Cricket 1909

M ay 20, 1909. CRICKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 131 The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The Evolution of a Cricket Bat , which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion. CRICKET IlMFROVEDMAKE KEEP TH E IR S H A PE -LA S LO N C E R f H C A T A L O G U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N . C A T A L O G U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N . C A T A L O G U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N . B U S S E Y ’ S ■ J '6 8 U Z O ARE OUT AND OUT THE B ES T. . OTHER grades 7 '6 -5 /-4fe-4^3/6-.3,-2%-2** 11 IIitillI i C A T A L O G U E U P O N A P P L IC A T IO N T O GEO. G. BUSSEY & Co.. Ltd .. 36 & 38, Queen Victoria St., LONDON. Manufactory— Timber Mills — PECKHAM, S.E. ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK. Agents all over the world. AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. By F. S. A s h le y -C o o p e r. The Selection Committee met during the past week to discuss the constitution of the England team for the Test match which commences at Edgbaston to-day week. At the moment of writing the results of their deliberations have not been made public, but it is understood that only a few players were decided upon as certainties, and that the team will not be completed until Saturday or Sunday next. The Australians are play­ ing two very important games in London this week, and the form shown by the Surrey and M.C.C. players is bound to influence the Selection Committee in choosing the side. Those who are almost bound to be picked, apart from MacLaren, are Hayward, Lilley, and Fry, whilst those strongly in the running will be Jessop, Brearley (or Fielder), Jones, Rhodes (or Blythe), Hirst, Tyldesley (or Hobbs), and Relf (or Braund). Practically nothing has been heard this season of Barnes, but the Committee can be trusted to ascertain his form before coming to a decision. It is a pity that Newstead is not playing as he did last season, for he would have been just the bowler required for a fast wicket; in present form Relf would be preferred to him. If the match is played on a wet wicket it would probably be best to include both Rhodes and Blythe in the side, as nothing should be left to chance when taking the field against such a strong batting side as the present Australian team. It is early yet to speak of the prospects of the Universities, but so far as one can at present judge Oxford appears likely to have the stronger side. It is much in their favour that Gilbert, Hatfeild, Lowe and Robinson will still be available to bowl for them, and that they have in Pawson a wicket-keeper fit to play in the Gentlemen’s eleven. In Salter, Hooman and Lagden are three batsmen of the greatest possibilities. Hoo­ man has hitherto quite failed to play up to his school reputation, but he showed a glimpse of his old form last week in making 96 for the Next XVI. against The Eleven. Salter performed great deeds at Cheltenham, and as far back as 1900, when only thirteen years of age, made scores of 192 not out and 230 in the course of a single week for Cheltenham College Juniors, against Douglas School (Malvern) and Leeonfield respectively. Much is expected of Lagden, who headed the Marlborough averages last year with the capital figure of 52 51: his great feat was to make two separate hundreds in the course of a single day against Liverpool. All three scored well this week against the Gentlemen, and if they can only maintain the form they showed on Monday Oxford should boast a splendidly balanced team. The outlook for Cambridge is not so bright. It appears as though their bowling may prove a source of weakness, it being difficult to see upon whom Olivier and Lyttelton will have to rely. Perhaps Bruce-Lockhart, of Sedbergh, will rise to the occasion: in the Freshmen’s match he took a dozen wickets with his leg- breaks for 187 runs, and, going in first wicket down, scored 13 and 41. There are plenty of Freshmen in residence at Cambridge whose batting might gain them their Blue, the most promising being Nason, Prest, Bache and Turner. Nason is undoubtedly the best of the four and should experience little difficulty in getting into the side for the Lord’s match. The batting of the Australians, and of Bardsley and Ransford in particular, at Leyton on Thursday last has provided the chief topic of conversation in cricketing circles during the past week. With runs coming at the rate of over a hundred an hour throughout the playwas always bright, though perhaps not altogether to the taste of the spectators, whose sympathies were naturally with the home side. It would be difficult to imagine a finer display of cricket than was given by the two left-handers. Their play wss practically faultless, and those who were fortunate enough to witness it will probably never forget it. Bardsley, owing partly to his good scores at Trent Bridge and North­ ampton, and partly to his more interesting methods, attracted more attention than Ransford, who played a more orthodox game. Bardsley’s timing and cutting were excellent, and the manner in which he took a ball off the middle and leg stumps was worth going miles to see. Ransford also cut well and showed himself strong on the leg-side: furthermore, his innings was the sounder of the two, inasmuch as he offered no chance until playing the ball off which he was caught. There can be no doubt whatever that in the event of a fine summer being experienced both players will enjoy a very successful tour: what they will do on rain- spoilt wickets remains to be seen. (I should like to take this opportunity of expressing the hope that no county will be so unsports­ manlike as to attempt to persuade either of the pair to qualify for them. It is only a few years since one of the leading clubs approached Trumper on such an errand: fortunately the attempt failed, but the fact that at one time it looked like succeeding is sufficient justification for expressing the hope men­ tioned above.) And now for a few figures. The total of 525 for six wickets made on Thursday last is the largest ever credited to an Australian team in this country as the result of a single day’s play; the stand of 355 for the third wicket is the longest ever credited to two left-handers in the whole history of first-class cricket; and the score of 609 for six wickets is the eighth of over six hundred made by Australians in England. The largest aggregates are now:— Score. Year. 843 v. Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Past and Present, at Portsmouth...........1S93 643 v. Sussex, at Brighton ................... ..........1882 625 v. Derbyshire, at Derby.................. 624 (4 wkts) v. Sussex, at Brighton ... 620 v. Hampshire, at Southampton ... 609 (4 wkts) v, Somerset, at Bath 609 (6 wkts) v. Essex, at Leyton 609 v. Northants, at Northampton ... The partnership of 355 by Bardsley and Ransford set up a fresh record for the third wicket so far as Australian batsmen are concerned, exceeding the previous best in this country by 35. The longest stand for each wicket for an Australian team in Eng­ land is set out below :— Wkt. Year. 1st—211, Trumper (800 not out) and Gregory (73) v. Sussex, at Brighton ... ... 1S99 2nd—228, Murdoch (158) and Barrett (83) v. Sussex, at B righton.............. ... 1890 3rd—355, W. Bardsley (219) and Y. S. Rans­ ford (174) v. Essex, at Leyton ... 1909 4th—221, Gregory (143) and Trott (103) v. England, at Lord’s ... ............... 1896 5th—275, Noble (267) and Darling (93) v. Sussex, at B rig h to n .........................1905 6th—428, Noble (284) and Armstrong (172 not out)v. Sussex, at Brighton ... 1902 7th—273*, Armstrong (248 not out) and Darling (117 not out) v. Gentle­ men, at Lord’s ...................................... 1905 8th—128, Graham (219) and H. Trumble (47) v. Derbyshire, at Derby ... ... 1S93 9th—121, Turner (66) and W. F. Giffen (62) v. Oxford and Cambridge Uni­ versities Past and Present, at Ports­ mouth ............. . .......................... 1S93 10th—112, Kelly (74 not out) and Laver (43) v. Gloucestershire, at Bristol ... 1905 ♦Denotes an unfinished stand. 1896 ... 1899 ... 1905 ... 1905 ... 1909 ... 1905