Cricket 1909

H 4 C R IC K E T : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. M ay 13, 1909. cricket is concerned it was never in it. I see Mr. Allsop, Secretary of the Wanderers Club, speaks highly of the virtues of matting- covered wickets and, inspired by the view of Jim Phillips, creates a vision of universal matting! I have nothing to say against matting in its right place, but that place should never; be in international or any first- class cricket. We have bowlers in Australia who, champions on the mat. are very ordinary on the best turf wickets.” “ What were your impressions of the ‘ Imperial ’ Scheme as put forward last year ? ” “ I failed to see how the Triangular Con­ test as outlined was Imperial. It would have centralised international cricket in England and have ignored the Empire branches, and that would be of no use to Australian or South African cricket Let an Englishman imagine what his feelings might be were England and South Africa to meet on the grounds of Sydney and Melbourne and not at Lord’s, the Oval, at Leeds, or Old Trafford. We have a big cricketing public in Australia, and Australia v. South Africa on an English ground would deprive those who support the game in the Colonies of what may be regarded as aright, or, if you prefer it, a well-earned privilece. Test- match cricket in many ways is glorious : often it is the champagne of ciicket. It stirs national feeling deeper than any other form of sport. But it should be kept within limits : otherwise it would sap the life from other branches of first-class cricket. To play the Triangular Tests alternately in Englai d, Australia and South Africa would be a much fairer proposal. But in this matter due importance should be given to the fact that the "conditions of Colonial cricket differ fiorn those of England. You have your professionals who depend on the game for a living : you have wealthy amateurs, and you have a number of very b;g cities with large populations. Out here the professional, as you know him, scarcely exists. The perpetuation of a Triangular contest would, I believe, aggravate the anomaly of amateurs having to make sub­ stantial profits out of the game. As inter­ national cricket is now carried on, it is impossible to Australia without a system which allows to men, who are not pro­ fessionals in the sense that the term is under­ stood in England, adequate remuneration for the time they lose on tour. Anything likely to extend this is not good for either the game or the players. The less theatrical effect we have in cricket the better. How­ ever, Australia has no right to be. and is not, averse to South Africa coming in as a competitor for “ the ashes ” and all they signify. Indeed I think official Australia rather welcomes it. But the change must be evolutionary and agreeable, and not coercive. There is a bit of John Bull in us and John, you know, is a difficult old chap to bully. Numbers of misconceptions re- gardiug the politics of Australian cricket are at times spread by the English press, and as English critics often write articles based on these misconceptions a feeliug that there are many anti-Australians among Old Country writers occasionally arises. There are ex- cep ions and, of course. Cricket is one.” “ Supposing Au'tralia does not fall in with the Triangular Scheme in the future, and Eugland fiijds she cannot sa.isfactorily regulate visits from Australia and South Africa on the present lasis, what would happen?” “ That, I believe, will scarcely occur. But if it should there would, I suppose, be a compromise. Possibly the visits to England would be made every four instead of every three years. Possibly, too, in the out­ matches of England, the one team might visit both countries. Supposing England sent her team to South Africa to play three Te^ts, and then straight on to Australia to play a series of Tests and possibly a match each with New South Wales and Victoria, it might be possible. It would certainly be a great campaign. And possibly leading amateurs and leading professionals too, for the sake of the national prestige, might then be inspired to accept the invitation. The general feeling here is that nothing definite respecting a Triangular Scheme will be done by Australia until the South Africans visit this country. The conference to be held at Lord’s shortly will no doubt have the subject under discussion, but that, I believe, will be only an item on the programme, which will, I understand, embrace all matters of inter­ national import that may be deemed worthy of discussion, and perhaps of agreement.” “ As to the discussion in England of the Triangular Scheme, prior to the M.C.C. Team’s visit to Australia, the Board of Control was very pleased with the manner in which Mr. L. O. S, Poidevin voiced its views. And the vast body of Australian cricketers, as differentiated from a few, will not forget the Hon. F. S. Jackson. We Australians have come to regard him as the King among England’s latter-day cricketers on the field, and his appearance in the Triangular controversy stamp*d him as a man with a broad and far-seeing cricketing mind. While the little men were barking at Australia, because they could not see eye to eye with them, the captain of England stepped iu and spoke as a Statesman of Cricket. We have never seen F. S. Jackson in Australia, and I suppose we never will now. but the rank and file of our cricketers will not forget him for his deeds on the field at our expense and for his bringing a certain section of anti-Australians in England to a halt.” “ Do you consider the Australian team well equipped for the Tests with England ? ” “ With ordinary good luck—that is if the side be not weakened through ill health or accident—they seem to me to possess fair to good prospects against England’s best, and of keeping ‘ the ashes ’ in Australia. In bowling they are, I think, much better equipped than the 1905 team was. There is more variety, the left-handers bringing in an elementthat ought never to be absent fromany Australian team visiting the old land. J. A. O’Connor should, I think, have been taken home some years back. He is rather old for his first tour as a bowler. Nevertheless he is a better bowler than he appears to be at a casual glance, for his style is rural. He has lost a good deal of his earlier snap, but ou your wickets it may all come back to him. He was, I think, about the best bowler in Australia six or seven years ago. W. W. Armstrong is a great bow’ler under English conditions. Cotter is more reliable than he was in 1905, and in Macartney there is a left-hander who is very accurate, with a good yo;ker, and who ought to perform splendidly. Whitty is much taller than Macartney: a good actual left hand bowler, he has had \ery little experience even in senior club cricket. There are huudreds here with wider experience. But for all that I like him for this team. A left-hander has a value peculiar to himself on English wickets, and Whitty is a fast-improving young cricketer. The field­ ing is also better than that of 1905, most of the new men being brilliant, though one or two of the older players are not so smart as they were. In the slips, if he ba played there, R. Hartigan will, I think, be far better than any of the 1905 fielders were in that position. Hansford is a beautiful outfield, and one of the cleverest I have ever seen. Macartney is quite one of the smartest at cover with a particularly quick return, and Bardsley is first-class anywhere.” “ And the wicket-keeping? ” “ It ought to be good. This season Carter has not run into his best form, but he will probably do better on tour. Carkeek has shown very fine form, but is not such a dangerous batsman as Carter, who risks a great deal, but succeeds on our wickets. Carter is particularly clever on the on-side, but, on the whole, is not such a sound plajer as others in the team, who may not score so fast. I have never seen W. Dodds, the Tasmanian, keep wicket, but a cricketing friend who sawr him at Melbourne recently tells me he is a ‘ clinker ’ and a very good bat. In that case it is a misfortune that Tasmania does not play more first-class cricket and bring her best men out. In Sydney nine out of ten will tell you that C. E. Gorry should have been one of the wicket-keepers and selected before Carter. And on actual form they are right. Gorry, like Carkeek, is able to stand the wear and tear of a hard tour, and I consider that he is unlucky to have missed the trip—the goal of almost every Australian cricketer’s ambition. The English public will like Bardsley and Rmsford, the left-handed batsmen, and Hartigau and Macartney, who are right­ handers. They are very sound and attrac­ tive batsmen under Australian conditions, and all four are great fields. The batting of the team is very powerful on Australian form. McAlister is not one of the ‘ young brigade,’ being by a few months the oldest player in the party. A very steady batsmau, he has helped Victoria out of many a forlorn position in inter-State cricket. He is, also, a good slip. In certain circles there has been ^ry strong opposition to his inclusion, but it is quite discounted by his being a strong supporter of the Board of Control, which is grievous offence in the eyes of a certain section in Victoria.” “ Do you consider the team open to im­ provement ? ” “ Well, I think it is. But at the same time it has the confidence of a big majority of Australian cricketers and of the public. Gehrs, of Adelaide, a very much improved batsman, particularly strong in on - side strokes, and perhaps the best cover-point in the Colonies ; Hazlitt, of Melbourne, and Kelleway, of Sydney, would add all-round strength to the side: that is they would enhance the batting, bowling and fielding. And with their educative experience of such a tour the two young bowlers would be an asset in future years.” “ You saw a good deal of the earlier cricket of M. A. Noble and Victor Trumper? ” “ Yes. They are a wonderful pair as con­ temporaries for one little club to develop. They were, and still are, in the Paddiogton Club. I was one of the founders and early officials of that club, but, having left the district a few years back, am now a “ stranger ” to the old club. The first lime Noble went to Adelaide and Melbourne with the New South Wales team I happened to be Manager. The 1896 team had just returned from England via New Zealand and Tasmania and we had to pick up the Australian con