golf, and a lot of other people well qualified to express an opinion seem to think the same thing.” [Hawkins, MR. B. J. T. BOSANQUET. W h e n it became known on Thursday last that “ W .G .” would be unable to unveil the monument which had been erected by public subscription as a memorial to the former greatness o f the Hambledon Club, the regret was general, the ceremony was performed by Mr. E. M. Sprot, who was introduced by Captain Butler, but the boisterous wind unfortunately prevented those present from hearing his speech. A few remarks about the influence of cricket on char­ acter by Dr. Fearon, Archdeacon of Winchester, brought the little ceremony to a close. contributed one each. S e v e b a l correspondents have written to me respecting the derivation of the word Broad-Halfpenny as applied to the ground upon which John Small, the elder, performed his greatest feats. For their information I may state that Broad- Halfpenny was a w oid supplied to places which had obtained a charter from the King to hold markets, or to set up standings for fairs. The Letters Patent were stamped with the word “ Broad- Halfpenny.” “ G. L. J e s s o p says that he does not hit so far at cricket as he once did,” states Henry Leach in The Observer, “ and he N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the very poor atten­ dance on the last day, owing to rain, this year’s Scarborough Festival has proved a big financial success. The spectators during the nine days numbered approxi­ mately 36,000, and the receipts amounted to about .£1,400. This will leave a profit for the Scarborough Club of about 1*600. Last year the profits were £538, and the year before ±667. L o r d Cobham presided at a special meeting of the W orces­ tershire County C.C., at W or­ cester on Saturday, at which the Club’s financial position was discussed. Lord Cobham said it was undesirable to go into detail at present, and promised to give a final statement of the position and prospects in a few months’ time at the Annual General Meeting. Under the scheme favoured by the ma­ jority of the Committee, there would be no liability on the Club for the larger portion of the overdraft at the Bank. This would be removed to other shoulders— understood to be Mr. P. H . Foley’s— and the Club would be left to pay interest on the balance. This interest would amount to anything from ,£120 to A'150 a year, and with that the normal expenditure of the Club would, with strict economy, be £3,000 a year. T o meet that subscriptions would need to be ±'1,500 a year, a sum exceeded four years ago. Already a considerable number o f new members had been „ . secured, and one subscription ,!</i on. £ i()Q jla(j k ee n promised for the next three. years. They were now sufficiently guaran­ teed for the next two years, several gentlemen having pro­ mised from £5 to £50. Next year the Australian matches would help the fund. The Committee asked members to trust them in dealing with this delicate situa­ tion, which, unless they could meet it, would lead to the extinction of the Club, and that they would all deplore. A resolution was passed approving the Committee’s action. Mr. A. Lord an­ nounced that the Debenture holders would forgo their interest, amounting to ± 3 8 . I t seems more than likely that the Dover Week will become a permanent institution. It was this year that the town secured its first full week of county cricket, and the great success attendant