Cricket 1908

8 4 CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. A p r i l 23, i<,oS E A R L Y CR ICKET AT RUGBY. (See illustration on page 89 .) The following interesting particulars of cricket at Rugby School seventy years ago, from the pen of “ Wanderer,” appeared in the Sportsman of Friday last:— There are, to my way of thinking, few more enjoyable methods of passing an hour than by listening to the experiences of a light of other days, whether in connection with military, sporting, or general topics. Such an opportunity was recently afforded me when 1 had the pleasure of a most in­ teresting talk with Mr. Walter Scott Seton-Karr, at his residence at Lowndes Square. Nor is it on one subject alone that a chat proves such a fount of interesting information. My own thoughts, I must confess, centred on the doings on Big Side and the “ pie ” matches ; but others might listen with even greater attention to his reminiscences of the Bengal Civil Service, in connection with which so many years of his life were spent. The walls of the rooms bear evidence of this. Here a photo­ graph of the famous Durbar held by Lord Mayo in 1869 ; there a portrait of Shir Ali, a present from that Ameer. Mr. Seton- Karr played a prominent part in the administrative work during the Viceregal period of office of Lords Lawrence and Mayo, and a handsome bust of the former occupies a prominent place in the draw­ ing-room. No one would for a moment imagine that Mr. Seton-Karr has already completed his eighty-sixth year, yet I find the entry in my Cricketers’ Birthday Book as January 23rd, 1822, when George the Fourth was King. The reason for the choice of his Christian names is at once apparent when I state that Sir Walter Scott stood as his godfather. Though he has attained such a great age, many of its years, too, having been passed in the trying climate of India, Mr. Seton-Karr still lives an active life, and only recently followed on foot an important golf match round the links at Bramshot, where his son, Capt. W. J. Seton, the well-known Old Etonian goal-keeper and Incogniti cricketer of the “ nineties,” is the moving spirit. Cricket still possesses a charm for Mr. Seton-Karr, though he regrets that he neglected to become a member of the M.C.C. He entered Rugby at the age of .twelve in April, 1834, staying until the autumn of 1840, when he proceeded to the old East India College at Haileybury, where he prepared for what had been chosen as his sphere in life. He was con­ temporary at Rugby with Dean Bradley, Franklin Lushington (Senior Classic at Cambridge), Matthew Arnold, and Tom Hughes, the author of the “ Tom Brown” of world-wide reputation; therefore, it is not surprising that his literary tastes were well nurtured, and in matters pertaining to our great empire in the East there are probably fewer better libraries on Indian topics than that wrhich he has collected. One of my first queries directed to him was on the subject of bowling at Rugby. “ In my earliest days it was entirely underhand bowling ; but about 1836 a fellow named Blair, who came from Brighton, brought in the round-arm style, and, though lame from his birth, delivered a fairly swift ball. Some of the underhand bowlers were very good and of terrific pace, almost equal to that of an Etonian, Mr. Harvey Fellows. Some of those who bowled round-arm kept their delivery very low, and a wide was a rare thing. About the time I left Rugby there were two good bowlers of the round-arm style in Balston, of Kent, and Townsend, afterwards cap­ tain of the eleven. We also had a bowler named W. Attfield, who came from some­ where in the Bath district, and sent down some terrific shooters on the leg-side.” “ And your batting? ” “ Candidly, I do not think it could bear comparison with the batsmen of to-day, and we frequently got through four inn­ ings in the course of a full day, beginning at half-past ten and continuing till dusk. But with the excellent coaching which is now secured there would have been several who would take high honours. It was not until I had been at Rugby some years that the idea of a coach was suggested. We then, in the late ‘ thirties,’ secured one in Deacon, from Notts, at the suggestion of the late Mr. ‘ Dick ’ Bright, M.P., at a cost of, if my memory serves me, 30s. per week.” “ But the fielding was much studied, was it not? ” “ Yes ; and a missed catch was a rare occurrence. The match ground was, as you may know, called ‘ Big Side,’ and round the edges of it the fifth and sixth forms could have ‘ ends ’ ; some of the lower forms were allowed similar privileges on ‘ Little Side. ’ There were, of course, no such things as nets. The smaller boys used to ‘ fag out ’ for the sixth and fifth form boys, taking a turn behind the wicket, as long-stops and in throwing up the balls, which was excellent training and of great assistance towards accurate field­ ing. After school hours you would often find half a dozen batting in that fashion and taking turns in bowling to each other. ” “ Did you play many matches in those days ? ” “ We had a good amount of cricket, but, of course, there was no Rugby v. Marl­ borough, and the facilities for travelling were limited, as railways were only just being formed. Our season was rather different from that which now exists at schools, as the Midsummer vacation was earlier—at the very beginning of July. We used to play from the middle of April till then, and also secure another six weeks when we returned, up to Michaelmas. Our great game was School House v. The School, and although the former only had about 80 boys to select from, their oppon­ ents perhaps 220, the former not infre­ quently won. The 1st VII. v. XI. and XI. v. XXII. were ‘ standing dishes,’ but there were also what were called ‘ Pie Matches.’ Pick-up sides were chosen, and the losers used to be mulcted by standing breakfasts at the Eagle, at a cost of half- a-crown or so a head. “ In 1840 we were invited to play ;it Lord’s against the Marylebone Club, which came as a big surprise, for up to that time only Eton, Winchester, and Harrow had been so honoured. The match lasted two days, and, although beaten, I remember we made a very fair show in batting.* The following summer (1841) the M.L.C. sent down a team to Rugby to play the school—as they do now. This was the match immortalised in ‘ Tom Brown,’ but I had left then. We sometimes used to play on other grounds; but Dr. Arnold, for certain reasons in connection with a game with the Leicester Club soon after my entering the school, did not allow elevens to visit our ground, as he thought they might conduce to further breaches of discipline. One of the best Leicester Club players was G. M. Kettle, who scored heavily about 1840; another, Capt. ‘ D ick’ Cheslyn, who played for the Genii i nen of England on one occasion, unless I am mistaken, t Another club we tackled more than once was the Wellesbourne, in War­ wickshire, who had a very difficult lob bowler. ” “ W7hat were your wickets like? ' “ I do not agree with those who re­ garded them as bad— I am not talking, of course, about practice pitches. The whole area of the ground may not have been so good, but the space between the wickets showed no lack of care. In the outfield one required to have one’s wits about one, for the ball came to long-off or long-leg very quickly over the bumpy ground, and, striking the uneven surface, was as likely as not to glance off at an unexpected angle and hit one in the face. We were, how­ ever, rarely at fault with any catch offered, and some brilliant ones were brought off.” Mr. Seton-Karr, who played cricket in Calcutta, and has several interesting pic­ tures of the game in India during the “ sixties,” did not confine his love of sport to cricket, and among his greatest friends was the late Mr. Henry Dixon, who wrote on matters equine under the nom de plume of “ The Druid.” At the risk of tres­ passing too much on Mr. Seton-Karr’s kindness, I could not refrain from address­ ing a final query as to football before say­ ing “ Good day ” to this grand veteran. “ Football in those days,” he observed, “ was very different from what it is now. At Rugby our fixtures were chiefly House matches—Anstey’s v. Lee’s, Burge’s, or Price’s—and very keen struggles they were, I can assure you. Then the Sixth used to contend with the School, which meant that thirty would, perhaps, tackle about a couple of hundred. Some, how­ ever, did not follow up, but guarded the goal, Arthur Clough, the well-known poet, being a celebrated goalkeeper.” [Mr. Seton-Karr was in the Rugby Eleven in 1838 and two following years, being a good all-round cricketer, though played chiefly for his batting. In 1838 he scored 31 and 9 for School v. School House, in the following year 6 and 77 for Eleven v. Twenty-two, and, in 1840, 25 and 24 for West v. East. His 77 had been only four times exceeded previously—by Koe, 99 v. School House, and 90 v. Sixth in 1836; by Poole, 93 for Eleven v. Twenty-two in 1837; and by Walls, 91 v. Leicester in 1836. (Charles Penrose, a nephew of Doctor Arnold, had also made 69 not out, 66, and 64.) Some interesting reminiscences by Mr. Seton-Karr appeared in the Cricket Field , vol. ii., pa^e 10.__ E d. Cricket.] * Rugby scored 147 and 108 against 177 and :T and were beaten by 126 runs.—Ed. Cricket. t Capt. Cheslyn -never appeared for Gentlemen v. Players. In 1827 he played in three matches for Sussex—two against England and one against Kent. He belone-ed to the 7th Hussars and the Leicestershire M ilitia.— E d . Cricket. 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.n Price 83. 6d., post freQ 9 sA