Cricket 1908

CR ICK E T : a w e e k l y r e c o r d o f t h e g a m e . JAN. 30,^1908. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. no. 77o. vox., x x v i i . THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1908. p b i c e 2 d. when arriving at a ground, was told by the gate-keeper that he was too old to bs a cricketer and was endeavouring to obtain admission under false pretensions. Particu­ lars of his early doings—up to his fifty-first year—have not been preserved, which is to be regretted, for, although details of his subsequent cricket make extraordinary reid- ing, it is only natural to suppose that he accomplished his best performances whilst in MR. CHARLES ABSOLON. his full vigour. It is only right to state that the matches in which he took part were generally of a very inferior nature, and that it is impossible to form any idea of the amount of success he would have met with had he played regularly in first-class cricket. Often he and his friend, Mr. J. C. Gregory, who played occasionally for Surrey, would take part in two and even three matches in one day, the arrangement being that as soon as Mr. Absolon had bowled through an innings the pair should hurry off the ground and drive to another match in the vicinity. This was, perhaps, scarcely fair to opposing sides, but Mr. Absolon was such a kind and genial man, and made so many friends, that no one ever raised any objection to the pro­ cedure. He never, like George Giffen, managed to make a hundred in two different matches in a single day, but at one time it was not unusual ,f or |him ; to take over twenty wickets between cock-crow and bed­ time. Daring his long life he was associated with many clubs in the Metropolis and else­ where, but it was with the Tufnell Park Holloway United, Smithfield Rovers, and West­ minster Wanderers that the majority of his remarkable feats were performed. “ Is an earnest devotee of the game, and his weighty figure, good humoured phiz, frost-bitten poll, topped with a scarlet cap, will be readily recognised by many frequenters of the metro­ politan and suburban clubs,” records Scores and Biographies. In 1896, when it became known that, through his devotion to the game, his financial position was*not so satisfactory as could be wished, a testimonial match was played for him at the Oval, the result being that he was presented at the Holborn Restaurant with an illuminated address and a purse of 120 guineas. Had he received ten times the amount mentioned it would not have been more than he deserved, for thousands of club cricketers owe more to him than they perhaps realise. At the time when the agitation was started among the large firms in the City, to give their employes Saturday afternoons for recreation, Mr. Absolon was captain of the cricket club connected with Nicholson’s Distillery. Yielding in a great measure to his solicitations, the firm, of which Mr. W. Nicholson, the old Harrovian, in his day without a superior among amateur wicket­ keepers, was a member, consented to pay their work-people on the Friday, and give them a half-holiday on’ the Saturday after­ noon, allowing them in addition the use of a van for the purposes of conveyance.^?The approval thus given to the half-holiday [Proe, Perlham. Mr. Charles Absolon, who was born at Wallingford, in Berkshire, on May 30th, 1817, died at Finsbury Park on the 4th inst. in his ninety-first year. Just a week previously he had been seized with a paralytic stroke whilst paying his weekly visit to the Meat Market, with which he had been so long associated. He was one of our oldest cricketers, being exceeded in point of age only, it is believed, by Mr. A. Burrows, of the Winchester Eleven of 1829, Mr. R. J. P. Broughton, who played for Harr. # at Lord’s for four seasons, commencing in 1832, and ^ 1 . A. F. Jenner, of the Keiiu \eam of 1835. His career was an extraordinary one, for he played his first match in 1831 and continued to partici­ pate in the game until eighty years of age. During the last ten years or so he was naturally a little past his prime, but, even to the last, he was always likely to get wickets and make a fev’ runs. His first match took ^tace on Cowley Mart-h in 1831, when he drove over in a coach - and - four with the Wallingford team to play the old Oxford Union Club. It is interesting to recall that among his opponents on that occasion was Mr. W . Bacon, who in later years scored well against the All England Eleven 'md who survived until October i'h, 1899. Mr. Absolon must have shown considerable apti­ tude for the game whilst quite a boy, for in 1832, when but fifteen years of age, he played an innings of 127 for Walling­ ford v. Berwick (Oxon)—no small feat when one remembers how rough the wickets, and Photo by] especially country wickets, were in those days. His first appearance at Lord’s as a player was in 1840, and as recently as August last he was present there to see the match between Middlesex and Kent. His career was such a long and busy one that it may be stated without fear of contradiction that no other player ever took part in so many matches or obtained anything like such a number of wickets. He played against four generations of the Bentley family, and more than once, A CHAT ABOUT MR. CHARLES ABSOLON.