Cricket 1908

M arch 26, 1908 CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 47 SOM E C H A P T E R S O F A U S T R A ­ L I A N C R I C K E T H IS T O R Y . By J. N. P e n telo w . I ntroduction . The history of Australian cricket, even of Australian fiist-class cricket—and there is a great deal of interest in the story of the game down under apart from the really big matches—has yet to be written. My friend, Mr. Clarence Moody, of the Adelaide Observer, published a little volume in 1894, “ Australian Cricket and Cricketers,” full of most valuable and interesting information, written in an easy and picturesque manner that merits nothing short of admiration ; but this is very far indeed, as I think he would be the first to admit, from being a history of Australian cricket. It is the only book of the kind in existence, however. Australia has had no regular series of cricket annuals like our WisderCs and Lillywhite's. He who would find the scores of even merely the first-class matches must seek in many places for them. I do not pretend to write here a history of Australian cricket. I am not an Australian, which I take to be a desirable, if not an absolutely necessary qualification for the work. But, thinking that the subject must be of interest to many in this country, and having in my possession records of cricket down under that I believe very few people here possess—to obtain them has cost time and patience and work and money—it has occurred to me that I might do something that may conceivably lighten the labours of the future historian when, if ever, he arrives. In the notes and tables which follow I shall deal with no match which has not, in my opinion, some claim to first-class rank. To that limitation is due the exclusion of many vtry interesting games played between “ odds” sidts of the various colonies and English teams, and matches in which “ odds ” sides of South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland met Victoria or New South Wales. These are, as I have said inter, sling, but it does not seem reasonable to rank them as first-cla-s. The only match not absolutely eleven-a-side \*hich I feel must be included is that played in the seventies between Eleven of Victoria and Thirteen of the Rest of Aus­ tralia. The Rest ought never to have accepted odds; but the match was too important and the players engaged were too famous for it to he put into ihe same category as Fifteen of Queensland v. New South Wales, and the like. After much consideration, I have arrived at the conclusion that the most workmanlike manner of setting about my task will be to deal with a whole series of matches between two States separately. As to continuity, and, I think, as to interest, this has obvious advantages over the plan of taking season by season ; and by this means, wherever my task may end, what I have done will be complete as far as it goes. I have chosen the matches between South Australia and Victoria for the subject of my first chapter because it is possible at the present moment to bring the series quite up-to-date, there being no return match this season to be played. Otherwise I should probably have started with New South Wales v. Victoria, which is in many ways the most important series, though Tasmania v. Victoria dates further back. In dealing with each series I propose to give, besides a running commentary on the matches, a list of results, with notes as to run-scoring, extras, big and small totals, etc., batting and bowling averages, a list of all individual scores of 50 and over, a list of the best bowling performances, and other such matters. With this by way of preface, let me pass on to the actual work. C h a pte r I. S outh A u stralia v . V icto ria . The first meeting between the two colonies was as far back as the season of 1874-5, when Victoria sent an eleven which included three celebrities in Tom Horan, Sam Cosstick, and George Alexander, but few other players of any note, to meet eighteen of South Australia at Adelaide. The home team included J. E. Gooden and F. King, who were still in the forefront when the regular series of eleven-a-side games began. The highest score of the match was 25 by M. Murphy for the visitors. Cosstick took 17 wickets for 73 runs, Horan 13 for 39 ; A. Scott, for South Australia, had 10 for 73. (Mr. Moody credits Cosstick with 22 for 70 ; but Scores aud Biographies , X III., 391, does not bear out this). Victoria won by 15 runs, with 92 and 98 againtt 108 and 67. The second match, a season later (not given in Scores and Biographies) was another eleven v. eighteen affair, this time won by the numerically stronger side with 150 against 29 and 51. Not until four years later, in 1880-1, did the eleven-a-side games begin. For my purpose, the match on the East Melbourne ground in November, 1880, ranks as No. 1 of the series, inasmuch as it was the first en­ counter on even terms. There were two matches that season, but only one in each season afterwards until 1892-3, when the regular home - and - home games for the Sheffield Shield began, with the three more prominent cricket colonies all taking part. From 1892-3 and onwards (except in 1901-2, 1903-4 and 1907-8) there have been two games each season. In No. 1 match Tom Horan, with 113 and 18 not out, and W. H. Cooper, the bowler with the big break (*ho took eight wickets for 128) were the best known as well as the most successful players on the home side, which also included P. G. McShane, D. Campbell, the Oxonian (who scored 79 for once out), F. Baker (who made 83 in his one innings), and other good men of smaller renown. South Australia had in her ranks George Giffen, the greatest all-round player she has ever had, John Noel, held by some at one time almost Giffen’s equal, an e'timafe which appears ridiculous now, Jesse Hide, of Sussex, then a coach in Adelaide, the brothers H. A. and J. E. Gooden and F. King. Victoria led off with 329 ; South Australia replied with 77, but following on, made as many as 314. W. Slight (a Melbourne man originally) 70, Giffen 63, H. A. Gooden 49, Hide 48, King 28 not out. Victoria won by seven wickets. In the return at Adelaide at the beginning of April, Victoria, though less strongly represented, again won. Poor Harry Boyle and McShane, who passtd over to the great majoiity long befcie him, were the side’s great men. Boyle hit up 108 and 23, and took four for 33 and four for 27. McShane played a second innings of 58 and captured five for 19 in the home side’s second. A. H. Jarvis, the famous wicket-keeper, made his first appearance in the series, as did a sterling batsman of lesser f*me in Harry Blinman. Noel’s 52 and Slight’s 31 were tho homo side’s best performances with the bat; (jillen and Hide bowled best. South Australia won a creditable victory, over a side, however, that was far from representative, at Adelaide in the third game. George Giffen was absent, playing in a Test match at Melbourne; but five Victorians were also engaged in that match, and several oth>ra did not make the trip to the City of Churches. Noel’s 61 for S.A. was the highest score of the game; G. W . Stokes, who never played in another big match, scored 12 and 58 for the losers. McShane bowled well; and Quilty, a left-hander, took every wicket but that of Sam Morris, the West Indian black, in Victoria’s first, his analysis being 9 for 55. No. 4 match was a sensational one indeed. Playing for the first time on the Melbourne ground, the wheatfielders went under for 23, of which John Noel scored 18, G. Watsford two George Giffen and W . Knill one each, and there was one extra! Boyle had 4 wickets for 6 , Palmer 5 for 16. Slight (James, of the ’80 Australian team, uot W ., the South Australian player), made 44 and Midwinter 40 for Victoria, who won in an innings, Boyle and Palmer again being destructive in the second attempt of the visitors. P. S. McDonnell, G. E. Palmer, J. M. Blackham and H. J. H. Scott all made their first appearances against S.A. in this match ; the first two never played again in the series. Very different was No. 5, at Adelaide in February, 1884. The Australian Team ha^- taken away Giffen and the crack Victorians > the howling was weak on hoth sides, and the hatsmen had a harvest. Over 1,300 runs were made in the match. South Australia, after a bad start made 334—Arthur Jarvis 91, W . D. Claxton 72, J. Brideson 52. Victoria replied with 285—Trinnick 109, Jack Harry 57, James Slight 53. The home side made 319—Walter G-iffen {his first big match) 89, Claxton 73, Watling 54, Jarvis 40. Wanting 369 to win, the visitors actually made the runs for the loss of six wickets, Trinnick scoring 89, P. Deeley (like Stokes, he never played again for Victoria) 69, Sam Morris 64, Jack Harry 60. Claxton, who scored 145 runs and took six wickets in the match, did not represent his colony again for twelve seasons, and then only once. There must have been several noteworthy batting partnerships in this game; but I have no account of it which is not of the baldest and least informing type. It is worse than annoying to find the few lines of alleged description given to a match taken up by the recapitulation of what the meanest intelligence could gather from the score beneath them ; yet of how many such “ descriptions ” may this be said. The match of 1884-5 endel in a capital victory for South Australia away from home, by 53 runs, George Giffen, with a second innings of 73 and a bag of ten wickets being the shining light on the victorious side. The Ballarat man, Percy Lewis, and the graceful left-hander, William Bruce, both new names in the stries, were the bett batsmen for Vic­ toria ; and another debutant, John Edward Barrett, later of stonewall fame, actually took eleven South Australian wickets for 80 runs, almost as many as he secured in the rest of his first-class career. The wicket wore badly at the finish, handicapping the home side. (To be continued ). 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 9s.