Cricket 1908

C R 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 . APRIL 23, 1908. “ Together joined in CricKet’s m an ly toil.”— Byron. N o . 7 7 5 . v o l . x x v i i . THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1908. o n e p e n n y . A CHAT ABOUT MR. C. G. MACARTNEY . Of the many brilliant young players possessed by Australia at the present time the most promising is undoubtedly Mr. Charles George Macartney, of New South Wales. He was born at West Maitland on June 27th, 1886, and is a grandson of George Moore, the slow bowler of bygone intercolonial matches be­ tween New South WTales and Victoria, who used to play in his braces. Although only 5ft. 7in. in height, he bids fair to become the recognised best all-round cricketer in the Commonwealth in the course of a season or two ; he is an aggressive and stylish batsman with plenty of strokes on the off-side, a most accurate and steady left-handed bowler who is always dangerous on a wicket to his liking, and a brilliant fieldsman at mid- off and in the country. Furthermore, he possesses the ideal cricketical tempera­ ment and unbounded confi­ dence, and it will be surpris­ ing indeed if he fails to assist in playing an import­ ant part in the making of history during the next fifteen to twenty years. One of the best catches ever seen on Australian cricket-fields— to term it “ the catch of the season ” would be to under­ estimate its brilliancy—:was that by which he dismissed Hardstaff in the final stage of the Test match at Ade­ laide in January last ; he was in the long-field at the time, and, after running nearly forty yards, secured the ball at a very awkward height close to his left shoulder. The Central News Agency described the feat as phe­ nomenal, and other accounts referred to it in terms of praise no less high. The mem­ bers of the M.C.C. team who returned from Australia last week were much im­ pressed by his play and are unanimous in predicting a great future for him. Although it was at WTest Maitland that he first became acquainted with the game, it was not until he left his native place (at the age of ten) and went to the Woollahra Public School that he took to cricket at all seriously. That he was keen and quick to learn is evident from the fact that he became a member of the School Eleven when only twelve years old, although it was due almost solely to his fielding ability that he obtained a place in the side. He was shortly afterwards removed to the Chatsworth Public School, for whom he played in 1900 and 1901. It was here that he first showed signs of developing into an all-round player of more than average ability, heading both batting and bowling averages in his second season, andin one match taking seven wickets for one run and scoring 121 not out. He was then only fifteen years of age, and he went straight from School cricket into Grade cricket,playing for North Sydney in the Third Grade Com­ petition. His bowling, as it chanced, was seldom re­ quired, and he was in conse­ quence able to centre his at­ tention upon batting with the result that he headed the averages, his highest inn­ ings being 177, a record for that particular class of cricket which remained un­ beaten for four years. In 1903-4, when promoted to the Second Grade, he took twenty-one wickets for 327 runs and made 233 runs in seven innings, his chief scores being 66, 58 not out, 25 not out, and 24. It was. however, in 1904-5 that he may be said to have first made his mark in Sydney cricket. The absence of Duff ard Hopkins, on their way to England, caused him to be given a place in the First Grade team, and he made the most of his opportunity. Perusal of the score-sheets leads one to think that he was generally put in later than his merits entitled him ; be that as it may, however, the fact remains that he headed the averages for the season, commencing five innings, four of which were unfinished, and, with 61 not out as his highest effort, scoring 142 runs, which was, of course, also his average. Seeing that Iredale, Hick­ son, Redgrave, Farquhar, Hartigan, Hopkins, and Duff were members of the same side, it was, it will readily be admitted, a great performance on the part of a lad of eighteen to come out first in the list of batsmen. He also took fourteen wickets in the course of sixty-two overs at a cost of 11.92 runs each, against Central Cum­ berland obtaining five for 28 and three for 41. His all-round cricket was of so M R. C. G. MACARTNEY.