Cricket 1908

4 4 0 CR ICK ET : A W EEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. O c t . 29, 1908 NOTICE TO OUR READERS. Six numbers of Cricket will be published during the Winter, from October to March inclusive, as follows No. 797.—THURSDAY, OCT. 29. No. 798.-THURSDAY , NOV. 26. No. 799.—THURSDAY, DEC. 24. No. 800.—THURSDAY, JAN. 28. No. 801.—THURSDAY, FEB. 25. No. 802.—THURSDAY, MARCH 25. The above series sent post free to any part of the world for 9d. Cricket is the only paper in the world solely devoted to the game. Weekly, April to September. Monthly, October to March. T e b m s of S u b s c r ip t io n : —3/9 per annum. Weekly Nos. (only) 3/-. Payable in advance. All communications to be sent direct to the Offices of Cricket, 168, Upper Thames Street, London, E.C. CRICKET LIBRARY F OR SALE.—Valuable Cricket B ook s: Set of “ Scores and Biographies,” 14 vols., 1744 to 1878, price £ 9 ; “ Scores and Biographies,” vols. 1 to 4, £4 10s. Od. ; Duplicates of “ Wisden’s Cricketers’ Alm anacks” for 1865, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’76, ’78, to 1908, viz., 300 vols., cheap; ‘*F. Lillywhite’s Guide,’’ 1849 to 1866, about 100 issues; also many rare books, including “ Love’s Poem,” 1770, Lord Charles Russell’s ‘ •Recollections of Cricket,” etc., etc. Address : A. J. G aston, Preston, Brighton. Cricket: A W E E K LY RECORD OF THE GAME. 168, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON E.C. THURSDAY, OCT. 2 9 th , 19 0 8 . Pavilion Gossip. The abstract and brief chronicle of the time. — Hamlet. As was generally anticipated when stumps were drawn at the Oval on September 16th, the day upon which the last issue of Cricket went to press, Yorkshire succeeded in evading defeat at the hands of England, and thereby were enabled to pass through the season without sustaining a single reverse. The County’s record for the past decade is as under :— Year. Won. Lost. Drawn. Total 1899 ... 17 ... 4 ... 13 .. 34 1900 .,.. 19 , ... 1 , ... 13 .. . 33 1901 ... 23 2 ... 10 .. . 35 1902 ... 15 3 '... 13 .. . 31 1903 ... 16 ... 5 ... 10 .. . 31 1904 ... 10 ... 2 ,... 20 .. . 32 1905 . 22 ... 4 ... 8 ... 34 1906 .” 19 ... 6 , 9 .. . 34 1907 ... 14 ... 5 ... 12 .. . 31 1908 ... 19 ... 0 , ... 14 .. . 33 Total ... 174 ... 32 ... 122 .. . 328 The last occasion upon which Yorkshire went through an entire season without a defeat was in 1870, when they won six matches and drew one. The County Committee, by the way, entertained Lord Hawke at dinner at Leeds on Friday last and presented him with a set of beautiful pearl studs in recognition of his twenty- five years’ captaincy o f the Eleven. L o r d L o n d e s b o r o u g h has presented David Denton, who made two separate hundreds against the M.C.C. at Scar­ borough, with a beautiful gold, bat­ shaped breast-pin, with a pearl represent­ ing the ball. S u b s c r ip t io n s to the amount of about £240 have been received in connection with the movement to make a presenta­ tion to Walter Brearley upon the occasion o f his wedding. After careful considera­ tion it has been decided to hand Brearley a cheque for 20 0 guineas, and to purchase silver ware with the surplus. The latter will bear the inscription :— “ Presented to Walter Brearley on the occasion of his marriage, in recognition of his valued services to Lancashire cricket. Manchester, December 2nd, 1908.” At the suggestion of Judge Parry it was agreed that the presentation should be made at a dinner of subscribers and friends at the Queen’s Hotel, Manchester, on Friday evening, November 27th. I t appears more than likely that in the spring the M.C.C. will send an amateur team to Egypt to play a few matches at Port Said, Cairo, Khartoum, and one or two other places. The captaincy will be offered to Lord Hawke, and the names of Lord Brackley, C. E. de Trafl'ord, H. Hesketh Prichard, and Capt. Wynyard have also been mentioned in connection with the trip. Several good players, including W . H . B. Evans and M. W. Payne, have settled in Egypt, and, in the event o f the touring side not being too powerful, some good matches should result. S om e very interesting opinions have recently been expressed in The Sporting L ife concerning a project for drawing up a definition of “ Amateur ” applicable to all kinds of sport. Mr. F. E. Lacey, the Secretary of the M.C.C., remarked:— “ I recognise the importance of defining amateurism, and feel certain that the longer the definition is delayed the more will be the encroachments made on the professional territory. The cricketing world, however, wish to encourage, not to prevent, amateur players taking part in first-class cricket, and would, I think, be satisfied if the definition precluded the possibility o f money being made out of playing the game.” The abuses which have crept into cricket have not been particularly numerous, though in this connection I can recall a dear old gentle­ man saying, quite innocently, two or three years a g o :— “ I shan’t let m y son play any more if they don’t pay him better! ” And the cricketer alluded to has several times appeared for Gentlemen v. Players. C o n g r a t u la t io n s to Robert Henderson upon the birth o f a son and heir. Surrey cricketers will be glad to hear that the bearer o f such an honoured name will be eligible for Surrey by the best of all qualifications, for he was born at Wallington. T h e recently-formed Scottish Cricket Union, which has for one o f its objects the promotion of International matches, has opened communication on the subject with Wales and Ireland, and hopes are entertained of a beginning being made next season. The Union have arranged a fixture with the Australians in Edinburgh for the last three days of June. M e n t io n of the Australians reminds me that, in addition to their usual matches against Lancashire and York­ shire, they will twice meet the combined strength of the two counties— at Man­ chester and Hull. I f the Englishmen can put thoroughly representative teams into the field two capital games should result. The tourists will make another departure from their usual programme by playing a three-days’ match against the Wrestern Counties on the Penn­ sylvania ground at Exeter in August. A m e e t in g of the Board of Control will be held in the pavilion at L ord ’s this afternoon at 2.30, in order that the dates and venues of the Test Matches may be arranged. I understand that the pro­ gramme will be much as in 1905, except that the first game will be played at Edgbaston instead of at Trent Bridge. T h e Annual Meeting of the Captains o f the First-Class Counties will be held at Lord’s on Monday, December 7th at 8 p.m ., to appoint umpires for 1909. The Captains o f the Minor Counties will meet two days later for a similar purpose. The Annual Meeting of the County Sec­ retaries takes place on Tuesday, December 8 th, at 11.30 a.m., when next season’s fixtures will be arranged. N e w s of the death at Worth Park, Crawley, on September 22nd, o f Sir Robert Nigel Fitzhardinge Kingscote, G.C.V.O., of Kingscote, Gloucestershire, recalls the fact that two members of that ancient and well-known family distinguished themselves as cricketers. Henry Kings­ cote, the old Harrovian who died in 1882 aged 80, played for the Gentlemen from 1825 to 1834, and in 1827, when only twenty-five years o f age, was President of the M.C.C. He was Gft. 6 in. in height, and a mighty “ N imrod.” H is nephew, Col. H. B. Kingscote, was an excellent wicket-keeper and well above the average among batsmen. He played several times for Gloucestershire, and was at least once asked to assist the Gentlemen. Military duties, however, prevented him from ap­ pearing in first-class matches as frequently as could have been wished. The Kingscotes are of extremely ancient West Country lineage, tracing descent to Nigell Fitz- Arthur, grandson to Ansgerus the Saxon, who was living in 985. The said Nigell married Adeva, daughter of Robert Fitz- Hardings, grandson of Sueno, or Swayne, the third King of Denmark, by Eva, a niece of W illiam the Conqueror. With this lady the fortunate Nigell received as dower the manor of Kingscote— called Chingscote in Domesday Book — which has been in the family ever since. The